A Consuming Coiffure: Marco by New Manhattan Studios

'The most challenging part of the shoot for me was deciding what to make of his 'voluminous' hair.'

Wes, New Manhattan Studios

One of the things I have during my time working on FH is that there is a fluidity to my tastes. Some weeks, I a preoccupied by blondes, yet on another day and time, only gingers attract my attention. One week, I'm all about frat guys, and the next week, any man under 40 holds little to no interest to me. There are are some constants I have learned, that will always grab my attention. A great smile, beautiful eyes, a great butt and recently I have learned...big hair.

Big hair doesn't necessarily mean long hair, it means wide, full and flippy hair. I knew because of some of the men that I was choosing that I liked big hair on male models, but it wasn't until recently that I figured out why. I went through my teenage years in the late 80's and 90's when big hair was all the rage. Not only did the guy I crushed over in Jr. High have thick flippy brown hair, I regrettably had it as well. During most of Jr. High I rocked the big hair, using hairspray and a pick each morning to get it as big as possible. Having naturally curly hair, it was either big and dry, or wet, with tight dark curls. As I got older, I learned keeping it shorter was better, and easier to manage, but for awhile, my hair made a statement, one I cringe at when looking at old pictures of myself.

But... some guys and some faces and bodies can wear it well, and Marco to me, wears it very well. I have been nagging Wes about featuring Marco for awhile now, and he finally relented, maybe just to shut me up.... Wes featured a few shots of Marco in the most recent issue of his Captured Shadows magazine, and I took that opportunity to give Wes my big pitch. Wes loved his work with Marco, but was a little worried, as Marco only appears on a few pages of CS. Wes didn't want viewers to think they were going to see a lot of Marco in the mag as the star of CS#4, is definitely the cover model Oleksandr, the ultra hot Ukrainian kick boxer.

But... Marco had my attention. The shot I used as pic of the day is one of my favorites. Marco's big hair and adorable smile, not to mention his beautiful body and sexy tan lines had my attention. Wes later told me one of the reasons he had held off on sharing his work with Marco with FH was that he was negotiating to get Marco back in the studio for a third shoot, and thought it would be great to have more images to choose from. Unfortunately, the Italian model and actor, who was in New York studying, but has since returned to Naples to pursue his career as an actor. Some of the images Wes shot were a salute to Marco's homeland, but I thought I'd save those for a part 2. For now, I'll let Wes finish the story of Marco, their studio work together, and how he handled that big head of hair.

'Marco was 22 when we worked with him. An Italian runway model, he was attending one of New York City’s top drama schools. His English was quite good and the casual vibes he gave off said student first and model second. When he turned on the charm, it was easy to see him as a leading man in a romantic comedy. Our first session was in the late fall, just before Thanksgiving. Befitting his status as a European runway model, we spent most of our time on fashion, fitness and head shots with little time left for physique art, which was unfortunate since Marco looked every bit as good out of clothes as in them (which is not always the case with runway models). His torso is well-proportioned for a man of his height.'

'The most challenging part of the shoot for me was deciding what to make of his (voluminous) hair. I like to vary a model’s look over the course of a 2- or 3-hour session and this man’s hair was an obvious target for “varying.” However, running a brush through it resulted in a look that was too coiffed for his otherwise rugged good looks. We tried wetting it at one point but the results were equally disappointing. When, toward the end of his session, he agreed to come back for a physique art session with implied and partial nudes, we asked if we could bring in a hair stylist to trim or tame his hair. The answer was an unequivocal “no.”

'Marco took off for Christmas in Italy and when he returned to the studio in January, the hair was bigger than ever. Cutting it was not an option, so we tried pulling it off his face and tying it back. After just a few shots we understood. The hair was the look. It defined the man. I doubt we shot for more than 10 minutes before we decided to release his hair back into the wild. Smiling, he pulled the band from his hair and the sexy Italian runway model was back!'

'We had agreed that Marco, himself, would come back as well. We scheduled a third session for late in the school year. Unfortunately, Marco returned to Italy that spring before we could get him back into the studio. Our last correspondence with him suggested that his student days were over, as well as his days in New York.'

'I was surprised when I went back into his folder recently to “close it out.” Apparently anticipating a third crack at the model, I had never finished editing all of the work from our January session. Once again I found myself looking at a handful of shots that were still crying out to be edited. As a consequence, several new jpgs are making their debut two years after they were captured.'

'The newly edited shots of Marco can be found in the “recent works” section of the studio’s fine art galleries. Marco is one of three models featured in Captured Shadows #4, along with Oleksandr and Iggy. His portfolio runs from fashion and fitness shots to implied and partial nudes and despite the short time he spend in front of our cameras, he remains one of the studio’s most popular models. If and when he returns to New York, there will always be welcome sign hanging for Marco at New Manhattan Studios.'

All Things Marco on New Manhattan Studios

Captured Shadows