'I'll be all in clover and when they look you over,
I'll be the proudest fellow in the Easter parade.'
Irving Berlin
Last year, FH celebrated Good Friday and Easter Sunday with Lights On Studio's images of a heavenly furry body, and the hot hunk holding him tightly in his arms. (HERE: & HERE:) The model was Hansel Wellington, the furry body belonged to Chester the rabbit. After Chester, I guess photographer Tom Nakielski decided to follow that old adage of never working with children or animals. This year's shoot, is all about the birds.
The inspiration for this shoot was to pay homage to Fred Astaire in the classic movie Easter Parade. Although Astaire wore a black tux in the 1948 film, after recently shooting model Michael Moody in a black tux for our Groundhog Day shoot, (The Randy Rodent) Tom decided to take a few liberties and go for something different with a white tux with a dash of pink to celebrate the holiday, and the Spring season.
'Originally I envisioned a soft pastel background and soft lighting. Delicate images. But as I started lighting and setting up I was liking the more intense lighting. A dark, ominous Easter for sure. Benjamin pulled that look off well.'
As you can see, our Fred Astaire is a bona fide chick magnet and seems to have easily imprinted on our Easter chicks. A graduate from Eastern Michigan University, Benjamin works in a office Monday through Friday, but loves to spend his free time modeling, especially when he gets to model with four hot chicks. Benjamin's entry into modeling was pure circumstance. After being asked to be an extra set of hands a fashion show, he somehow ended up walking the catwalk.
Tom says this is the first time he photographed Benjamin and had his usual pre-session nerves. Tom shares he always wonders if new models will how up, will they look like their images on Model Mayhem, will they be relaxed in front of the camera and will they be shy or hesitant about shooting naked. There's also the question of whether they'll be cool with the theme. I can confidently say there are not many male models who are asked to lie down naked and have four baby chicks placed on their butt.
'My fears were unfounded when he arrived. Benjamin had grown a mustache and it looked good on him. He was prepared to shave it if I didn't like it. I usually don't like to start right in with the nudes. I want both the model and myself to first get comfortable with each other and to get acquainted with our ways of working. We started by doing some shots in the warehouse. He immediately started to pose and was not hesitant in the least when I asked him to show more skin.'
'In the studio, we started with the fully clothed tux shots. Benjamin was very relaxed and comfortable in front of the camera. He was also able to predict what I was going to suggest. In order to get him comfortable to get nude, we did some typical shot of him taking his pants and underwear off. He exceeded my expectations in more ways than one.'
'I thoroughly enjoyed our shoots together. Tom made modeling easy with all the direction that he gave. I felt completely comfortable and hope I was able to bring your vision to life. Excited to work together with Tom again!'
Check out more of Benjamin & his chicks on PAGE 2 HERE:
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