'I am looking to connect my love for the sport with photography to capture images of those who put so much effort into training.'
The first time I featured the work of Mark from Serene Photography Ptd, the focus was on the ethereal allure of model Vitalij. Mark's goal with the shoot was to capture an almost genderless view of Vitalij, depicting his/her beauty and essence as neither male of female.
Head shot for American Crew hair product
I remember Mark sharing that although things are changing, from his experience, Northern Ireland is still quite a testosterone driven society. This stood out to me as his work with Vitalij was such a powerful push back to this traditional societal norms Vitalij was also the perfect visual contrast to many of the models that Mark often worked with.
For this piece, I wanted to feature a model and a shoot that more closely represented Mark's primary focus. Working out, health and fitness have always been a big part of Mark's life. Spending hours at the gym means Mark often connects with bodybuilders and trainers. It makes sense then, that a few of them, might end up in front of Mark's lens.
'Health and fitness, along with gym training has been a very important part of my life. While I never made it to the bodybuilding stage I was constantly in admiration to those who competed.'
When going back and forth with Mark about which model to feature next, Jamie proved the perfect choice. I loved that Mark's work with Jamie included not only included studio shots, but as well, both formal and candid images of Jamie at competitions, shows and of course, working out at the gym. The imagery captures different aspects of Jamie's life and routine as well as capturing both he and Mark's passion for fitness and training.
As handsome and engaging Jamie appears in the studio and formally posed shots. His passion and energy really shines in this series of images from a show for the Northern Ireland fitness model association. (NIFMA) Jamie looks so at home and in his element, a unique and emotional facet of his personality that would have been difficult to replicate in a studio shoot.
'Jamie is indeed a very handsome guy. He was the trainer in the gum I was using at the time. He opened his own gym and is focused more on power lifting than bodybuilding, but he is still in great shape and a genuinely nice guy.'
Whenever he shoots, Mark loves to capture facial shots, close in so that you can really see, and almost feel the person in focus. Mark feels that if you're visually enjoying something, you naturally draw in closer with your eyes to take in every detail and inch of it. Given his great face and smile, Mark took quite a few portrait shots of Jamie during their studio shoots.
For the shoot with Jamie at the gym, Mark had to pull back focus a bit to ensure Jamie's incredible physique was in frame. He still however, managed to keep Jamie's face as a focus for so many of the images. The outward results of the hard work and countless hours at the gym, are best exhibited through images of the model's body. The passion and dedication however, are most powerfully felt, through the determination seen through a model's eyes and face.
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