Allen: Undressed Rehearsal

I've always enjoyed stripping off my clothes for others.  After my first nude shoot, it was only confirmed how much I enjoyed being seen nude. 

Allen

Some you might recognize Allen from his appearance on the site last year. In that piece, (The Banned and the Beautiful) I shared that Allen had been banned from Model Mayhem, without explanation, and discussed the struggles nude models have with modeling and social media sites to have their work viewed and shared.

That often leads to a lot of frustration, especially for artists and models who try to follow the rules.  Allen's images were not explicit, there were not butt holes or erections showing, just beautiful artistic nudes.  Sadly, despite his strong exhibitionist side, Allen decided it was time to move from modeling, but not before doing this shoot that he shared exclusively with FH.

Allen sent on a large folder of images, the first half being his final series of shots.   As always however, I was more drawn to the behind the scenes, and process shots that Allen included at the end.  These are all from that section, the 'making of' portion of the self-portrait shoot that Allen created.

I've shared before that process shots are often some of my favorites.  That doesn't take away from my love of final images, but I've always been drawn to story, and how art and images come together.  Even back when I was in school, it was always the process more than the finished product that I enjoyed.  

I played hockey, basketball and baseball, and always enjoyed the practices more than the games.  I was in plays and musicals through high school, University and after and always loved the rehearsal process way more than the actual performances.  I loved the process of creating more than the pressure of a big game or a nerve racking opening night.

I'm not sure what that says about me, but even with FH, some of my favorite moments are during the process piece.  Finding new models and artists to profile, researching an actor or project.  Thinking of creative ways of putting together a feature or story rather than being pleased or satisfied with the final version on the site.

Not to mention the fact that some of these 'process' shots of Allen are incredibly hot.  Since they're self-portraits, Allen had to set up shots and angles, then move back and forth between posing, then going behind the camera to ensure the shot was right.  Sometimes it took several tries to make sure everything was set up exactly how it should be.

These behind the scene shots also show Allen trying out various poses and fashions.   The lime green thong that Allen erotically slides in and out of, didn't even make the final cut in the completed images Allen sent on.  I think you'll agree, the lime green thong shots needed to be included!

In addition, although Allen is aware that his camera is clicking away, many of these hot moments were never really meant to be seen.  I'm glad Allen supported my using the process piece, and supporting my choosing some of my favorites for the piece.  Now, I wouldn't do a process piece without also sharing the final shots.  Check out the final edits of Allen's self-portrait shoot on the NEXT PAGE HERE: