This article by Rebecca Greig over at Digital Photographer gives you an idea of what you should pay attention to the next time you’re taking male portraits.
I’ve taken a lot of portraits during my years of photography – sadly, not that many of men, so I will definitely make notes of these. If you have great tips of your own, feel free to share them in the comments below!
Expression
If your model is a little nervous, getting him to look down and away from the camera works really well.Posing
Positioning your model so he isn’t conscious of his hands is important, so get him to lean into a position that is natural to him – he’ll radiate a cool, calm confidence.Lighting
Men look great with very contrasting lighting. Deep shadows with reasonably bright highlights help define and emphasise his features.Bare feet It might sound strange, but asking your model to pose without shoes or socks will help with the openness of the shots. The bare feet create a slight vulnerability that, when teamed with casual clothing and a positive expression, will add a raw naturalness to the images.
Location The location of the shoot will play a part in how natural your images are. If you are after a professional look then stick to the studio where you can play with lighting and backgrounds, but if you want to mix in a few more candid shots then consider shooting outside.
Read the full article over at Digital Photographer.
Source: Digital Photographer
Couldn’t agree more with you, although I’m rather a fan of shooting inside (studio or home) and not so much outside, as there are normally many distracting factors outside.
Hands don’t always have to “disappear” but can also be used in ways where they can express a lot.
I absolutely agree about asking your subjects to remove shoes and socks. Bare feet are absolutely a MUST in portrait photography (and another reason to shoot inside) in my opinion. I always have my subjects pose in bare feet, since neither shoes nor socks are especially pretty in a portrait, whereas bare feet symbolize vulnerability, beauty, freshness, intimacy and many more things all at the same time!!
This holds true for males and females alike, but with guys I have had more problems. I recently photographed a rather handsome young man who didn’t want to remove his socks, because he felt uncomfortable in bare feet. Luckily though, I insisted and afterwards he had to admit that I was right…