#Editorials

SEVEN MODELS ¦ Gods of Beauty ¦ Daniel Jaems ¦ models.com

29.10.13 by

“Between July and September I shot over 140 male models for an untitled project that was based on male beauty. I wanted to create a series of portraits that celebrated some of the most beautiful new male models in the industry and who happen to be passing through London during the shows and the months that followed. There are so many images out there where the model doesn’t connect to the camera. I wanted to strip it all back and focus on the intimate gaze and the sparks that a viewer gets when they stare deep into a model’s eyes. My playground was fragrance campaigns – the perfect inspiration that plays up to desire, sex, allure, innocence and ‘the portrait’ – without getting the models to actively try to recreate any of the great ads that we all know… I looked at the legend of Narcissus (loosely, as that concept is so tired) but what I was attracted to most was the idea that maybe the mirror is the camera and the model is staring deep into his own soul and is infatuated with what he sees when he peers into the abyss of the aperture – and we (us viewers behind the two way mirror) are privileged to experience this virgin moment of vulnerability or inner showmanship. Remember I said loosely! Ultimately, it acts as the glue to bring this ambitious number of images together under one skin.”