Small Boxes

The next few posts move into the photographer's studio. More than almost any other setting, the studio reveals the craft behind physique photography—the props, lighting, and posing that shaped so many classic images. We'll begin with one of the simplest tools: the humble box.

1. Dave (aka Harold) Adducci on a small draped box.

2. Rob Chapman kneeling on a draped box.

3. Adrien Deriaz standing with one foot propped up on a small draped box. Looking at the uncovered side it looks like it could also be a stack of something to function as a box for the pose.

Small boxes create subtle changes in level. A foot rests on the edge. A knee bends. A model perches rather than simply stands. Those small adjustments open up countless new possibilities for the photographer and give the body a more sculptural rhythm.

4. Wes Hall oiled up and seated on a box draped with what appears to be artificial grass and wearing a cock ring.

5. John Winship seated on a small draped box.

6. John Tristram in a dynamic side lunge pose on a small box draped with a leopard skin fabric.

These simple cubes also remind me of an artist's studio. Painters, sculptors, and photographers have all relied on them for generations. They feel less like furniture than tools for studying the human figure.

7. Gene Licka (quite the last name) seated on a small draped box.

8. Tom Talbot in a standing flexed pose on a straw mat next to a small draped box.

Of course, physique photography often stretched that tradition. A direct gaze into the camera, an unusually revealing pose, or an emphasis on sensuality quietly transformed the academic figure study into something far more personal.

9. Gene Mayer in a standing side bend pose with one foot up on a small box.

10. Bob Cutlass seated on a small draped box.

Please leave any thoughts, questions or corrections in the comments. Thank you. bns