Cooper&Alex(1)-829-bloghead Cooper, the studio's newest model, entered the studio through a side door.  He's new to modeling. All of this is new for him. The lights, the cameras, the attention, the intense focus on his body.

We met Cooper through his long-time partner, Strauss, a model the studio has worked with for years.  Earlier this year the Virginia couple made a trip to New York to schedule a formal studio photo session for photos they could use in their engagement announcement.  

After the required shots in suits and vests, the models cracked open a trunk of cosplay costumes. . . gladiators' belts, light sabres, bikini briefs.  We romped through six hours in the studio over the course of a Saturday afternoon.  

Cooper watched quietly, attentively, sitting in the shadows of the studio as his partner, an experienced model, went through the paces in front of the cameras in a variety of outfits.  When it was his turn, he cautiously eased his way onto the paper for his spin under the lights.  The man, a successful attorney who had never seen himself as a model, started discovering the joys of modeling as he slowly started dropping some inhibitions (and loincloths). 

Cooper&Alex(1)-532 Days later, it took a lot of encouragement to get Cooper to view the finished results of the session.  Some models are eager to see their photos.  Some have little or no interest in seeing the final product. Cooper Actively resisted looking at them.  Initially.

With justified pressure coming from his partner, Cooper eventually relented and started looking at the photos from the shoot.  The man who had never imagined himself as a physique model apparently liked what he saw.  With validation coming from Strauss and his photographers, he agreed to a second session, one focused exclusively on him as a fitness model. 

Cooper, with new seriousness of purpose, doubled down at the gym to perfect a well-honed torso. Months later, in early summer, the models returned to New York for a session in one of our favorite haunts, a loft on Madison Avenue.  Each model was shot individually.  Cooper had his first go at a session that featured just him.  The studio's 2 lead photographers, Wes Triplett and Alex Bustamante, took alternating turns working with each model.

Cooper&Alex(2)-73 And the results are in for all to see.

We've opened 2 initial galleries to hold our work with Cooper.  The first gallery features solo studio shots of Cooper taken at the "engagement announcement" session [blue jackets].  The second gallery [last photo] features work from his first solo session in the loft.  

We expect to see more of Cooper in the coming months. Next month will bring the corresponding work with his partner (and soon to be husband), Strauss.  

In the meantime, you can use the link below to check out our previous work with Strauss, one of the studio's favorite models since. . .   oh, let's not go there.  

COOPER'S GALLERIES

STRAUSS' GALLERIES