markvelasquez

Alina (OhThumbelina) in Griffith Park, Pt. 3

This might be my favorite image from that whole day. It's so simple and elegant, it's easy to fall in love with her image. Alina told me her real passion was acting, and modeling had fallen into her lap as a by-product. When I asked her what would be a role she would love to try, she surprised me by saying she would love to star in a horror movie, being required to scream and run and all those other fun, out-going cliches.

Her desire to act more made me later appreciate her images on a deeper level, and I saw from that point on the charac...

Alina (OhThumbelina) in Griffith Park, Pt. 2

Alina was very shy and her mannerisms were quite delicate, which I guess anyone could assume by looking at her images. However, she also was a smart-ass when she finally warmed up to me, and soon she was telling me stories about her life with ease.

When I had arranged to meet her, I didn't know that she had recently darkened her hair from the blonde with which I had seen all of her previous images. I immediately liked the dark tones even more. In person she looked like a lovelier version of a young Jodie Foster, and when mentioning it she...

Alina (OhThumbelina) in Griffith Park

On her visit down to Los Angeles in 2014 I arranged to work with Alina, who is one of the most beautiful freelance models working today. A lot of women I work with are natural beauties, but can dress down and look fairly incognito when they try. Alina, however, was as radiant in person sipping on a cup of coffee as she appears in these photos. It was almost hard to believe.

More comments and photos at the $5 level...

Hattie Watson in LA, 2013

Once again, my talented friend Ian Flanigan shot behind the scenes footage of me working, this time with the beautiful Hattie Watson.

Though Hattie is known for her red hair, tattoos, and natural beauty, she is so much more than that. Creative, thoughtful, very smart and interminably shy, I considered it a true measure of success being able to make her audibly laugh and crack-up during our time together. 

It was a treat to work with a model that has as much experience as Hattie. She's "been there/done that," so even th...

NUDE PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP: Brooke Eva, Pt. 2

The workshop will allow every photographer three different backgrounds in which to work with Brooke, including a lovely outdoor pool and jacuzzi. Brooke is one of the best freelance models working today. The way she moves, relates to the camera, and her overall enthusiasm makes working with her a breeze.

This was taken after a very cold morning shooting out in the rain with her (those photos are coming soon as well). She never complained and is always open to trying new things.

NUDE PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP: Brooke Eva

Here are the uncensored, uncropped images Brooke and I took in my living room to advertise our new workshop.

Here's the info:

I'm proud to finally announce a project Brooke Eva and I have been planning for several months: Please join us for our first Nude Photography Workshop on Saturday, Feb. 6th! Located in a beautiful home in Santa Clarita, the shoot will include several unique set-ups including a private pool.

Over the three hours, I'll offer the tips and advice I've developed over a decade of working with mode...

Cherish in Bed, Pt. 3

As both an actress and a dancer, Cherish is great at emitting natural emotion. from the moment we met, I knew she would be a great model.

It was a sunny afternoon and I was rushing into the bank for something when I saw this blonde goddess in a tight, sweater dress crossing the parking lot. Having approached prospective models like this for a while, I knew what to do, quickly handing her my card, asking her if she were interested, not belaboring the point or making a lot of assumptions or qualifiers. She thanked me politely and I continue...

Cherish in Bed, Pt. 2

Cherish is a lifelong dancer and actress who makes her living teaching ballroom dancing to this day. Yes, that is her natural shape, no augmentations of enhancements. She's complicated and beautiful and speaks with a Barbie doll-pitched voice that is endearing and not annoying. I've known a lot of women who didn't like her, but none of them had ever spoken to her, only judging her on her looks.

She is goodhearted, sweet-natured, and wants the best for everyone, never wanting to say a bad word about anyone, especially those that are mean t...

Cherish in Bed

The summer after Cherish and I shot the "Gun Boobs" video (have you seen it yet? Scroll down through the archive, it's worth it) she returned home for another visit. After we spent our usual hour or so catching up, we decided to shoot more photos, which is often implied as a given, though neither one of us feels that our friendship hinges upon the model/photographer relationship. Actually, the last two years we haven't shot any images at all, just hung out and played board games.

Since I was in a bit of a somber, more serious mood at that...

Kalani in the Pool, Pt. 10

Lastly, here is a cold and mildly intoxicated Kalani looking far more serious than she was in-between shots. I'm always impressed by how flawless her skin is, even without make-up. Being a blend of Filipino and Hawaiian DNA doesn't hurt at all, I suppose. I forget what we were drinking that afternoon, but I know she had far more of it than I did. Don't drink and swim, kids!

Kalani in the Pool, Pt. 9

Another soft, underwater shot. I think at this exact moment we were just chatting above the water and I was trying to see if I could get all of her in the vertical frame without looking. Apparently I could.

Kalani in the Pool, Pt. 8

This is the opposite of the ripple effect, just a close up from under the water. Since my approach requires that I have my head above the water for underwater shoots, I'm often shooting blind, looking at my camera and the model and aiming to where I think something good might happen. This particular shot is a perfect example of the photographer's "happy accident." I love the softness to this image.

This is also an example of my firm approach to nude photography: show as much as you can without showing anything at all. Sometimes it wor...

Kalani in the Pool, Pt. 7

Apart from the ripples, the complimentary colors of the warm skin and blue water really makes this "pop" for me. Maybe I'm just a sucker for color.

Kalani in the Pool, Pt. 6

Even just a shot of Kalani treading water looked interesting with this approach, at least in my estimation. What do you think? Is this technique successful?

Kalani in the Pool, Pt. 5

I usually try to avoid air bubbles in my underwater images, thinking that too many makes the image less surreal, but the way the light shined and glistened off of them here allowed me permission to keep them. Besides that, I love this image for how angelic her face and pose is. Kalani is a natural.

Kalani in the Pool, Pt. 4

This might be my favorite of the day, as subtle as it is. She just quickly forced her hand down into the water, creating a quick slurping sound and generating a slight disturbance in the water, which completely amputated her arm from her shoulder, visually. I really like this image, and though I refuse to ever hang any of my own work in my house for fear of being accused of vanity, I have thought of breaking my rule for this image because I enjoy looking at it so much.

Kalani in the Pool, Pt. 3

Even though the use of a white sheet is pretty cliche, I thought I'd try it out this day. I was pleased with the result overall.

Kalani in the Pool, Pt. 2

This image was shot from under the water, using the reflection on the underside of the surface of the water as the main subject. I was really starting to enjoy the first results here.

Kalani in the Pool

A friend had just moved into a house with a pool and said if I ever wanted to use it for a shoot I was welcome. I decided to take her up on the offer, and called in my buddy Kalani, who was always open to an opportunity to get naked in an environment where she could drink in the middle of the day.

Thus began our afternoon in Orcutt, Ca. Aside from wanting some straight-forward underwater images, I decided to experiment this day with shooting from above the water, something I had never really tried. What emerged were many abstract images t...

Gun Boobs

This is from an impromptu shoot with my long time collaborator Cherish, who was back in town after having moved away the year before. I was simply making camera adjustments and unintentionally ignoring her when she began doing this, apropos of nothing at all. I immediately switched to the video setting on my camera and the rest is candid history. 

My favorite aspect of this is that once she noticed I was recording she immediately became self-aware and instantly titled the experience. Being friends with this type of silly and cle...

Thank you.

Thank you to all the patrons I have made in my first three weeks here on Patreon. Your continued support means more to me than you could ever realize. I promise to continue to post only the best images I have here and relate all the real, unabridged stories of how and why they came into creation.

For example, here is Katie, one of the sweetest, most real models I ever had, starting back in 2008. She was always open, fun, and never had any agenda other than wanting to hang out and be silly. She never made any demands on me other than to "m...

December 2015 patron supported

Thank you so much for the support this month!

Forest Alexandra in Grey Pt. 7

I always jokingly called this image "The Baby Bird Shot" because her folded-back hands looked like small, unformed wings of a small bird. Am I the only one who sees it??

Forest Alexandra in Grey Pt. 6

Forest Alexandra in Grey Pt. 5

Another thing I love about Forest is her hair. It's never really attended to, usually let out of a ponytail or bun moments before we begin shooting. Yet it always has a loose, angelic wave and curl to it that looks right. I don't know how to describe or explain it fully, and of course neither does she.

Forest Alexandra in Grey Pt. 4

Forest Alexandra in Grey Pt. 3

Forest Alexandra in Grey Pt. 2

See more from this set and get more of the backstory at the $5 level...

Forest Alexandra in Grey

I was made aware of talented yoga aficionado Forest Alexandra through a mutual friend over a year ago, and after chatting with her through Instagram and by text message for a few months, we finally were able to meet up at her home in Moorpark, Ca. Within a few days of our lengthy conversations I knew we would become good friends, and within moments of working with her I knew we’d become great collaborators.

Forest is somewhat shy, humble, and unassuming; she’s also clutzy, funny, and stunningly beautiful. But above all, my ...

A visit from Jesslyn, Pt. 2