Casting for ‘people’ with tattoos

I’m starting to work on a new series of portraits for my personal portfolio that will be about tattoos.

Everyone can apply, young/old/skinny/fat/tall/short/cute/ugly … any ethnicity welcome. But you must have at least 75% of your chest and/or back with ink. (so a 2.10 meter giant with only a tiny  ladybug as tattoo should skip, a 75-year-old lady covered with lots of ink is welcome). I’ll make exception for people with only one tattoo on the chest/back if it’s a one of a kind. (e.g. a model with only one tattoo of a 50cm cockroach will raise my interest)

Male or female, you should be comfortable to shoot from the waist up without cloth. This is about skin after all. But ladies can cover their breasts with their arm… not a problem.

The portraits will be in a very-very strong style, with a huge amount of contrast and where every single detail of the skin will be visible.

This will be hyper-realistic photography and I will work a lot on the colours and style with photoshop. But let’s be clear, I will not do any body manipulation in photoshop. This is not about fashion and fake looks … it’s the real deal … the real skin. I will leave wrinkles, big bellies, chest hair (hopefully only on men), and the rest intact. It maybe a bit confrontational to some of pro-models, so be ready to think ‘art’ instead of ‘fashion’.

I would like you to bring an object that is special to you. It does not matter what it is, but should be related to your tattoo or describe what inspired you to be inked. We will also write about you, your tattoos and what’s the story behind all this. It’s more about you, the ink, the object than just the picture. Consider this as an opportunity to scream out loud what you are all about.

I will spend a lot of time for each portrait to obtain that very special look, and will not be able to provide you with more than one picture (digital format, high-resolution ready for print). But each picture will be stunning and will be worth your time !

I may consider proposing some of those pictures to some art galleries if there is any interest, and hopefully be able to share some money with you then. But as I have no idea (yet) on the outcome of this project, this should not be your main motivation. Therefore there will not be any financial compensation for the shoot itself. (but you get a shoot worth the price of a nice 3D flat screen TV for free !)

The shoots will be in my studio in Amsterdam, and I’d like to be finished with this project at the end of March.

Please share this on your social networks (facebook/twitter etc..) using the ‘share’ button below, and contact me using this LINK if you want to participate, or know someone who would fit. I’ll ask you to send me a *recent* picture of you where your tattoos are clearly visible.