It is a bit of a minefield when you use Google Images for 'man poses'. Once filtered I had several poses ready for a shoot with Jack Stark. I recently shot for Jack for The Why Not Institute and he was returning the favour.

We arranged to meet at Cutty Sark station as I wanted to try a shot in the Woolwich Foot Tunnel, but as we approached I thought we would take a few shots near the waters edge first. Just a simple leaning against the railing shot. I then noticed the massive fairground attraction looming behind us. I asked Jack to stand in front of it and then I thought we could try a 'man pose'. A simple one foot behind the other and Jack improvised, as he called it, the 'I'm having a heart attack' stance of one arm gripping the elbow of the other.

I wanted a contrasting shot next so Jack donned a jacket and stood against the brick wall of the entrance to the foot tunnel. Another of the 'man poses' was utilised. This one is called 'Waiting for a bus'. Most up against a wall shots have the wall straight, however, I prefer the added curvature in this shot to add a break from the norm.

We walked around the Naval College wondering if it was ok for Jack to straddle a cannon on display. I thought better of it as I didn't think the Royal Navy would appreciate a British subject cavorting on a selection of heavy weaponry. We opted for something less deadly... a park bench and tried out another 'man pose'.

This was a simple portrait type shot. Nothing special, no fancy effects just practice taking a solid portrait. The park bench was less heroic-looking than a massive cannon but it served the purpose as a place for one to sit. This is where my camera had a problem with Jacks face. It just would not seem to focus properly. It did however like to focus without problem on the floor, so along with the portrait of Jack, I also present a portrait of a stone.

We moved through to Greenwich Park stopping and taking pictures where the surroundings looked good. I set up a panoramic shot with jack right in the middle which worked well.

Contemplating the use of the park bench.

With time running out we returned to the foot tunnel to find it occupied by what looked like several musicians. So we returned to the side of the Cutty Sark exhibition to try out a mirrored shot you see above. Trying to find a clean part of the glass without finger and nose prints took a little while. Here we see Jack performing the 'keys in the back pocket man pose'.

Our last 'man pose' made us look around for a set of stairs. Luckily there is one next to the Cutty Sark, which goes down to a car park. This was the last of our 'man poses' I'm not sure what this one was, either 'I'm running for that bus from earlier' or 'Help me I falling'.

We concluded the session with a dual 'man pose'... having a drink in the local pub for review of the pictures.

Cheers Jack!