YOUNG FRENCHMEN, SENSUOUS FACES, MUSCULAR BODIES. SOMETIMES CAPTURED IN SNAPS, OTHERS IN SEXY POSES. MARC BESSANGE, PHOTOGRAPHIC TALENT FROM PARIS, ASTOUNDS US WITH HIS UNPRETENTIOUS, BUT SUPER-SEXY STYLE.
Marc, we know you are not only active in photography… Do you cast your film models in the same way as your photography models?
Marc: Yes and no. The criteria are the same: physical (is he hot?) and moral (is he a good guy?) Do I appreciate him?. But the way I find an actor is quite different. I never initiate the meeting. I wait that candidates come to me. I don’t want to convince them with money. I want that guys who want to make porn make their decision by themselves, think about it for a long time, and do it for good reasons, which are fun, experience and of course sex…
Doing porn movies it should be easy to use film models and scene themes for your photography as well. Yet there is a clear difference between the two. Can you explain your motivation in this?
Marc: When I was just a photographer, I needed to accept “photo jobs” because male nude photography wasn’t enough. I used to make photo reports for magazines, a lot of uninteresting things that turned photography into a very boring thing. I’m very bad at making a photo when I’m ordered to. I don’t like to have subjects or models chosen for me. Making photos and especially portraits is too personal to let someone else decide for you. As I’m into portraying, I couldn’t expect to make money with that kind of photography. So I kept portraits but added porn. Porn brings money, and with porn I can continue my photography freely. I always felt uncomfortable with associating money and photography. So with porn, I found a good compromise. However, the rules and the ethics are the same. I respect people and personalities, I choose my actors very carefully. I still feel uncomfortable with what’s fake, so I still try to make portraits, or real-video, rather than making them play a role.
What is your biggest fantasy in shooting a film?
Marc: I’m sure some of you will be disappointed. I think there nothing less exciting than making a porn movie and nobody should see that. When I shoot a porn movie, I’m too focused on directing, arrange little problems, make actors feel comfortable and prepare the set, to be turned on by what’s happening in front of me. However, sometimes it can be really exciting. I recently shot a threesome that will be in our next movie. I never saw such a huge intensity on a set. The 3 actors were really excited and they even didn’t listen to me anymore. They just forgot they were making a porn movie. It lasted 4 hours and nothing seemed to disturb them. We were finally short of condoms and I had to go to the nearest sex-shop to refuel. When I came back they were still fucking.
And in doing a photo shoot?
Marc: When I do soft photos everything is more subtle. Guys I shoot are beginners, straight and therefore quite shy. We have probably all experienced being hypnotized by a gorgeous/sexy guy in the street, knowing that nothing could ever happen, because the guy is straight and completely out of our reach. No connection is possible, and you can only afford looking at them. We would give a lot to place a cam in their homes and spy on him. I do have the opportunity to continue the experience, meet them, see them nude, knowing more of them. That is my fantasy. The photos I make with my models are only a few milliseconds of the time I share with them. What is not shot belongs only to the both of us. I like to share a cigarette break with a worker I met on a construction site, before he takes the time to get dressed. Or watching a model after his shower, wearing nothing but a towel. Having a straight guy feeling embarrassed when he gets undressed in front of another guy is quite exciting too. I remember a model from Algeria telling me that his girlfriend never saw him naked, whereas I had this chance.
Same thing, I had an Arab model that came to a session with his girlfriend. When we arrived at the nude part, he asked her to face the wall and to not turn back. She stayed one hour playing a game on a cell phone and we only saw her back. She wasn’t allowed to see him nude, while I was. This was pure masochism of course, but quite exciting. After all, she had the option to go outside and have a walk, but agreed to stay and do as she was asked to. I also like when a model speaks to his girlfriend on the phone while he’s completely nude. So as you can see I’m really sensitive to all these little details, all these little sexy things, all these moments when the guy is not embarrassed by me anymore and comes his natural sex comes back again. Meeting a straight guy on the street, and convince him to get undressed for photos is quite a challenge, especially when he’s a worker, a fireman or a cop…
What is next for Marc Bessange?
Marc: I don’t have any immediate projects. I never have. I never started photography to get published, to get famous and rich. The only thing I’m interested in, is to keep on meeting interesting and various guys, and have them model. It’s kinda selfish. The photo is a an excuse. Photography is one of the only things that allows you to get so close to strangers so quickly, without any consequences. With photography, I can get very intimate with the models. They talk about themselves, tell very personal things. Of course it lasts only the time of the session, but that’s better than nothing. I think that is the part of my job I prefer, above the result of the session. Actually, the picture itself is less important than the time spent with the model to create it. Regarding my projects, I’d like to make books again. Books are very important for both the photographer and the models, because it helps keeping a proof/trace of the work done together. It’s important for models to see their works published, because it makes them feels more self-confident.
Any advice for our readers who would like to model, either photography or film?
Marc: My advice for models: be yourself, don’t be just a good face. A good face is nice but it’s only decorative. Always ask to see the work of the photographer before accepting. Don’t sign a paper without reading it carefully. No particular advice for people who would like to photography or film, because if you are really into it, you’ll know what to do. -B-
Marc Bessange published two photo books, still available at Amazine.com.: Editions Euros 12 (1998) and French Affair (2002).
MARC BESSANGE | BEAUTIFUL
wow he really is beautiful. I do not use that word very often but he is.
Posted by: Eric | December 18, 2006 at 01:44 AM
True that "beauty is in the eye of the beholder," but no one can say these photos are not beautiful. The men look so natural and the photography so pure. Nothing artificial here. Bravo. Great job.
Posted by: Davy | December 18, 2006 at 06:01 AM
Bunch of cute guys. Lots to fantasize about. Great story too.
Posted by: nudegayguy | December 19, 2006 at 03:53 AM
So, where can i find this porn movie, made by this very talented photographer?
Posted by: Arthur | December 17, 2009 at 12:15 PM