VisualGPS Creative Trends Culture Depicting Masculinity

In my long tenure at Getty Images, I have devised many shoots focusing on women. Women laughing together, women sharing, women talking, smiling, crying, posing like fashion models and copious beauty concepts. But I have not shot any of these treatments with men. Men are not captured in front of the camera in the same way as women. Women are looked at for their beauty, but men are to be looked at for their purpose.

But in 2025, as masculinity continues to evolve beyond traditional stereotypes of strength and dominance, we need to continue to challenge visual bias. Showing different depictions of masculinity is crucial because narrow or stereotypical portrayals don’t reflect how men perceive themselves. It can harm individuals’ wellbeing, limit social progress and negatively impact public health. Diverse representations foster healthier identities, relationships and societies.

Indeed, Getty Images’ VisualGPS research shows that 79% of men globally believe that people should be free to express their gender through clothing, hairstyles and their mannerisms. 77% also believe that society should not try to enforce conformity to traditional gender roles.

As men are increasingly feeling able—and encouraged—to prioritise their mental health and wellbeing as well as embrace broader definitions of masculinity, we need to see this reflected in the images we see. We do well at showing these changes and nuances in lifestyle imagery, but it is important to see conceptual studio imagery that reflects men’s personality and beauty.

The premise of this shoot was to emulate previous shoots with women where we would never have considered using men; have the models shining in front of the camera, looking beautiful, feeling comfortable in their own skin and with each other.

Creator Klaus Vedfelt is an expert at lighting. I don’t think I have ever suggested a treatment he couldn’t do. For this shoot, he wanted to bring a little Annie Leibovitz energy to the aesthetic, and I think he has used it expertly. We sourced fabric backdrops to bring in warmth and texture and pushed the stylist to raid their own partner's wardrobe for natty, colourful pieces.

Alongside focusing on them being themselves, I wanted to make a point about the importance of male connection and friendship. We captured moments of calm and support with real beauty and tenderness. Later in the day we switched to a wide lens angle to see how that support could be represented in a more conceptual way—playing with perspective to create compositions that inspire ideas around connectivity, risk, trust and success.

By providing images that reflect the myriad of ways masculinity can be presented, we’re able to provide content that eschews stereotypes and promotes a broader, more nuanced depiction of men in 2025.