What does it mean to be a man in today’s world? Is it about that stiff upper lip, that grin and bear it or any of the other well-trodden ‘manly’ phrases? Or is there space for more sensitivity, empathy and understanding? As the atmosphere and culture around women has shifted over the last few years, so too have the traditional impressions of masculinity.

It is this side of man that the documentary photographer Rosie Matheson has set out to capture in her ongoing series Boys. What started out as a personal project in 2015 has now progressed and seen Matheson travel all over the world, photographing and speaking to hundreds of boys and young men to capture their masculine beauty.

There is a softness and a sensitivity to the portraits which renders the backdrop redundant. What you focus on instead are the expressions and striking beauty of these boys. No two are even remotely alike, an important feature for Matheson who travelled from Brighton to LA and Hawaii to photograph such a vivid cross section of masculinity.

In an interview with Creative Review, Rosie discussed what it’s like to photograph men through a female lens, and why in a way she found that easier than trying to capture women. “I felt this sort of pressure when photographing women to make them feel attractive. There’s an underlying sexualisation of the female body…Photographing boys was almost the opposite for me. It was about capturing a quiet moment and softer side to them.”

Matheson shoots on film, mainly Kodak Portra with a medium format camera. As she said in an interview with the Guardian, “With film, it’s just about what you see through your viewfinder, and your subject. No one else is involved.” This allows the viewer to feel the connection between photographer and subject. There’s only the two of them in that moment which adds to the degree of vulnerability that often shines through in Matheson’s images.

A portrait of Elliott Jay Brown (pictured) was selected for Portrait of Britain 2016 and sparked the realisation that Boys could become a global project. Matheson recently decided to add to the series by crowd funding a documentary film, shot on Super 8, in collaboration with the filmmaker Kaj Jefferies, through Kickstarter.

Boys will be exhibited on Friday 27th July at the Black and White Building, London along with an exclusive screening of the documentary.

Visit Rosie’s website to find out more.