![]() Or take the Sephora at Jersey City’s Newport mall, home to legacy brands such as Dior and Charlotte Tilbury. Harper’s Bazaar featured one male expert in its beauty section - in a small sidebar on hair care. Of the combined 19 beauty editorials and advertisements in the summer 2020 issues of Cosmopolitan and Harper’s Bazaar, for instance, not a single one features a male or (out) non-binary model. There’s little evidence that the mainstream beauty community will be supportive, either. Like Ceretti, they cannot be sure their families will be supportive. “We all support each other and lift each other up because it’s rare to get such a response from anyone outside of our community, so we have to take on that role and celebrate what we do for ourselves.”Įven in an era of increasingly progressive views of gender and sexuality, boys who wear makeup fear public ridicule and rejection. “Instagram was and still is the only way for me to talk and share this with others like me,” Ceretti tells me. She was surprised, but supportive, and in June Ceretti started a public Instagram account to showcase his looks. He went on like this for four months, sneaking into the bathroom after lights out to become Ella Souflee, until one day his mother walked into his room while he was in drag. But it doesn't appeal to me, and I know I am not the only one who feels this way.View image in fullscreen Ella Souflee. The internet is leaning towards a commercial formula that is very successful in pushing trends and appealing to the majority. As the years go by, I also find that the web, while growing in size, is becoming increasingly "sanitized," and the choice for the kinds of content I like is shrinking. But I usually found these kinds of pictures scattered in small batches in different places, and I often tried and failed to find larger and better-quality versions of the pictures. From time to time, I found sites that had real naked sportsmen, nudists or those truly spontaneous "magic moments" when the clothes came off. The pictures I was able to find looked staged, formulaic and inauthentic, or they were lacking in size and quality. I held on to my realization that I was rarely able to find the kind of pictures I really liked after years of scouring the web. Not without fear and doubt of my own, I decided to just go with my gut. And for free." Back then I found it difficult to quickly explain and justify why my photographs would be unique and special. "Pictures of naked guys? I can easily find that anywhere. My photography actually started off as (and continues to be) a response to a deep feeling that "something is missing." In late 2018, when I first showed a prototype of my website to some of my friends and former colleagues, I faced a lot of doubt and skepticism. Believe it or not, there is a gap in the market."īut there is more to it than just spotting a gap in the market. "And are you really able to make a living from photographing male nudes?" "Well yes. I am trying to level the playing field." There is a pause, a nod, a momentary sign showing agreement, which quickly turns into a slightly skeptical expression. So, I specialize in male nudes." As we pass a bikini ad on a billboard, I continue to say "The world does not need any more convincing that women are beautiful. It would be really hard to stand out and to make a living that way. There are already so many guys who photograph female nudes. After all, I live in somewhat traditional Slovakia, and not in liberal "anything goes, be who you want to be" New York. Reading between the lines, there appears to be an assumption that as a man I should partake in photographing female nudes. "Do you also photograph female nudes?" is a common follow-up question. I feel "in my skin," liberated, as though I finally have the upper hand over the proverbial cookie cutter. I also don't mingle with other photographers or live in the "Male Nude Photographer Village." But now, more than ever, I feel content with my place in the world. After all, up until recently, I was known as a "consultant" or a "project manager." These are more common and socially accepted identities or titles. To this answer I usually get - at least for an instant - a surprised look, followed by "So, you're a photographer?" "Well, yes, among other things." It took me a long time to embrace my "male nude photographer" identity. And I can now answer without hesitation, with a proud and sincere face, that I photograph male nudes. Nothing to Hide by Phil Dlab has been released and is available now.Įvery now and then, I am asked what I do for a living.
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