Unlike many photographers, Phil doesn't like to use social media to find men to shoot. Although he does from time to time, Phil prefers meeting models the old fashion way. I love hearing how Phil approaches guys on the street, at a festival, or at the gym about a possible shoot. Phil also meets many of his models through friends, which has been a bonus given the pandemic closed so many of the places Phil usually connected with new models. It was through one of those friends that Phil was introduced to 19 year old Adam. Normally, Phil sends me bullet points and I weave his comments into a post. With Adam, Phil shared shared the full story, from how they first connected, through that moment just before the underwear came off.
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'Occasionally my friends and former models send me shots of guys they think I might like to photograph, and while I am grateful, we don't always share the same taste. From as far back as I can remember, I've noticed that my 'casting instinct' is a bit different and unconventional. I've never understood the mainstream 'male model look' and the mystical formula modeling agencies use to pick models.'
From my experience, I've spotted much more attractive men on the bus on my way to work. I see many more attractive guys on the streets or 'boys next door' than I see on billboards or elsewhere in the media. Of course, from time to time, the media gets it right, but not as often as the open streets do. Why did People's magazine pick Mel Gibson as the 'sexiest man alive' in 1985? I really have no idea.'
'One evening, my earlier model, Damian, sent me shots of 5 different guys: most of them the beefcake, the bodybuilder, and the stripper dressed up as a policeman type that I am not interested in. But there was one 'unusual suspect' who immediately caught my attention, and that was Adam. I instantly thought "he'll be perfect!" He was the 'boy next door' I'd definitely have a crush on, and I wasted no time to call him and to meet with him.'
'We got together on the same evening and circled around a park together several times (as there was really nothing else we could do during the pandemic lockdown.) Adam was very charming, adorabke, down-to-earth and friendly. I met up with him a couple of days later in his part of town where he showed me a few spots where he usually hangs out with his buddies. It was a bit chilly out and I suggested that it would probably be more comfortable to just do the photoshoot at my place. Adam said "sure, let's go." Surprised, I replied "You mean today? Sure!"
'My favorite picture of Adam is the one where he's holding the game controller and his phone at the same time. He's a true multitasking Zoomer.'
'It usually takes me at least a week or two to get from the initial contact with a model to actually doing a photoshoot, but with Adam things moved quickly and spontaneously. We got in my car, drove to Adam's place for him to pick up some clothes to change into and then we headed over to my place.'
'While I rearranged my furniture and set up camera and lighting gear for the photoshoot, I felt a bit scattered and disorganized, but excited at the same time. And then, a little while later came the magic moment, when he was standing and taking his underwear off in front of me for the first time. I don't usually 'inspect' my models' private parts or get to see them fully naked before I photograph them, so I often feel a tense moment before the underwear come off, just before the 'surprise', when I am thinking "is this really going to happen? What will it be like?"
'The rest of the photoshoot went very comfortably and effortlessly, and Adam returned for several additional photo shoots. He also introduced me to his friends, Michal and Yuri who I also photographed for Bodytorium. Adam said "you'll like them. They're happy-go-lucky, like me."
Check out much more of Adam in (but mostly out of) his underwear on
Bodytorium HERE:
