WEST PHILLIPS

A true adventurous world traveller with a diverse portfolio – “One of the most important traits to have when coming to a shoot with me is to be open-minded and adventurous – certainly if there’s nudity or eroticism involved.” – interview with American photographer, West Phillips.

Could we start with some background information about you? Who are you, where you grew up, where you’re based, how did you get interested in the arts?
I was born and raised in the United States and moved all over the country with my parents while growing up, due to my father’s career. I spend a lot of time abroad, but at the moment I’m back in the US. Because I’m on the move quite a bit with slow travel and living here and there, I don’t have a long term home base at the moment. Eventually I see myself ‘settling down’ in Eastern Europe more so than the US – whenever that happens.
I’ve always been drawn to the arts – growing up I took the usual art classes and loved drawing and even tried my hand at sculpture. Photography was always interesting to me, but not as much as other things. I would sometimes play around with old film cameras my parents had, but nothing ever clicked or struck me until much later in life.

How do you remember your first experience with photography?
It was 2009 and I was living in New York City and found myself inspired by nearly everything around me – the city, the people on the street and most notably, the men. I had recently bought a little Leica point-and-shoot camera and took it everywhere with me – from walking around the city to going out with friends and everything else – I was ready if the inspiration struck. I had just come out of a serious and pretty rough relationship and was desperate to break free and really put myself out there and what better place to do it than NYC? I had a definite ‘type’ of guy I was dating at the time and I have to give credit and thanks to them, as they awakened this newfound passion I never knew was there. I found myself wanting to take photos of these guys – both on the street and at home in private.

With each series of photos, I would try to improve and learn what worked and what didn’t and it turns out I was equally as interested in the editing and retouching aspect as well. I was hooked.

There is always time and learning for someone to find their own style. Was there ever a set point when you decided you were going to go the way you were going?
Because I never took any sort of class or training in photography, everything I did was self-taught through trial and error. My world at the time was artistically very small and I couldn’t even name a photographer if you asked me to, much less be inspired by any. And while I’d casually seen books by the likes of Bruce Weber and Herb Ritts, at the time I was probably more interested in the subject matter than the actual artistry of the images – in fact, I think I was equally drawn to XY Magazine in those days, if that rings a bell. When I started doing my own photography, I wasn’t influenced by a particular photographer or style. Subconsciously, I guess I was pushing back on the lack of diversity I’d seen in the media and such. I was just naturally more drawn to photographing Asian guys at the time and that was something that really stood out, because I unintentionally carved out a real niche for myself. Location selections were nearly as important to me as the model and I enjoyed scouting interesting spots to use and still do. I love combining a model with a unique backdrop or setting that really captures the attention and imagination of the viewer. Of course, sometimes I have no choice and I need to make do with an interior or somewhere less interesting, at which point the entire focus is on the model, but I still try to make it my own style. Over the years I’ve picked up inspiration or ideas here and there, whether I’m aware of it or not and tried to realize them in my own way.

You photograph a lot of beautiful boys, but I’m sure you’ve had a beautiful boy in front of your camera and the good pictures you imagined didn’t come true at all. What makes a good model?
Sometimes the images just don’t turn out as you hoped or the beauty or appeal of the guy doesn’t convey through the lens. Maybe the model is having an off day and not delivering what you want or maybe it’s me as the photographer who is missing something or not doing my part – it could be a variety of factors, but luckily this doesn’t happen to me often. In general, I don’t feel my standards of ‘what makes a good model’ are that high, actually, partly because most of my guys I shoot these days aren’t professional models. I’ve always been drawn more to ‘normal’, fit guys who I find a beauty or sex appeal in. Sure, some of the guys I collaborate with are professional, agency represented models, but it’s becoming less and less for me.

One of the most important traits to have when coming to a shoot with me is to be open-minded and adventurous – certainly if there’s nudity or eroticism involved.

Also, every now and then you get someone in front of your camera who already has a set idea of what THEY think looks good and it may not be in line with what you as the photographer think looks good. More than once I’ve had to ask a guy to be less pouty or to stop pursing their lips and just be natural. I’ve had more than one gorgeous, sexy model I’ve worked with who ruined plenty of the shots because of their ‘duck face’ expression they think works for them.

You have previously published a book documenting your photoshoots with more than 100 models. Are you currently working on something that will be published in print?
My first book was released in 2018 and consisted of shoots from 10 countries with over 100 different models. It was a huge project for me and a personal and professional achievement I needed to reach. For me, there’s something special about having a hard copy of a photo book in your hands to look through and appreciate the images of course, but also the effort that went into it.

I’ve been working on my next book for quite some time, though the shooting has all been done, there’s some final edits and layouts to complete. I’m aiming for it to be released by year end, but that will all depend on the financial hurdle of it, as it will be self published and the printing costs aren’t cheap.

You also have Onlyfans and Patreon pages where people can express their support for your work. How do you feel/what is your experience and how well do these platforms work for photographers such as yourself?
I’ve been active on Patreon longer than OnlyFans because it seemed to be geared more towards artists. I’ve enjoyed sharing full series of photos as well as writing about the shoot, the model and anything people might find interesting and more personable. Patreon allows nude images, but not erotic or sexual in any way, so while I’ve still been able to share plenty there, I couldn’t share the more risqué or hardcore content I wanted. With OnlyFans, the unfortunate stigma associated with the site held me back for quite a while because I was too concerned about how it might affect my reputation or image as a photographer.

A couple years ago I came to the realization that no one’s judgment mattered and to just embrace this as a new opportunity and platform to showcase this other side of my work. For years people have been asking me where they can see the nudes and erotic, which I’ve just been sitting on and waiting to use. I now have plenty of archived photos and videos to share, as well as my recent work. A lot of it goes to OF, but some I will hold off on and wait to use towards a proper exhibit as well as future printed books.

What is your ultimate goal in photography?
I used to think of myself as a photographer first and foremost and I had lofty dreams of getting into commercial photography, landing big gigs, and making enough money to jet around the world. Starting out, following stints in NYC and San Francisco, I laid some serious ground work for my photography in Miami, where I worked for various modeling agencies and did a bit of commercial work for different brands. Following this, I went to Asia where I took on other clients, both for model and brand shoots as well as travel and tourism gigs. Over the past few years I’ve come to a place where I consider myself as much a traveler, as a photographer and visual artist – not one without the other. While all of these past professional experiences were great and instrumental in bringing me to where I am today, it’s not a direction I wanted to continue. It started to feel like too much of a rat race and competition, as well as a restrictive path. I love having the freedom and flexibility to go when and where I choose and more often than not, I find clients where I land, or they find me. A few years ago I was in Taiwan when a new client in China contacted me about a VIP tourism job in Sri Lanka. A week later I was flying to Colombo for a 2 week trip going all over the island photographing boutique hotels and such. Being flexible and open allows these types of opportunities to present themselves. At the end of the day, I didn’t get into photography for the money, but for the passion, artistry and adventure. Granted, I still need to make a living and survive, but if I can continue to publish books and explore the world while capturing beautiful subjects along the way, I’d say my goal has been met.

Nowadays, it seems a photographer needs to be good at doing everything on social media – Instagram ‘reels’, Tik-Tok, Twitter, Facebook, a website, OnlyFans and Patreon… A big part of your job is managing all of this – how happy are you with this role?
With each new platform the amount of work increases and then of course the time and effort to learn and understand it – it’s exhausting! I’ve only recently decided to give TikTok a try and I honestly dread it. All of it is a lot to keep up with and is time consuming no doubt, but for what I do, it’s necessary to stay relevant and visible. Also, let’s not forget about YouTube – because of all my travels AND photoshoots, I’ve gotten into videography and have shared the results on my channel. I tried to share travel videos as well, without the models, but no one was watching (not surprising, right?), so now I mostly do behind-the-scenes videos from model shoots around the world.

You seem to travel a lot, so what is your next destination and if someone lives there, how can they contact you for a photo shoot?
I do travel a lot – I used to think it was just a phase of my life and something I needed to ‘get out of my system’, but now I embrace it wholeheartedly. Maybe one of these days it will fade or I’ll decide I’m done, but until then there’s so much to see and do out there and so many new people, new experiences and new adventures to discover. This past summer I was in Mexico City and Cuba, both repeat destinations and I’ve been back in the states since then. I’ll make another quick trip down to Mexico City next month and then in the summer I’m planning to head back to Europe and eventually make my way to Asia. Of course, I’m always on the look out for new models to collaborate with and my DMs are open on all platforms!

A lot of your photoshoots seem to be in locations off the beaten path and a bit risky. Have you had any precarious situations doing photoshoots before and why are you drawn to this with your photography?
I’m definitely a risk taker in my travel and exploring habits, and though the majority of my shoots are perfectly safe and tame, there are times when a specific location requires a bit more scheming and courage. Since the start of my career I’ve sought out interesting locations and in some cases that may require an amount of trespassing and sneaking around. Doing these sorts of shoots in foreign countries is even more exciting for me and such an adrenaline rush. Things happen though and sometimes it doesn’t go as smoothly as I’d hope. I’ve been detained in Egypt and Mexico and chased by security in Australia, China and here in the US.

Before getting into any of these potential situations with my models, I always let them know the risks up front, if there are any and I make sure they’re aware. I think every time the model has eagerly agreed and been down for the adventure – as long as the photos are worth it!

What are the characteristics of your ideal model?
I think the ideal model will have an openness and willingness to always learn, listen and try to understand the vision or concept of the photographer. There’s no place for ego at a photoshoot and that of course is true for the photographer as well. From my experience, the best models and photoshoots are when the model and I have a connection or a mutual respect for one another and just have fun creating the images and making art.

What makes you happy?
Airports, passports, Adobe, red wine and whiskey – in no particular order.

Please finish the sentences:
Currently obsessed for… Vintage vibes and old, abandoned buildings
My type of underwear is… name brand and on sale!
My motto to live by… no regrets