ArtCrush: Alex Sanchez
Turning the camera onto the men of the world.
Alex Sánchez is a photographer whose lens is always focused on the beauty of the naked male.
The results are stunning images of stunning men.
We caught up with Alex for a behind-the-scenes look at his work.
When did you discover and start to explore your passion for photography?
It was in college when I was first exposed to photography and I was instantly hooked, but my professional career took me into the graphic design field.
Years later, I had a creative block and couldn’t sketch anything. I was feeling frustrated and I resorted to photography to help me, – I’ve been doing photography since then.
What led you to focus your photography on the male body?
I think I decided to focus on the male body in response to my struggle between religion and homosexuality.
Growing up in a very religious family led me to suppress a lot of feelings that later needed to be expressed somehow.
When I was living in New York City, my then-boyfriend, now husband, encouraged me to go to a gay drawing workshop. It was a very liberating experience and it helped me to express my erotic persona without any guilt. My drawing and photography has been focused on male erotica for several years now.
How do you find the men that you photograph?
I mostly find them online – 90% of the time on Instagram.
In Mexico City, there are lots of guys that will gladly remove their clothes. There’s over 20 million people in the greater metropolitan area so I guess there are also more people around.
Now, I’m living in Toronto and here it is a little more difficult to find people – I’m assuming that’s because the population is not as big.
What are some of the challenges in photographing naked guys?
Finding the right people is a challenge. Maybe a lot of people want to be photographed but many of them wouldn’t make a good model – they are not here for the right reason.
Another challenge is agreeing on what photographs are ‘okay’ to post. As a photographer, I select the photos as a part of a series, also considering the quality as a photograph. Lots of people just want to pick the photos based on how they look in it – that’s valid but it’s not the point of my photos.
I like to be straightforward about what the goals are for the photoshoot. Usually, I tell the model what ideas I have for the shoot, and I try to involve them in the creative process. Sometimes, they come up with some wild ideas – that’s great, working as team is what makes things easy and makes them relaxed and confident in the results of the photos.
Most of the time, I have a very general vision of what the photos are going to look like – sometimes I sketch or write down the idea.
There are many factors that shape the photoshoot – the setting, location, and light. Light is crucial for me because I only use natural light. Light, like many things in life things, can be unpredictable – the weather can change very quickly. I just work with what I have at that moment and the idea might change in the moment during the photoshoot.
I think that works for me because I’ve learned to improvise – the results can be surprising.
You distribute your work through OnlyFans -is that form of subscription platform an effective way to connect with your audience?
I opened an account in 2020 – like a lot of people during the pandemic – but, to begin with, I didn’t post any content. At the end of last year, I started posting regularly.
What made me start doing it was the constant censorship on Instagram – even though I make sure that I comply with the community rules, somehow some photos keep getting deleted.
I think that there’s an audience that follows me on other platforms that like my work and want to see an uncensored version of my work – and they don’t mind paying extra to have access to that content.
What do you hope that people feel when they look at the photos you’ve taken?
Most of my inspiration for the photos are my own fantasies. I start to imagine a situation where the model would be part of my fantasy and how I would love to interpret it in an image. So, I guess what I would love to think is that people start imagining that storyline in their heads, and that they feel it.
The After Dark edition
If you want to see the full-frontal work of these models, as captured by Alex Sanchez, check out the After Dark edition.
