If woofy and deliciously hairy guys are your thing then Trevor Ott is your man. The Los Angeles based photographer has built up a massive following on social media thanks to the variety of beautiful dudes he shoots that are the definition of what sexy really is.
A recurring theme of his photography are men looking absolutely stunning in leather. He gives a breathtaking take to all of those images we saw growing up from Tom of Finland and puts them into the world we are living in. Those photos are a phenomenal blend of erotic and fascinating to look at and this writer can’t seem to get enough of them.
It inspired me to contact Trevor for an exclusive in our continuing Instinct Photographer series on why he chose this as a profession. Turns out this was something that inspired him from a very young age that he’s now seeing the benefits from all this time later.
Check out our exclusive with him below.
How did you get involved in the art of photography?
From my teenage years through my young adult life I was always into art and music. I took art all four years of high school and continued to study it along with music in college.
I decided in college to try photography as my focus and shift music to more of a passion and a hobby. So I applied to UCLA art school and got in which was one of the proudest moments of my life. I studied under some pretty amazing artists like James Welling, Paul Sepuya and Barbara Kruger, but I specifically went to UCLA to study with Catherine Opie. If you’ve never seen her work please do, it has definitely influenced my fetish and queer portraits and photography.
After graduating in 2017 I made photography a full-time business by continuing to work in the industry and do assistant work for lots of talented artists.
Did you have any inspirations before getting into the industry?
I was always drawn to portraiture. When I first started taking photographs everyone seemed to be afraid off working with people. I was super determined to get better at my craft, and portrait photography seemed like the biggest hurtle. When first studying I was inspired by artist like Ervin Pen and Diane Arbus but as I learned and grew others like Gregory Crowdson, Philip Lorca Dicorsa, Andre Gregski, Jeff Wall and Larry Sultan really resonated with me.
How would you describe your specific style?
Oh gosh I’m so bad at describing my work but here goes. It really is about what kind of work inspires my images. I love the old-time large camera portraits where people had to sit really still so the cameras could get enough light to expose the image. This would usually require large wide-open apertures creating that soft blurry dreamy like edges and tact sharp focus around the subject. It’s a technique I explore in my work. It really helps direct the viewers eye to the subject or area of the image I want them to focus on. It kind of gives a sense of intimacy also.
Honestly, I’m a little embarrassed to say, but sometimes I take inspiration from really good wedding photographers. They have a way of working with light and creating special moments with their models that others don’t. Commercial artists and high fashion also really play influence in my work. Sometimes I see work in magazines and am like, instead of a skinny model what if this same photograph had a hot leather Daddy in it or a naked guy, and I try to recreate that.
You’ve shot some pretty yummy looking guys during your career. Do you usually search for them or do they come to you?
It’s a mixture of both, but most of the times my models are clients or we’re working on some type of campaign together. There are though some super yummy models out there that I really wanna work with and I will ask them. Like for instant when I worked with Jack Dixon. I asked him if I could photograph him and he said yes. I think he is so sexy and I couldnt pass up that opportunity. But most of my models are clients, I gotta pay the bills somehow.
What has been your favorite shoot to date and why?
I have so many! Especially anytime I get to photograph models at the Tom of Finland Foundation and house in Echo Park. The guys there are so amazing for letting me shoot anytime I’ve needed the space and so much history is in and around that house. The sexual energy there is exactly what some places now are missing, I’m just glad we still have spaces like this in our community.
Honestly there is so many favorite shoots for me. Anytime I get to go to fetish events and take portrait of people are my favorite. Examples include Folsom Street Fair, Dore Alley, IML, MAL and the various others around the US. I once photographed a professional porn that featured a 10-guy orgy so…
If there was one event that you could cover what would it be?
Two events I haven’t covered yet is Folsom Europe and Fetish Week in Berlin. I still haven’t been to Europe and really want to go there once the world opens up again.
Do you feel photographers are not as appreciated these days due to so much of the focus shifting to social media selfies and filters?
I think photographers are still super appreciated now more than ever. I love how more and more people are getting into photography which in turn gives me more people to be inspired by. I think my fellow photographers work stands out from the rest in a world where so many selfies are clearly filtered.
Also to everyone out there reading, good lighting is key to making your images pop. FaceTune won’t make them better, we all see you lol.
What does the future hold for you and what are you looking forward to the most in your career?
At the moment I feel I am at a stand still being in the middle of a pandemic. I’m just taking it day by day for now figuring out what the future holds. Hopefully I will continue to expand and grow my art and business as the world slowly opens up. I want to eventually break more into the commercial world with my art and business, I’ve worked on a ton of big productions but none that I was the lead of, so hopefully one day I can bring my kinky world into the mainstream.