2020 World Premiere Interview with Rick Day

You have made quite a name for yourself shooting the masculine form. What do you think it is about your photographs that people love, besides the obvious?

Rick Day: I think that people like what I shoot mainly for the subject matter… I live in N.Y.C and am very lucky to have the opportunity to work with these amazing guys..

How did you come to be a photographer?

Rick Day: I was at a bookstore and looked through a book by Bruce Weber, I had never heard of him before and was just awestruck at his images, I am still a huge fan of his. After seeing his book I bought a camera and started shooting anyone that would get in front of my camera.

 I have been told you are very good with your models, what do you think you do that makes them so comfortable?

Rick Day: A lot of joking and laughing. I think that to make someone really comfortable you have to have a good sense of humor. I always feel that the eyes and body language are really what makes a person look at ease. And of course trust.

You don’t just shoot half-naked men, in fact you have quite the portfolio, what other work do you do?

Rick Day: Thank you for actually bringing that up. I have been shooting for 18 years… and although I love shooting half naked men I also shoot a lot of magazines, catalogues, teen magazines, singers and kids.

What’s next for Rick Day?

Rick Day: I have been working on my next book “CASTINGS” as well as keeping myself always behind my camera shooting. I am looking forward to growing as an artist and as a photographer.

How long have you been doing photography?I have been shooting for about 19 years. I started in Atlanta then moved to Milan, Italy for about a year… then to NYC.

 I read that you are a self-taught photographer. Is that true? If so, did you find difficulties in going that route?

Yes, I am a self taught photographer. I bought a camera after looking through a book by Bruce Weber. I was completely and utterly fascinated by his images and I am still a huge fan of his. He is brilliant. I guess at the time, I wasn’t really looking at photography as a career, but I was shooting anyone that would get in front of my camera. I was not aware fully of the whole fashion business, and by the time I realized that most photographers are either school taught or have assisted other photographers, I was already shooting most of the working models in Atlanta. My chances of assisting a local photographer were bleak. I would recommend to any new photographers to at least assist other photographers. It may not be the most fun, but the learning curve would be much greater.

Did you have any photography mentors or role-models that helped mold your unique style?

Back when I first started shooting, as I mentioned, I had picked up a book by Bruce Weber really by accident. After that, I really started looking at all of the books that were available to me at the local bookstores. I remember loving the beautiful effortless shots by Bruce. I loved loved loved the elegant lines of Herb Ritts. He really was amazing, but the person that influenced my body lighting the most was Victor Skrebneski. His use of lighting on men’s bodies was so beautiful.

Was there a breakthrough moment in your photography career or was it a progressive build?

Luckily for me, I have always been a busy photographer and I am a bit of a workaholic. As far as the type of popularity that I seem to have now, I would say started when I began shooting for Genre Magazine. I was also at the time beginning to shoot the original “Players” book. The book and the popularity of internet bloggers really catapulted my images in a way that I was not fully ready for. It was a bit overwhelming.

What goes through your mind during a photo shoot?

This is a hard question. I try not to plan my shoots in too much detail because I have found that my best pictures were organic in nature, not too planned. I would say that keeping my model comfortable and at ease is probably what I am thinking about the most.

How do you interact with your models to make them comfortable during the revealing photo shoots?

At this point, most of the models that I am shooting for a book are pretty aware of the images I have shot, so that takes the pressure out of explaining what I want to shoot. I will usually show them an image of what I have in mind, and then we take it from there. I usually try to have the models bring a bit of themselves out in the shoot as well.

Tell me about your new book.

The new book  It is a follow up obviously to “Players.” It has been printed in a much larger format. This book, like its predecessor, is full of some of the most beautiful bodies in the world. Trust me. Without the hard work and diligence of the men that I shoot, these books would not live up to the hype. I have to pay respect to the men I shoot and thank them for allowing me to shoot them in this suggestive manner.

What is your favorite type of photography to shoot?

Weddings…. bah mitzvahs… and forensic crime scenes. I mean, do you really need to ask? 

If you weren’t a photographer, what would you be doing?

Something awesome I am sure. I have never been someone that was bored or working a job that I did not like. Life is way too short.

If you could choose any celebrity for a photo shoot, who would you choose and why?

Whichever one has the nicest budget. I love celebrities and always enjoy working with them, but I am not a starstruck photographer.

Here is the comment of Matthieu Charneau, a French model who was invited to New York by Rick for a shooting.

Matthieu: It was like a dream becoming reality! I never thought that was possible so early in my career and even less to strip in front of Rick Day camera!

Question: And did you meet Rick Day alone? What did you think about this great photographer?

Matthieu: I went to New York with a friend, but I met Rick Day alone. Rick is adorable, so kind, calm, but very playful!
Even if my English is far to be perfect and that at the beginning our exchange was not easy, we spoke about different topics and the atmosphere became quickly friendly.
I enjoyed a lot the human relationship with Rick. It’s important to me to create this chemistry between the model and the photographer., it allows a better understanding of each other but also to get a more genuine result and better achievement in our work.

Question: You have to be naked for the shooting: Was this a difficulty? Did he make you feel comfortable?

Matthieu: It is always uneasy to to be naked, it’s always intimidating the first time with a photographer., even more when he is Rick Day!
He saw thousands of guys each more beautiful than the other and the question is “Will I inspire him as much as them?”
Then he told me: “I will see your dick during the whole shooting, so it’s better getting used immediately!”

Once I drop my pants, I had to stay naked for hours and I got used of it as I am when  I’m naked at home!

I was VERY happy with this purchase! It is beautiful and enticing and artful

What’s next for Rick Day?

Rick Day: I have been working on my next book “CASTINGS” as well as keeping myself always behind my camera shooting. I am looking forward to growing as an artist and as a photographer.

It’s definitively a hit with all the friends that had visit us during the last weeks, everyone is asking about it, how did we get it and all.. my first calendar of this kind but definitively not the last…  beautiful!!