Sean Fader

If you’ve ever met up with someone you’ve talked to online, you know that reality can often be quite different than expectations. That tricky relationship between online personas and real-life identities was what inspired photographer Sean Fader’s most recent project, Sup?

The series of photographs capture men that Fader went on dates with through sites like Dlist.com, and apps such as Manhunt and Grindr. One of the images of each guy is styled in the way Fader expected his hookup to look based on their online profile, while the second captures something closer to their actual personality.

“I began thinking about how we project our identities into digital spaces,” he says. Fader had been doing a lot of online dating, and the idea for the series stuck with him. “I thought no one would ever say yes, but I sent out three messages proposing the date/shoot to boys I was interested in,” he explains. “Every one of them said yes. So I thought, ‘well now I have to do this.’”

Choose one in each grouping:

Dating Too: Scruff, OKCupid, Grindr, Manhunt
Scruff and OKCupid. I like them both but sometimes it depends on my location.

Go-To First Text: Hey, Hey What’s Up?, What’s Going On?, Sup?
Sup? Of course. But honestly I cater to what the boy is giving off. I got very good at reading profiles by the time I finished Sup?

Short Answer:

Who’s before and after photos changed the most?
You haven’t seen him yet. I have only released 6 of the 27 boys.

What most surprised you about doing this?
How much it changed me in a really deep way.

Were that many guys reluctant to have their photos taken?
Loads. Many of them wanted to meet first or talk on the phone. I knew that just hearing their voice would change everything for me. I only photographed boys who trusted me enough to let me walk into their apartment, costume them, restage their apartment and photograph them within the first 20 minutes of meeting them.

Did you meet anyone who was about the same before and after?
Yup. I got real good at reading profiles

What’s your go-to drink?
Rye Manhattan

What photographers inspire you?
Taryn Simon, Hank Willis Thomas, Felix González-Torres, early Cindy Sherman

What were you trying to get people to think about with this project?
A bunch of things. How we project our identities into digital spaces, how the digital spaces we take part in often dictate who we believe we are, how we see others and how we understand ourselves being seen, what options we have when picking identities, who gets to decide what the options are, what it means to make a photograph in the age of digital objectification, what intimacy can look like, the search for our “other half,” and what happens when you use your own life to learn and grow.

Are you still in contact with any of the guys featured?
Yup, lots of them. In fact, I’m having coffee with one of them this week.

What are current trend you wish would die?
Internalized homo and transphobia within the gay community

What’s in your fridge?
Loads of vegetables. I make fresh cold pressed green juice every morning.

What’s one of your favorite quotes?
I always tell my students two things. “If your parents like your work you’re doing something wrong” and “Go big or go home”

What’s your favorite bar in New York?
The Narrows in Bushwick or Beverly’s on the Lower East Side. But… you will find me most frequently at Metropolitan Bar for it’s cheap drinks and even cheaper men.

What’s your favorite clothing item you own?
My jean fanny pack and my gold Michael Kors shoes.