Yes, nerds can be sexy AF!

I recently had the pleasure of working with LGBTQ+ photographer Fwee Carter, the creator of the Sexy Nerd Project, a photography series of characters from all realms of fantasy and nerdom. From Wonder Woman and Poison Ivy, to Iron Man and Magneto, Fwee takes models of all shapes and sizes and creates his version of these iconic characters—but with a sexy twist. (I was lucky enough to be photographed as Aquaman and the card nerd!)

PRIDE sat down with Fwee to get the scoop on how he got started with the project and where he wants to take it! 

For more of Fwee's work, make sure to follow him on Instagram and check out his official website! And keep up-to-date with the Sexy Nerd Project on Tumblr!

PRIDE: How long have you been a photographer and what got you started?

Fwee: Ten years now. I got into it from high school. I got my first camera, it was this blue Kodak point-and-shoot and I took it with me everywhere. You know how you have that one toy that you bring everywhere? It was that camera. I got my first digital in high school. I wanted to be a journalist. Once I went to college, that got me into photography full time.

P: What inspired this project?

F: I kept seeing women always getting sexualized in media and comics and video games and even when people would do regular photos, they would be pinups. They wouldn’t do it for me, so I did the project to show off geeky men so they could be geeky and sexy at the same time.

P: What’s been the most difficult part about creating the project?

F: The most difficult part is scheduling the models. People are interested and they want to do it, but they don’t show up at all and there’s things that happen. But then things work out in the end. I find someone else to do it, etc.

P: How has the reception for the project been?

F: It’s been really great. People really love it. I get lots of people who say they want to be a part of it. People have been mostly postive. Of course, there’s always negative people, but as I shoot more they say "Okay, I see whats happening here." They want some body positivity, so people can feel comfortable in their skin no matter what. 

P: I love that there are models of all shapes and sizes. Was that intentional as you were casting your models?

F: Yes, it was. Like for Wonder Woman, I didn’t want a really fit person. I wanted someone a little beefy with some muscle because Wonder Woman has all different shapes and sizes. So I wanted someone who was a mix between all different sizes so a beefy muscle bear would be perfect.

P: I love that shot. What I love about it is that it’s surprising. It’s not what you’d expect, but it’s still sexy.

F: Yeah, and in these shots, it’s how people portray their sexiness. Some people, if they don’t feel comfortable showing a lot of skin, they show what they want to be comfortable with, which is great. That’s showing your sexiness. One model wasn’t comfortable in their body at the time when we shot something for the Blue Ranger and as the shoot went on he said "You know, I feel more comfortable in my body," so he began unbuttoning more and we got some great shots out of it. 

P: So even in the photographing of the project you’re helping these models find a better body image for themselves?

F: Yeah. I want people to be comfortable. They’re going to be displayed half-naked, so they have to be comfortable. If a model tells me “I don’t like how this came out, I want to reshoot it,” I’m like, sure, let’s do that if that makes you feel good about your body. This entire thing is about body positivity so we have to make sure it looks good from our eyes. 

P: When you go to conventions or you share the project with people, have there been responses that have surprised you?

F: People will say "Is this going to be a book?" and it never crossed my mind. "I would love this as a calendar!" or people would say "This is something I’ve been looking to see, guys being portrayed in a sexy way like this."

P: Which are the most popular pieces?

F: Sailor Mars, Iron Man, and the card nerd. Sailor Mars is so simple but the picture is so eye-catching and people love Sailor Moon. 

F: Iron Man...

...they love the model and the body and how simple it looks.  

F: The card nerd...

...they see that one and say "He’s really geeky, he really displays the cards like he’s playing a real match." The model really plays that game, which they love. 

P: Which pieces were the most challenging to create?

F: Mega Man. I worked on that one the hardest. We wanted him to look like a robot, but still sexy. I had to learn how to do different things in Photoshop to make the metal like texture on parts of his body and move things around to look like he had machinery inside him. I worked on that for two months.

P: Where did you learn how to use Photoshop?

F: I learned in college. While I was in college, I did a bunch of tutorials. Then I had people teach me different techniques. I would look online and find tutorials, like how do I make this look like metal. It’s all about learning. If I don’t know how to do something I have to learn how to do something so I can perfect it and make it look better. 

P: Would you say you’ve learned a lot since doing this project?

F: Yeah. In volume one I had a lot of help because I had a deadline and I wasn’t as good as I am now. This time, I did the majority of the photos, except three where I had someone help me build 3D images. I’m still learning how to do certain things, but I’ve grown since that first project.

P: How would you say you’ve grown as an artist since the first project?

F: I feel like I know better techniques for editing to make the models look better, even if it’s not crazy. Even if it’s something simple, I feel like I know how to make them look amazing and pop out.

P: What’s the next step for the project?

F: I would love to have another art show and once that’s done, I would love to do a calendar and a book. Once volume 2 is done, I’ll keep shooting, not for volumes, just for fun for people to add to the site. I want to do more cosplay photoshoots and use the techniques I’ve learned from the Sexy Nerd Project to create images with other people that want to be sexy in their own ways.

P: If you could get any star to be a sexy nerd, who would it be and what would you shoot?

F: My nerd inspiration would be David Yost, the Blue Power Ranger. I would do him, not as the sexy Blue Ranger, but he’d be a sexy Superman type character.

P: Hopefully he’ll read this and we can get him involved! As a parting thought, what do you want people to take away when they look at your photos?

F: That nerds can be sexy too!

And follow the Sexy Nerd models on Instagram!

Magneto —@sfnyc_dk

Aquaman/Card Nerd —@northgg

Wonder Woman —@brandonlevek

Blue Ranger —@princesschriscosplay

Sailor Mars —@marcusdrocionyc

Iron Man —@firehound105

Mega Man —@insta.blr.nyc

Cyclops —@atpunderscore

Ghostbuster —@cityscientist