@zeusv.i

The unspoken truth of our current online world seems to be a reflection of one century-old advertising addage: sex sells. It’s less some murky underworld than the elephant in the room, the propulsive, bubbling current permeating an infinite number of timelines and explore pages.

Social media collapses the distance between fantasy and reality, and everyone wants a piece of the action. It’s performance, allure, and seduction as spectacle mixed in an intoxicating cocktail. And once the algorithms get ahold of you, you’re toast.

Few have capitalized on this particular swath of internet landscape more effectively than the photographer and videographer known as Zeus Deity (@zeusv.i), a Miami-based, Jamaican-born upstart whose creative journey began when he bought a Canon 80D and 50mm lens with a pandemic-era stimulus check.

His work is several tiers removed from the low-level, iPhone-shot sludge of everyday Instagram reel lasciviousness, floating firmly above in the more rarefied air of super HD boudoir photography. In his own words, “high sex appeal, but still artsy.”

In conversation, and on the job, he’s soft-spoken and polite, maintaining admirable focus in the midst of a maelstrom of risqué.

There’s also an aesthetic sensitivity in his images, tuned to sexuality as theatre – style, composition, and rhythm. He holds a deep appreciation for posing, color, light, the all-is-right-in-the-universe cosmic sastisfaction of a matching lingerie set, the perfect caramels or olives of bare skin tones, and … curves. Lots of curves.

Since this interview three years ago, he’s also come out of the shadows. No longer a faceless, enigmatic photographer with a wildly successful social handle, he now has an active YouTube channel where viewers can watch disarmingly candid behind-the-scenes content. In front of the camera, he seems uniquely content to share the ‘cheat codes’ of his trade, projecting both ease and approachability. In these videos, the business of lust comes back down to earth, human and stripped of pretense.

Perhaps because of this, he’s picked up more than a few sophisticated clients along the way, creatively shooting for everyone from Fashion Nova to Honey Birdette to Playboy (along with every scantily-clad OnlyFans girl in South Florida’s magnetic orbit).

For the full interview, where we talk overnight social media success, the dark secrets of the industry, and the best gear to shoot “the essence of lust and high fashion with a vintage twist,” read on.

Tell me a little about yourself.

You won't really find much information on me [on the internet], because I don’t put it out there. If it isn’t photography related, then I don't have it out there at all. For background purposes, I’m originally from Jamaica. I came here when I was 10-years-old, and then my family decided to move up north to Connecticut, but I was only there for a couple months. They came back down to the West Palm Beach, ‘cause my dad liked the heat more, and I've been here ever since.

They placed me in fifth grade when I came to the United States, and then I went all the way up through high school. I got into photography around 11th grade. I signed up for the yearbook program, so I was going around taking pictures of the sports team. Then I started a photography club on campus, and I was basically just trying to get pictures to build a social media account for the high school. That died down after high school after I graduated. At that point, I didn't know what to do, so like a typical teenager I just got a fast food job. I was working at Jimmy John's for like six months. When everything shut down, I literally took my COVID check, the stimulus check they handed out, and bought my first camera. I only had $800 in my account at the time, and $600 of it went to buy that camera. I've just been shooting ever since, almost every day nonstop for that first year. August 26, 2020 is when I bought my camera, and my first official photo shoot was January 2, 2021.

Before that, everything I’d shot was for fun. It was me texting random friends, “Hey, what are you doing today? Come to my pool, let's go take pictures.” Or, “I'm in the city — let's go get food and I can practice taking pictures.” Random stuff. But the first official, “My friend took pictures with you and I really like the way it looks,” was January 2nd. So I haven't even been shooting for that long. Technically it’s two years coming up.

You’re like me — you remember exact dates.

I remember everything, or at least I try to. I was forced to remember things when I was younger, so it just carried over to my adult life. When I was in Jamaica, the schooling was hard. There were only like five textbooks per class, so you couldn’t even take the them home, and you had to write all the notes down in your notebook and then go home and memorize everything. If you didn't write it down and memorize it, technically you didn't learn anything.

What kind of camera did you buy with the $600?

I was on OfferUp, and I didn't know anything about cameras, except that in high school I had a Cannon T5i. I had $600 and I needed to buy a 50mm [lens] and a decent camera body. I did some research, and I got my hands on the Canon 80D with a 50mm lens. It was a bundle, and the dude was just getting rid of it. It was from a jewelry store in my area, downtown West Palm Beach in the warehouse district. He’d bought it to take jewelry pictures for his brand, or his store, and he never really used it. Literally, when I got the camera it had dust all over it. It’d just been thrown in a box in the back of their storage room. They didn't know the actual value. So I ended up copping a Canon 80D with a 50mm 1.8 STM lens, and that was my first professional setup.

How did those first shoots go?

Terrible. I wasn’t making money for like seven months. Photography now is very cheap. Granted, I didn't know anything. Originally I was just taking pictures ‘cause I don't really have a lot of guy friends, but I have a ton of attractive female friends. It was easier for me to get the pictures to “look good” because the girl already looked like a supermodel. But I didn't know how to edit colors. It was so bad. I had paid shoots here and there, but my prices back then were super low, like $50 per photo shoot. I wasn’t even breaking even.

When/why/how did people start reaching out to you?

That demand actually came from me switching from Canon to Sony. I didn't know anything about full frame sensors and how it affected the lenses, and the Canon [body] I had wasn't a full frame, so the whole time I was thinking I'm shooting at 50mm, but I was actually shooting at 85mm. My composition wasn't good because it was so compressed in, and I was just pointing and taking pictures. It didn’t matter what the background was — I was just pointing, “click, click, click.” I switched to a Sony α7 III, got a Sony 50mm lens, and then since [the body] wasn’t crop sensor, I got to practice on the wider portrait lens. I got composition down to the point where that made up for my lack of editing and posing. Once I got those two things down, I noticed my account starting to go insane. I started with around 500 followers, and in the span of a couple months I was already at 10,000.

The demand came from the style, but that Sony was the main thing that helped me.

What made you gravitate towards that kind of photography? Did you know you wanted to shoot really risqué from the jump?

I was around the cheerleaders and all the Instagram chicks, so my friend group naturally dressed like that. It didn't affect me. People around me were like, “I can't imagine you’re with these girls and they look like this.” But for me, it was normal, and I didn't know any better ‘cause I wasn't really talking to anyone else.

What really made me stick to that scene were two photographers I met in my early career: Wally and Jacielle. Wally is your traditional swimwear model photographer — he works with brands, and he does travel photography. Jacielle knows a lot about boudoir, and also a lot about lights, strobes, and camera settings. So originally I learned swimwear photography from Wally, and I took whatever Jacielle taught me about the super high sex appeal posing, and I kind of just mushed those two together. Compared to me only shooting swim and doing the typical beach/tropical vibe, I was able to get the lingerie brands to be like, “Hey maybe we did enough pictures inside the studio…” So I got them to send me merchandise to shoot outside. So I just stuck right there. And that's what's been growing. High sex appeal, but still artsy.

I’m constantly trying to explain to people that it’s not the way they think it is.

How did you “blow up?”

Overnight actually. [Laughs] I'm so serious. All the followers I have came from literally one week of me posting. There are four posts on my page that blew up, and I instantly gained absurd amounts of followers. That’s where my career took a straight arrow up. January 6th, I took a picture of a friend of mine named Angelina, at her house. I was bored on my mind and I took a picture of her in this black lingerie set. Looking back at these, the editing was so bad, but I posted [a couple images from the set] that same night. I woke up the next day to 20,000 likes. And then I went to work.

At the time, I was working at HUSTLER [Hollywood], which, as a side note, is actually how I gained the majority of my connections to shoot sex workers and clubs. They sell lingerie, dance wear, etc. All the club owners go there to buy outfits for their dancers, bottle girls and OnlyFans girls would come and buy stuff, there are a couple porn stars, high-end lingerie models. [Girls] would come in to buy outfits and then they’d be like, “Hey, I noticed you from somewhere.” And I’d say, “I’m a photographer — you probably follow me.”

Anyway, I got off work that afternoon, opened my phone, and the picture had 60,000 likes. I was like, “There's no way.” I gained 17,000 followers off that one picture. I was like, “I guess this is what’s really popular. People wanna see casual boudoir type things.” Right now, that same picture has 9.1 million impressions. I posted another image May 1st, and that one is at 193,000 likes with 21 million impressions. I posted another picture on December 21st of last year, and that one’s at 344,000 likes. And I gained 85,000 followers from it. Literally, between that first post in January, and December, those two skyrocketed my account. It blew up, after that. Ever since, everyone in my area — Miami, Orlando, all over West Palm — hits me up to shoot.

There were a couple photographers in my area when I first started, and I would beg these guys for help. They ignored me, or they’d leave me on ‘opened,’ or they’d just be like, “Yeah, this weird kid is texting me.” Models would literally come back and tell me they were saying stuff like that. They were super rude. So I was like, “Okay, I'll just learn this myself,” and I went on YouTube. And once I blew up all these guys started saying, “Oh yeah, I knew you were gonna be good.” Sometimes [these same guys] come up on my page, spamming my comments asking to work together. And now I feel like, “I don't really want that. You're kind of mean.” That’s the main reason I try to text everyone back, answer any questions I can. I try to reply to all the new photographers who have questions about camera gear or whatnot, which lenses to buy, which lenses I'm using. Anything that could be helpful. I learned that the hard way. What if one of the kids that I help is the next to blow up, just like I did? You never know.

What are the biggest misconceptions about this type of work?

There is a long list, bro. The number of times I hear, “Your life is so easy! Are you having sex with these girls?!” A lot of people don't even look at this as a job. They don't look at this as art. They're just like, “Oh she's a pretty chick. You just press a button and you get to meet these pretty girls all day.”

I get so much negative backlash. I’m constantly trying to explain to people that it’s not the way they think it is. Guys I meet at the gym, they’ll say things like, “You shot this girl I’ve followed for years, and I find her so attractive. I wish I were in your position.” They don't deal with the girls who are basically trying to use sex to get to everything. It’s a big thing in my specific field of photography that nobody talks about. Everyone always thinks it’s the the “weird photographer” [who messed up]. It's depressing how often it happens.

I’ve dealt with probably two girls a day on average, who try to use sex to get images for free, asking me if I take “other forms of payment.” No, I don't. It is absurd how often that happens. Then they might try to flip the script and be like, “There’s this weird photographer this one time who tried to have sex with me.” No one mentions the absolute reality of this: it's more marketing, and it's more you holding that level of professionalism that makes you grow. The second you break, your career’s over.

I've seen so many photographers ruin their lives because of this. They go tell their friends and then the friend tells somebody else and the story gets twisted. And now you're the “weird photographer.” There is so much negativity in that field that no one talks about. I'm glad I kept it the way I did and didn't mingle with anyone, ‘cause it’s saved me from so many problems.

Are there any specific business challenges that you’ve faced as a photographer?

The biggest issue, by far, was marketing. To this day, it’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done, constantly promoting. It’s always been a a mixture of high sex appeal and professionalism. With brand photography, you can't really just shoot the straight-up shot, because a brand might say something like, “That's a little too vulgar for our image.” So you always have to find a perfect middle ground. As in, ‘They could use this, but it's still enough to catch someone’s attention [online].’

In the past, I was always shooting the straight-up high sex appeal pictures. But when I run ads, they won't allow it if the picture looks a certain way. With Facebook, if you show any form of sexual posing, even if the person is fully clothed, they won't accept it. Same with Google. I had to figure out a cheat code. Certain poses they allow you to run, even though it's still high sex appeal, or sexual. Otherwise, they’ll flag you.

Was there a point in your career where you switched over to brand work, as opposed to working with individuals?

I do everything, but I do tend to shoot brands more. I had a brand that recently paid me [a couple thousand] to produce 50 images and two reels. For me to make that much money doing individuals, I have to shoot so many more people just to get that same number. So I do a bit of both. It depends on the season I’m in. My schedule’s limited, people can only book me at certain times, and the majority of the rest of the time goes to learning about marketing, SEO, running my website, and how to promote myself in reaching out to brands. I have landing pages on my website that aren't visible until I send someone the link, and they’re all different. Some are for swimwear brands, some for lingerie brands, jewelry, makeup, etc. I have a script, I pitch to brands I like, find a price to accommodate them, and then find all the models myself. I do everything myself. I don’t have a marketing team, or anyone else who might do the heavy lifting.

Don't buy everything people tell you to buy.

I made that mistake — I fell for the hype.

Do you have a favorite brand you've worked with recently?

One’s called Natural Things and the other’s called Winners Activewear. I work with them like consistently maybe twice or three times a month. You make majority of your money if you make a recurring package. What that does is it builds a relationship and makes them feel like, “Oh, he already knows what I want. I just have to send him the merchandise to complete it.” Then when I do travel photography, I can pitch the travel ideas to the brands I already know personally. Technically I travel for free and every trip I break a small profit, too. I'm not spending any money out of pocket, and I get to create content with them anywhere else that I go.

What advice would you give to your younger aspiring photographer self?

Don't buy everything people tell you to buy, and shoot as often as you can! I made that mistake, bro. I'm $26,000 worth of camera equipment [deep] right now. I have damn near everything going. I have all the lights. I have all the popular lenses all of the YouTubers say are legit … and I only use two of them. I bought everything and I only use two. I fell for the hype. I watched the video, somebody said, “50mm is the best lens.” I went and bought a 50mm. I watched another one. “Oh, you want the best portrait pictures? Buy an 85mm.” I went and bought the 85. Watched another one that's saying 70-200 is the best portrait lens ever. So I went and bought a 70-200. The only two lenses I actually use are the 85, and the 24-70. The rest of them literally sit in my bag and I don't use ‘em until I feel like doing something different. Your money maker is your 24-70.

All my lenses, other than my 35mm 1.4 and 85mm 1.4, are G masters. Those other two, I bought the Sigma variants and honestly, I like the Sigma stuff better anyway. It's sharp, focuses in a split second.

Favorite photo you’ve ever taken?

That’s really hard. There's a shoot that I did with one of my friends (she goes by Young Flower, but her real name is Ashley), where she’s in an elevator, in a pink cowboy hat, with a black lingerie set, fuzzy coat, and high black boots. By far one of my favorite photo shoots I've ever done. And some of the best images that I've ever taken. I don’t know why it didn't get a lot of attention. I'm completely obsessed with this picture. The pink hat, with the black, that sealed the deal.

That was actually one of my first images on strobe. I have a GoDocs AD 600 Pro, and that's what I use for all my super crazy fancy outside photos where I overpower the sun. 600 is power where you could overpower the sun at midday. I’d started doing flash photography and that was one of the first images I did.

Where does the name Zeus come from?

It’s the actual Greek god Zeus. Zeus was known for having multiple women around him, and I have a bunch of female friends. I actually have Zeus and all the other Greek gods tattooed on me, a whole sleeve dedicated to Greek mythology.

The ‘VI’ came from him being the sixth god born from Kronos — he was the sixth child, and the sixth god. The ‘deity’ at the end comes from royalty. The deity is a supreme being that's seen in the royal divinity, which is why my style revolves around the girl always being the full subject, the center of attention. Royalty, center of attention, divine like a goddess … it stuck.

This conversation took place on December 14, 2022. His rates have gone up since then.