Bryant Eslava: Predatory Photographer

[@Maria_745]

I want to emphasize that a modeling agency does NOT need nude or suggestive photos of you to make a decision. Professional models usually have "comp cards" with their measurements and a headshot in a white tank top and no makeup. If you don't have a portfolio you can still get in the door with something like that.

[@NeciaNavine]

Fellow photographer here. Didn't know about this guy. What a creep. Appreciate you sharing this story. I recently shared a bunch of names of predatory /gross photographers in my country / network and it's wild how many were already known to be like this yet people still go to them because they take good pics. On a more positive note, two of them deleted their social media after my post lol

[@JJouissance]

Thank you for doing this, seriously. This was incredibly brave of you to do, considering how small photography circles can be in different parts of the world. You're amazing, I hope you know that :-)

[@anonymouskrys]

Man good for you I’m so glad t you called them the fuck out to protect others. Seriously great move ❤️

[@parrotstories]

Thank you for doing this. I've had more than one photographer touch me inappropriately and I only wish I'd been warned before and not after. I have mad respect for you for doing this, as this could help so many other people avoid the same situation!

[@Tal_Spotting]

Another fellow photographer here 👋 just got to say, i just started taking pics for ppl as well as planes, that is completely fxcked up

[@ely_wannadie]

They may take good photos but thats not the only reason- many people go to them because of their name/following

[@_NoDrinkTheBleach]

As someone who has shot nude photography off and on for 13 years - if a photographer pressures you for nude selfies, run for your fucking life. Almost everyone I've ever worked with has a horror story about predators in the industry. And it's not just your run of the mill GWCs with the cheap props and the lousy photoshop skills, it's people with ungodly follower counts. It's influential people in the industry. Agencies don't want selfies, photographers shouldn't need more than a headshot if you don't have a portfolio.

[@aliyahh8056]

I genuinely thought that Bryant was the same age as Emma and the other girls and assumed that he was a teenage photographer building a career with their help. It's incredibly weird and concerning knowing that he's an adult almost in his 30s.

[@RATTOXIDE]

As a male concept artist I definitely understand the sentiment that these types of people are ruining artistic spaces. So often you see male artists who only draw busty women with bad anatomy used to sexualize women. It's disgraceful to the community + sets a bad name for those of us who are normal people that are just trying to get work.

[@Lucy-cl2qk]

but art doesn't have to always reflect reality, it's just a preference

[@asdvvvvf5381]

@@nomoretwitterhandles Doesn't matter if you are female or male, you can still objectify women. You are aware that their are women who help in the sex trafficking business? They are called madams. So you really can't use the excuse that you are female so therefore you can objectify women.

[@herb_rolls]

@@Lucy-cl2qk That is exactly why women in concept art and game studios cannot call out sexualized women in games or media because they get shut down with that exact comment. Other men, who aren't even the artist will hound you down. I've asked simply once, "why does she have such large breasts?" that are A. not relatable to women and B. if they are, are not something to be sexualized but a real burden of being female due to the inconvenience and sexual harassment that comes from having them. But even though it is not real. it works in tandem with patriarchal standards and slowly bleeds into our real-life where we make trends of women's bodies. Art does not exist in a vacuum and drawing overly large breasts on a female body while maintaining a small waist or idealistic proportions indicates a view of the female body that is not rooted in respect but of objectification.

[@RATTOXIDE]

@@Lucy-cl2qk for some people it is a preference but if you've been in an artistic space and look around a classroom, there's a good chance at least 1 of the guys there only draws women with extreme proportions + ridiculous clothing used to sexualize women. There's a difference between stylization and fetishization 🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️ it's definitely a multifaceted issue

[@RATTOXIDE]

@@herb_rolls I agree, what people see in media largely can and will influence the world around it, especially when it comes to media targeted at younger audiences. It's an unfortunate reality that I hope I can help contribute to help change for the better.

[@raegengwozdz9714]

It rlly bothers me that in his apology he's like "it took me a while to realize my actions were inappropriate" or w.e. but like...dude that's not the only issue. It's WAY more severe than that. Also it's incredibly hard for me to believe he didnt know exactly what he was doing ? Like sir you straight up LIED to these women to manipulate them into taking nude photos for you. Take full accountability for your actions or just don't make the apology because you clearly are not sorry whatsoever, ur just doing damage control. I'm so disgusted

[@ssharkbait]

It also didn’t take him a few years to realize. He only said it was wrong after being called out about it.

[@likesorad7320]

in my hs/tumblr days (2013) Terry Richardson was the aesthetic photographer everyone loved, even though he had allegations of s*xual harassment since 2001. It's shameful when the talent of abusers gets higher priority than the safety of their subjects

[@jifij89]

yes omg i remember not getting the hype for the boring photos, and then when i found out he was a creep, the praise was even more confusing, cause SO many people seemed to know???

[@nanunanu641]

This kinda reminds me of a Korean photographer who goes by Rotta. He’s pretty well known (and hated) in SK. He basically only takes loli inspired photos, with young looking girls dressed in youthful/pure/minimal clothing (usually underwear and a t shirt) and has them pose in “innocent” sexualized ways. As far as I know he hasn’t done anything illegal, but I’m not up to date on it. Just really creepy.

[@pringlebingle]

i think in 2019 he was charged with sexual harassment?

[@mqc3852]

just checked, he got eight months for sexual harassment on one of his models in 2019 🤮

[@agitatedbeetle3068]

"On April 17, photographer Rotta (Choi Won Seok), who was charged for suspicions of sexually harassing a model, received a prison sentence of eight months by the Seoul Western District Court and was immediately taken into custody." This was in 2019 If I'm correct.

[@Garsnoos]

Oof. Rotta means ”rat” in Finnish… seems fitting lol

[@nanunanu641]

@@agitatedbeetle3068 Ok thank you for updating me! I haven’t kept up with him (obviously) and I’m also not surprised

[@graciea71]

glad we’re finally talking about this, i remember back with the dote girls learning about this and then seeing him a year or two later being back to photography big people! it was crazy how everyone just forgot about this and just went to using his shitty basic filters

[@starylize]

exactly! like he was only photographing the white dote girls and not any of the black or brown ones…it’s sick.

[@Fleabagfreak]

glad someone else agrees how shitty his filters are lol, they were never good

[@elliecaitlin1122]

For real!!

[@sourgreendolly7685]

Never out of line to out predators. Thank you for speaking out💕

[@bananabrain2996]

It always hurts when they don't even realise what's wrong. He says he's sorry for making them uncomfortable, but not for tricking or coercing them. No acknowledgment of the lack of informed consent.

[@thatrantinggirl7376]

It's so bizarre to see this guy do an apology like this for what are very real sex crimes. These girls didn't give their full consent for him to take these pictures and do whatever gross things he wants to do with them. An apology doesn't absolve him of the legit crimes he committed

[@maryr669]

I haven’t heard about Bryant in 3 years. Thanks for talking about him I always found him weird

[@rachelcox6472]

He shoots underage tiktok girls mostly now

[@TheKoolaid302]

thank you man, this shit is disgusting and absolutely needs to be called out

[@cassandral.5840]

THANK YOU! For bringing this sht to light and talking about this completely inappropriate behaviour. Its disgusting and NEEDS to be called out and exposed for its predatory actions. Thanks Jake for holding standards in ur career that you care about and calling out predators within that space. ♡

[@JessiQuinn]

it's really important and meaningful when artists go out of their way to call out predatory behavior within their industry. thank you for sharing this.

[@ellasanjuan1503]

i've heard so much about this bryant guy (mostly because he's been with every famous tiktoker ever and they seem to hold him in high regard???) and i've heard some of these allegations around so it's so confusing how he's still being endorsed by so many influencers on socmed. it is what it is ig. but also would love to hear about that liam payne beef LMFAO

[@MallowPup]

I've never heard of this Photographer until now, I'm a photography major and this makes me feel so upset. Also the way he only photographs skinny, young, white girls is just so slimy.

[@_joslynjohnson]

Bryant took advantage of his photographer career. He did this with so many people as The Dolan twins, Emma chamberlain, Alexis, Hannah, Ellie, and a whole group of teens on a brand trip. He went after them when they were only 15-16. Then he gets exposed and then admits it. Now he's going after the new tiktokers who I am not trying to be mean but are stupid. They are so oblivious its embarrasing especially their lame drama. It is so weird that he has his own studio and his new booth INSIDE OF HIS OWN HOUSE. its just does not sit right with me how everyone just forgot but yet never forget what Shane Dawson, Jeffree Starr, and so many other problematic KZbinrs do. Bryant is almost 30.. he started this at 19, he has not changed in the last 10 years.

[@kit6561]

the first minute was a rollercoaster of info and it was wonderful

[@lexingtxn]

i hate the way people like this taint the photography industry. when i was in high school it came out that a dance photographer we had used at my dance studio for YEARS was convicted for possession of CP and learning that made me nervous to shoot with anyone for a long time.

[@crazyowlgirlcncowner]

That sounds awful! I'd feel so gross even if they hadn't taken anything creepy of me

[@willmax95]

This guy is cringe and disgusting all in one. Aside from him, I've always had a problem with men who have portfolios strictly of women in lingerie or are "fashion photographers" that are in it strictly to be weird deep down. I have friends that I am concerned about who do this for their job. Most women I know have expressed this concern to me about these male "fashion photographers" too, its just not a look because you can easily turn into people like Bryan even if you aren't 19. The older you get the weirder it gets

[@Blakelyboy21392]

As a photographer, I’m always worried about being in the creepy photographer club, and I hardly shoot with models. I hate social media has made numbers of followers equals talent.

[@ellenbronson4067]

Glad you’re talking about this. I’m a fashion designer and I know there are sooooo many male photographers who I swear only do it to be creeps.

[@livingforever3229]

he was 19… and it took him a couple of years to figure out it was wrong behavior…

[@jaxsjpg3225]

Honestly it benefits him that the original accusation is from so long ago. Whenever anyone tries to bring up his actions today all he has to do is say ‘I addressed it. It’s in the past’

[@beth4928]

When I was in my early 20s I was harassed for months by a weird photographer who said he liked my fashion style, and how I should ~totally let him take my photo...page was entirely fetish stuff that he insisted wasn't. I can't say I'm surprised that some folks in the industry are so unscrupulous but still :(

[@paxformichella9834]

this is why people joke that there are only four real photographers and then a bunch of rich guys with fancy cameras

[@Louwheezed]

Hearing about how this guy took advantage of young girls made my skin crawl 🤢 thanks for talking about and calling this behaviour out Jake!!

[@NPolk7]

I'm chronically online and I never knew about any of this. I'm so disappointed

[@rachelcox6472]

Thank you for bringing this up. No one has talked about this before. He's been doing this way before tiktok with alexis ren and all of that. He always gave me horrible vibes.

[@patchworkangels]

Oh god this is horrifying. Thank you for exposing this creep, I hope people avoid this guy 😬

[@em-mk2un]

i have thought for years that its weird a fully grown man is strictly photographing and hanging out with underage people... dissapointing but not surprising that he has a past of this

[@User-yu8er]

I didn't even know about what Bryant did. Thanks for spreading awareness with this video.

[@cozycasasmr4510]

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for talking about this !! It was mentioned like once and then brushed aside and I could never find anyone else talking about it

[@futuristic.handgun]

Loved this. Glad you are using your platform for good by calling this guy out instead of being like him and using the platform to manipulate and/or harm others. Not everything in life is happy and funny, sometimes it's brutal and ugly. Thank you for shedding light upon this dark subject and person. All my love, have fun on tour and safe travels, -xoxo t.🖤

[@TaraMooknee]

where does this guy live? I just wanna talk xo

[@artistmaki630]

Omg! Please collabbbb

[@carolinevale7569]

I was doing local modelling when I was a teenager, 15-17 years old and its crazy how often photographers would put me in wildly inappropriate outfits and poses when I was underage. I specifically remember an instance where another model put me in contact with her brother her was a photographer. He fully knew my age and I believe he was in his mid- 20s and he did exactly the same thing as this model described. He asked me to send lewd/ underwear pics to him to see if he was interested in shooting with me first. The only reason I didn't send them was because I was insecure and uncomfortable with my body but it took me a few years to realize that he was most likely just a creep. Anyway I am grateful you are speaking out with your platform because this stuff happens a lot and the more that young girls realize its not normal or appropriate the less likely they are to fall pray, so thank you !

[@keiraodell3963]

A non-giggly video is a good change of pace, sometimes I think you can almost come off as too sarcastic, but don’t change anything. Your videos are awesome!

[@reilyhooper9278]

thank u for this bc i don’t keep up w influencers but i’ve seen him tagged so much and i would not have know. that hurts

[@marinastancill8418]

i’ve gone back and fourth on how i felt about bryant for years. but this video really solidified my opinions on him. even before i knew about the SA/exploitation allegations, i never found his photography to be eye catching. it was always about the people he was shooting, (that’s the only thing that stood out about his photography to me and what i noticed first) and when those people lost popularity/relevancy he would move on to the next. his audience that came with emma, the dolans, dote girls etc have grown up and with these new waves of tik tokers he has been able to cultivate an audience that is not aware of what he’s done in the past. it’s quite unsettling considering he keeps getting older and older and his subjects/audience gets younger and younger. just my two cents.

[@tessadeutsch277]

His “apology” is giving sienna mae

[@michellelam5268]

it makes me sad to see that people never get held accountable bc of their followers. so many influencers who a lot of young impressionable fans look up to or watch/follow hang around bryant. what’s even worse is that a lot of bryant’s supporters are women who have been SA’d or SH :/ being someone who was SA’d twice in my life, id never dare to go near someone who did what bryant did or anyone who supported him

[@lilykempenich8669]

i always knew that guy was sketchy. i got my bfa in photography last year and the amount of boys in my grade/class that did things similar to this gross me out

[@annamckenzie3081]

I’ve been obsessed with your channel lately ever since I discovered you. Shook to find out you used to photograph Billie!!!!! Shook as a Billie Stan.

[@gnikayam]

thank you for this. literally had no idea this happened but I’ve always had a bad feeling about him.

[@FrenkTheJoy]

Oof this is one of those things where of course that guy being gross is the worst part, but also we really need to keep hammering home to *underage people* not to get involved with this kind of thing. Do not agree to nude photoshoots if you are a minor. Consider non-nude photoshoots carefully and have a parent or other trusted adult look over the contract and go with you to the shoot. As long as creeps like this dude exist, we have to keep telling minors to be SO CAUTIOUS about this kind of thing. I know America's Next Top Model had some... problems, but having it back on the air and having some PSAs about the red flags you'll encounter as an aspiring model would be helpful.

[@Mmmmagz]

17-28? Try 17-38 I’m like hey what’s up hello Jail. Jail is what’s up.

[@yowwieattack]

Love that you have a person view on this issue since you are a photographer as well. Thanks for putting this into the light.

[@notcaileigh5697]

I was unaware of all of this. Thank you for sharing, because this changes my views on this individual and we should be more comfortable speaking out about this.

[@alec7926]

LMAOOO this is even better with the news today

[@rs-mt6kl]

Honestly thank you I think we desperately need more people to talk about the predatory photographers out there.

[@madelinegates6027]

Thank you for creating this video. It is so important to promote awareness of this issue both for the sake of people like these girls who were exploited and to show representation of the good people in photography who are being affected by the actions of creeps like this.

[@breezemansker3366]

I clicked so fast cause I need some serotonin from Jake's smile😩😩

[@sammy7821]

literally same but I'm sh1tting rn LMFAO

[@goldensloth7]

he's like a little labrador puppy!!!

[@nervousham]

Periodt

[@Salami_dawg]

He's really just the photographer from devilman crybaby lol

[@rayejohnston2821]

Of course, the things Eslava did are messed up, but I want to mention how often Jake's photography career amazes me. I already knew that he had done big events and worked with Kurtis, Drew, and Danny, but him mentioning that he's only 21, but that he has been a professional photographer for 6 years blows my mind too. Jake just has the vibes of a friend's cool older brother that's also a youtuber before you remember that he's a video editor and a super successful photographer who somehow has time to also make his own videos

[@phonegingi]

this whole situation - ESPECIALLY the in-house studio where he takes pictures of underage girls - reminds me of my favorite film Hard Candy. can't get too much into it because spoilers, but... OOGH it's so good and yeah idk

[@junbug3301]

Thank you for sharing this Jake, in my opinion I do think he should be deplatformed as someone who has gone through horrible things like this, it feels good to hear people be called out and we need to put an end to these things, and help young girls, they do not have a big enough voice

[@lunaliciousgeek]

Exploiting your models is bad? Yes. Exploiting people *interested in modeling but have never been your model*? That's insane

[@Ally-it6is]

thank you for talking about this i think its very important considering how big he is getting recently

[@burkleypage1443]

I’d be interested to see what his shooting contracts look like. When parents are signing a model release form for the 15 year olds, what are the terms for that? Young model creepy photographer is nothing new sadly, exploitative parent makes me feel even worse Edit: side note to models, make sure your photographer has clear model release forms that you have thoroughly read through. If they are a professional, they will have a well thought out contract with clear terms. (None of those terms should be that you must send any sort of nude)

[@pikes_panic]

I'm not too up to date with social media news, videos like this really help me understand and stay involved. Good job👍

[@karyslillie8653]

Wow. What a creep. Crazy he is still getting away with this stuff. I wonder if anything happens between them, or if it's "innocent" from the outside.

[@danispaghetti]

I've heard about this. I'm glad someone is still talking about it. this guy needs blacklisted badly

[@OhYesNapoleonnn]

Imagine how common this is with victims who have never come out.. smh

[@missuschainsaw]

I think it's good that you talk about this stuff because who else does? Especially coming from another male, it's good to put it out there.

[@forty_two42]

I thought you were slightly older. It's cool to see a young person follow their passion. That's really rad. You're a cool cat man.

[@jaqsre]

wait “all white brand trips” meaning white clothing.. right?

[@jessicag821]

Tacking onto the other reply; yes and when they did start inviting POC they would get treated differently, made to stay in a different area of the rental house, etc

[@jaqsre]

@Shannah thats actually appalling

[@jaqsre]

@@jessicag821 ew wtf ...

[@lunar_storm08]

Had no idea who this guy was and I'm glad you're getting the word out there!

[@Aspenluver51]

i jus wanna say thank you for being you ive had a lot of bad days recently with mental health and chronic pain/my tbi and genuinely youre getting me through it

[@liamg516]

I remember a few years back a photographer made a video about how when he moved to LA he got a photography gig with a famous influencer and the influencer loved their work and wanted to partner. Bryant find out about this and called the photographer and told him to “back off his clients and that influencers was his gig” I don’t know where that video is but after watching him I unfollowed Bryant.

[@uncshine7713]

Ive been waiting for SOMEONE to finally cover this tysm

[@erinpierce83]

Bryant’s studio in his house gives off Cliff Huxtable’s ob gyn office in his basement vibes.

[@zoehill200]

ur so well spoken and organized with how u presented all of this.

[@smallcanofbabycorn4982]

YOOOO making videos about things that matter!!!! Hell yeah, not enough commentary KZbinrs bringing attention to this kind of thing

[@awooga738]

THIS DUDE? THIS PHOTOGRAPHER?? OMG. he came to me on Instagram and i talked with him on Instagram about modeling and he asked me to send photos of myself in a bikini, and he said he would show his agency people. and I was a naive young preteen, I told him my age and he said "oh perfect age to start modeling". I was 12. and he was 26. I sent the pics not knowing it was wrong. MANS BLOCKED ME AFTERWARD. I got so scared that he was gonna somehow find out where I live bc I also gave him my phone number and he was gonna kidnap me, so in panicked and deactived that insta account. I never talked about it anywhere bc I had no screenshots to prove this happened. to find out he did that to someone else, and possibly more, makes me so so angry.

[@awooga738]

thank you so much for making this video and bringing this to light, I never knew how popular he has become which makes me even angrier.

[@alexmarxer]

I once shot a dance photoshot with a photographer who got busted for cp 1 month before he got put in jail. I’ve always been scared of shooting since :|

[@laurenl22]

Didn't know about this guy. Glad you're bringing attention to this! I hope this gets boosted to a billion views bc the dude is so fucking gross and needs to be stopped.

[@Kaliikittenz]

Ur the cutest most trustworthy photographer ❤ this was so wholesome to hear his perspective

[@averytheamazingone]

A cool patreon perk is a late viewing of the newest video. Its like early access, but the opposite! You get to see the video like 2 or 3 weeks later

[@seasn5553]

just commented on his posts asking why he hangs out with kids 💀

[@spookkook]

It's disgusting that people like this still have such huge followings

[@heidijane6334]

Finally! I’m 17 and always thought he was weird growing up following Emma, Ellie, vereena etc.

[@RedDeadReverie]

I’ve met a few photographers like this who wanted to work with me, one of them was harassing me way before I was 18. It’s dangerous if you don’t know what you’re dealing with in the industry and you’re still young. Scary how easy it is for predators to abuse minors just because they own a camera 😣

[@tjhillman6321]

im eating meatballs

[@TheElusiveReality]

ur hair looks good king

[@rrrrrr9556]

I modeled for an agency that had an in house photographer we had to work with for promotional work. I always was uncomfortable around him and just thought there was something off about how friendly he was with the young male models. Like a year later he got charged with molestation and child pornography. So many of the other models I was friends with still defend him and I stopped hanging out with them bc of it.

[@YemmieInc]

This is literally just normal around here. Any woman who's has interest in modeling or performing has interacted with the same creepy ass photographers and all have stories about them. I'm convinced that's why a lot of these dudes get into it

[@LisavonWerder]

love how you almost did a video on liam and didn't

[@sunnyandthechlo]

My sister used to model and my dad gave her a tip I thought was pretty useful. Early on in the communication ask the photographer if it’s alright if her dad/boyfriend/whoever can bring her and stick around nearby. If they get weird about it, shut it down.

[@kisstheskynwhisper2jesus]

yess omg ive always been so put off by this guy, esp w him being around so many underage tiktok girls and the way he took pics of them.. so weird to me

[@jajdhck]

I'm glad to see you talk about it

[@oliviahoush5437]

I thought this sounded familiar and it’s bc I heard about this a year or two ago. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad u made this video! I’m just sad that he admitted to manipulating girls into sending him pics and nothing really happens

[@aswimwhitey]

The fact that I never heard about this whole thing with Bryant makes me disappointed in myself! This is disgusting, as a woman and a photographer. My boyfriend (from the male side of things), also a photographer is very selective with his subjects for this exact reason. He refuses to work with anyone unless their clothed. And he’ll never do boudoir shoots. He wants to build genuine connections with people and capture memories for them (as do I), not their bodies.

[@1020mikki]

i remember him being big in 2017/2018 for being the dolan twins’ photographer :/

[@gothkurata]

im 19 rn and let me tell you, most creeps who get called out like this did it when they were 19. its really disturbing that a lot of times when ive seen people being creeps its when they were 19 or 20. really makes me concerned honestly

[@summerelise]

why do all famous ppl end up being terrible people?

[@pawlific]

jake you are an angel

[@karltrag]

this is so gross. thank you for talking about this

[@natashanabein]

I have worked with photographers in the past. The furthest any have gone is to ask what I'm comfortable with. Many have consent forms and check IDs to ensure that it is consensual and that if there is any lewd/nude imagery they are adults. But if I say I'm not comfortable with suggestive or nudity, they always accept it and continue.