Arts·Q with Tom Power

Photographer Wynne Neilly on taking Elliot Page's first big portrait after coming out as trans

The photographer Wynne Neilly just won the New Generation Photography Award, part of the CONTACT photography festival, but you may also know him as the artist who took the TIME magazine cover shot of Elliot Page. He tells Tom Power about how his own vulnerability as a trans man built the trust needed for that cover shoot.

Neilly just won the New Generation Photography Award, and his works are on display at Arsenal Contemporary

Photographer Wynne Neilly, at home in Hamilton, Ont., on March 25, 2021. Neilly shot of fellow trans Canadian Elliot Page is the cover of Time Magazine’s March issue.
Photographer Wynne Neilly, at home in Hamilton, Ont., on March 25, 2021. Neilly shot of fellow trans Canadian Elliot Page is the cover of Time Magazine’s March issue. (Evan Mitsui/CBC)

The 2021 TIME Magazine cover of Elliot Page was a big deal because it was the actor's first big portrait after coming out as trans.

Wynne Neilly was the photographer behind the lens that day — and now, he's just won the New Generation Photography Award as part of the Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival.

He tells Tom how his own vulnerability as a trans man built the trust they needed for the cover shoot, and the difference between a photo of someone and a portrait.

The full interview with Wynne Neilly is available on our podcast, Q with Tom Power. Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.


Interview with Wynne Neilly produced by Lise Hosein.