【hard to imagine: gay male eroticism in photography and film from their beginnings to stonewall】

Nicole Laeno is hard to imagine: gay male eroticism in photography and film from their beginnings to stonewalljust 19 years old, but she has somehow managed to amass a pretty astonishing online community, with 5.7 million followers on TikTok, 3.7 million subscribers on YouTube, and 1.9 million followers on Instagram. And she's done it thoughtfully, with care, and with all the right tech.

At VidCon 2025's Meta Night Out, Laeno told Mashable that she shoots most of her content on her phone.

"My phone is always a great tool," she said. She uses both the front and back camera, but says the back camera has "better quality" and says using 0.5 is "great to capture." She edits her photos directly on her camera roll because it's "super quick and easy," and her content on Instagram's Edits.

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Nicole Laeno attends Meta Night Out at VidCon 2025. Credit: Mashable

She found that mics and tripods from Amazon work just fine, but there are two investment cameras she can't make content for her millions of fans and followers without.

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Canon PowerShot V1

Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon / Canon Canon PowerShot V1

She loves the Canon PowerShot V1 for plenty of reasons, but points to the fuzz microphone — a built-in three-microphone array — as one of the specs she adores.

Canon EOS R50 V

Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon / Canon Canon EOS R50 V

She says her EOS R50 V is "really cool" because it has a "vertical tripod." This camera is designed specifically for vloggers and content creators, so it's no surprise that the dedicated vertical tripod mount is an addition Laeno loves.

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She uses her phone for more casual recording and the Canon cameras for "higher-quality, more produced content."

Mashable was live at the Anaheim Convention Center this week, covering VidCon 2025. Check out our coverage of your favorite creators, the latest trends, and how creators are growing their followings, their influence, and making a living online at Mashable.com.

Topics Creators VidCon

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