40 Sickening Portraits of the Most Dazzling Drag Queens and Queer Legends

Brilliant photographer Matt Monath descended upon Rupaul's DragCon NYC to shoot some of the top drag queens and queer legends in the business in a gorgeous portrait series.

He said:

"DragCon is magical, and the freedom in that giant room is magnetic. I decided to capture portraits of the queens and personalities for OUT because I just wanted to showcase artists expressing themselves. While we see these queens on TV making looks for challenges, I was excited to shoot them in looks that they just wanted to show off for the massive amount of fans that come through for DragCon. It was refreshing to pull them from the whirlwind of meet & greets to have two minutes with me, whether the shot took place backstage, in their booths, in the press room, or while roaming the DragCon aisles. For each of the portraits, I let the subject take the reigns on poses and attitude, and my team and I were there to light it and capture it with vibrant, colorful lighting. You could tell they were each really feeling the fantasy. Some of my favorite moments were when the fans were freaking out behind us while we were shooting, and the energy that brought to some of the shots. Overall, I love how the images come together as a whole to make a series from the weekend.”

Click through to check out 40 stunning photos, and don't forget to follow Matt on Instagram here.