Western Photography Guild was a Denver, Colorado based male physique studio operated by photographer Don Whitman. Prior to serving in World War II, Whitman was a tax accountant and an amateur photographer. During World War II, he served in the Navy, where he met an experienced physique model. The physique model explained the ins-and-outs of the business to Whitman, who decided to capitalize on the business after World War II ended.

Whitman partnered with his brother-in-law, who worked for the photographic reproduction department of the Colorado State Highway Department. They advertised for muscular models in the local paper and received a surprisingly large response. Later in April 1947, they placed the first advertisement for Western Photography Guild in Strength and Health magazine.

Whitman's photography was notable for its use of Colorado's mountain landscape as a backdrop, feeding into the mythos of rugged, western masculinity. In addition to photographing his models, Whitman founded the Mr. Colorado bodybuilding contest and served as its director from 1950 to 1972. WPG did not sell full frontal nudes of their models. In 1967, following the favorable Supreme Court ruling on nudity, WPG began selling its "naturale" series of photographs, featuring current and past models in the nude. Whitman continued photographing models into the early 1980s, finally closing the studio in 1989. Don Whitman died in June 1998.

Source:

Whitman, Don. Mountain Men: The Male Photography of Don Whitman. London: Editions Aubrey Walter, 1991.