I went to a music festival last night and shot the red carpet arrival of a bunch of unsigned bands that are trying to impress a bunch of music execs over the next few days. I hung out on the red carpet and was bored to tears. Excuse me, please look this way so I can get the shot. I was meeting some guys in a band called State of Man and I was going to try and shoot them together which never happened although I did get them individually with some great results.
Normally I hate that type of event. I walk around and know very few people (in this case about 4). I would wander from room to room looking for someone to talk to. But last night I had my camera and magic happened. Having a camera around my neck and a press pass on my chest made people come up to me to ask if I would take their picture. Later in the night people I shot earlier in the night were coming up to me saying "Hey Steve" like we were friends. It was surreal.
That camera made it so simple to approach a group and start some small talk ending in a simple request to take their picture. That camera removed any reservations or shyness that normally make me stick to my comfort zone. With a camera, the entire place was my comfort zone and people were enjoying the fact that I was sharing it with them. It was a blast. When I finally got home, I was so pumped up I could not sleep. It was a cool night.
Note to self: Take my camera EVERYWHERE.
4 comments:
This is such a strong, cool portrait. But she has a whole lot more potential too, if you could shoot more with her or her band
gordon,
Thanks for coming by and thank you for the compliment. I sent some of these shots to one of the band members. There was one guy with her but the whole band wasn't there. I told him i would definitely like to shoot them again. We'll see what he says. Thanks again.
Yes! That camera is a great conversation starter! It's amazing how many people will walk up to you and actually ask you to take their pictures! Before I went to The Next Step, I hardly photographed people at all. Now, it's kind of hard to stop! :-)
That's a great photo. I've always wanted to take one of a person with so much 'hardware'. :-)
Paul,
Thanks for the comments. It struck me how this girl would be classified as classically beautiful but her choices for piercings and dress would probably make some say otherwise.
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