What do DJ parties and lifestyle portraits have in common?
What do DJ parties and lifestyle portraits have in common?
They’re all captured with the same approach.
While diving through my image archives the other day, I had a blast-from-the-past moment after I came across some photos taken before the Pandemic.
It was an album titled, MAKOSSA BK COOKOUT from 2019.
This was a summer series of parties at various spots throughout Brooklyn - and eventually, other parts of the country - that happened on the last Saturday of the month from Memorial Day to Labor day.
There were 3 resident DJ’s at every party, and a handful of invited DJ’s at every party. There also was catered food, too.
4 parties every year for a decade.
Booze. Food. Good music. And great people.
And I was there to capture the magic from its very humble beginnings in the backyard of a friend’s retail shop in Williamsburg to the point that every party had a line down the block with people clamoring to get in.
While the parties ceased to be a thing in Brooklyn since Covid hit, the memories of those last few events still linger on:
When I reflect on these images, the one thing that immediately comes to mind is this:
While these photos have absolutely nothing to do with the work involving the Expert community, the way in which they were created is exactly the same.
Capturing candid moments that tell a unique, vivid and genuine story in order to let viewers know what it looks like to take part.
On a technical level, the artistry, patience, timing and precision required to capture candid moments during a rooftop party is the same collection of variables needed to shoot a keynote speaker on a stage or facilitating in front of the room.
The need to capture moments in wide, medium and close-ups also exist between the two.
And, the need to capture various emotions conveyed through body language and facial expression is also a requirement of both assignments.
At the end of the day, the way I shoot one thing is the way I shoot everything.
And I knew this back then as I did now, which is one reason why I didn’t stop covering these events even though I had already established my branded lifestyle portrait business in 2017.
I saw covering these parties as an opportunity to keep my eye sharp since the line of thinking in creating the photos translated to my other client work.
I always am looking for ways to constantly get in my reps behind the camera, and these parties were a great opportunity to do so.
Well, that…
…and I enjoyed hanging out with the event organizers and party regulars for a couple hours, too, of course - let’s not forget the human aspect of being a part of this community :)
After thumbing through the several hundred photos delivered for this particular party, I felt quite nostalgic for shooting the Cookout.
Although my body got banged around real good and I was completely exhausted navigating those massive crowds crammed into the space, there was such an energy and vibe that I do miss a lot.
The good news is I think I still have a couple parties like this left in me to cover if given the chance :)
Over to you…
Have you found a way to enrich your own expertise in ways that don’t involve your direct client work? If so, what does that look like? Please share in the comment section below.