Could you explain what you are doing with photography?

Right now I am a house photographer for the Truman which is a venue in downtown Kansas City.  My photos from those shows go to the Truman social media. I am getting experience and photos for my portfolio while helping them out. I also do a couple of local artists, first Fridays, school shows and stuff like that.

What’s your background in photography?

My uncle works for Canon in New York so he got my first camera, when I was around sixth or seventh grade. At first, it was a lot of landscape photography like I would take it traveling and such, but I really wanted to do a lot more. I was into the action, and I love music so I felt like that would be a perfect idea. That kind of went into it. A lot of it was landscape and travel stuff, but I started to get into music and I loved it.

How did you get into taking pictures for local artists and the Truman?

I just saw an ad on social media where you could apply and you would be able to shoot these shows. A lot of what it comes to with music photography is emailing as many people as you can. I emailed them and sent them a small portfolio, since at the time I didn’t have a huge one, and they said yes and put me in the system. The local ones just started out with emails too. I reached out to as many people as I could. I reached out to the company who is running Flyover and I’m talking to them right now about a photo pass for the Cardi B and 21 Savage concert. Once you know someone it leads you to three more people. It’s all about knowing people and not being afraid to meet new people.

What are your least favorite parts of taking pictures?

My favorite part would be getting there and being in the atmosphere and being able to talk to people before the show. I also love seeing how my photos turn out and editing them just because sometimes I can have really bad ones and some amazing ones. My least favorite part is not happening as much anymore as it used to but getting nervous. I used to get really nervous that my photos aren’t going to turn out good because I am working for someone. If I don’t have any good photos, that is bad for who I am working for. I am always scared that the lighting is going to be bad too.

Could you describe your typical night when you have an event?

My typical night I would say is me trying to get there when the doors open just in case there are any problems or the performer goes on early. I get there, go to the box office, get my photo pass, show them my I.D., and then go in and try to get some water and talk to the security guards to make sure we are on the same page as I am. I try to talk and to meet new people at the Truman and for most shows, I take pictures of the first three songs of every performer, so I’ll go shoot the first three songs in the pit and try to go to the back or the sides and take some pictures there.

How long have you been doing this?

I think my first show with the Truman was Lil Baby and that was early summer of last year. Local artists and such was starting around freshman year. At first, I thought it was just going to be a hobby, but the more I do it, the more invested I get and want to take it to the next level and turn it into a carer.

Do you think you’ll pursue a career in this?

For sure. It’s a hard industry to find a good paying job, but with being around music and stuff I have really looked into music PR and the music business.

What would you say is your favorite concert you’ve taken photos for?

Rainbow Kitten Surprise. My photos for them turned out really good since I used a new lens I bought a week before. Lil Baby was also really good because he is one of my favorite rappers.

What is something you would like to tell people looking to get into this?

I would just say don’t be afraid to contact as many people as you can. Send as many emails as you can and start up a portfolio. I want to start an Instagram page but just haven’t gotten myself around to it. Get to know people and meet as many people as you can when you go to shows. Get their social media to make sure you can get as many connections as you can.

Do you get paid for taking concert pictures?

Right now I am just trying to build my portfolio before I go to college before I can start doing some paid stuff. I do some now, but it’s not as big as a big venue show. If I talk to people and tend to say, “If you give me a photo pass I’ll let you use all these photos for your social media,” they are more likely to say yes.

Do you have any more advice for people looking to get into this?

If you are interested in it, get out there and try to take as many photos as you can. Even if it isn’t music photography — still try. When I go on vacation I try to take as many cool pictures as I can because people aren’t always looking at your music photography. You need to have a wide variety.