My past week or so consisted of constructed and sent out 30+ cold emails to various music publications asking for photo passes to cover indie bands who were coming to Toronto to perform. Since I experienced little luck with most of these requests, I was about to throw in the towel and stick to my regular portraiture, I was surprised to find an unread email during dinner on a Friday night. One of the media publications had finally replied, but only with a request to see my portfolio of concert photos. Bringing DSLR cameras are strictly forbidden in most concert theatres, so scrambling to find something decent only resulted in subpar iPhone photos taken in a sea of people in General Admission. So I decided to find another approach. I was inspired by the analogy used in a video by one of my favourite photographers Jessica Kobeissi on how to stay inspired while grinding as a photographer about "faking it until you make it." That if your dream is to become wedding photographer but you can't book a wedding, to make your own wedding by getting friends to dress up and shooting a fake wedding for the sake of having photos to use to build up your portfolio. I decided to put that theory to the test. Most university students make their way over to the neighbourhood bar on a Friday night for the purpose of getting a little CH3CH2OH in their systems, forget about the week and have a good time with a few friends. I saw online that my local pub was hosting a live music performance that night and decided to head over with my camera in hopes to ask the band if I can take their photos. However, by the time we got there, we realized that there was a mistake on the website, that it was karaoke night and the live band was the next day. So we decided to stay for a bit. Starting a casual conversation with a few people in the tables next to us, introducing myself as a local photographer, by the time it was their turn to take the mic, I asked if I could take their photos if I promise to send it to them afterwards. They kindly said yes and I was able to use what I had to shoot "concert like" photos. There was a mic, stage lights and singers. All I had to do was make it look like there was a huge crowd and not squished into the front of a pub. Although pulling out a massive camera was quite intimidating for me at first, getting confused glances from the people next to me, it was a hit by the end of the night. I was able to collect a list of contacts and talk to a variety of different people, even making a few friends. The people who were reluctant to get their photos taken at first then slowly started asking for more! The key takeaway from this lesson is to always find ways to make the best out of your situation by being creative and start with using the resources available around you to meet your needs. Not only did I end up with a collection of great photographs that I can use to start building a portfolio with, I was able to grab a few drinks and have genuine conversations with new people, not to mention a great networking opportunity to gain exposure. Let's get in touch!
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