Why I Hate Party Photographers (How To Not Suck)

By Lenora Jayne | Published: February 25, 2010

lenorajayne_gwc

Okay, that’s a lie, I don’t completely hate party photographers. In fact, I am cordial with a few of ‘em, here in NYC. But what separates the professionals from the party poopers are two beautiful things called interaction and participation.

About a month ago or so, my friend GammaRay and I came across the ultimate example of party-photog failure at TURRBOTAX®. Right from the start, Awkward Photographer Dude (they’re always dudes) was there lurking in the shadows taking photos only when he was sure that nobody was looking at directly him. Whenever we acknowledged his presence, by smiling and looking directly at the camera, he hurriedly looked off towards the bar and pretended to be disinterested. (It then became a game to catch Awkward Photo Dude with his finger on the shutter and “accidentally” ruin the image by making a gruesome face.)

Now, living in New York, you can’t throw a free drink without hitting a party photographer if you’re out, so I’ve seen my share of amazing and amazingly awful photographers.

Here are my suggestions on how to do it right:

OWN IT

If you’re at an event taking photos, do it at a hundred percent. You’re there to take photos of the people there, because they are sexy, well-dressed, interesting, insane, and having a damn good time. You’re there to document that good time. Take photos that make people wish they had been there. Take photos to document the crazy-ass shit that happens in this city. Love what you do and love where you are. Otherwise, dude, just stay home.

MAKE NICE

You know how your mom always said “you’ll catch more flies with honey…”? Yeah, well, hypothetical photographer dude, you’ll catch more hotties with a little eye-contact and a sincere smile. It’s okay, don’t be shy! Those of us who go out to dance parties are not rare and elusive buttonquails. We’ve had our photo taken before. We will not beat you up or give you a verbal lashing for taking a picture. If you are worried about permission, just ask! It’s an excuse to make conversation! Most camera-shy girls will feel so much more at ease knowing you’re not some creepy up-skirt photographer, that they’ll smile beautifully and you’ll have a great shot. And then they’ll drag all their friends over, and you’ll have even more great images.

FOLLOW UP

Get a website. Get a business card. You can get both for free and cheap in this modern age. (Two words: Flickr & Vistaprint.) Now that you’ve done that, hand both out with reckless abandon. Every time you take a photo, give your subject a card with your site on it. They will may be too drunk to remember your name and the phone number you wrote on on their arm will probably sweat off, but business cards will indubitably be pulled out of a back pocket the next morning and be remembered.
Share your photos. Put ‘em up fast. If you take more than a week to put up your pics, they’ll be long forgotten. Put ‘em up the next morning, and you’re on your way to stardom. (Why do you think BronquesLastNightsParty was the first party photographer to get a book deal?)

LEVEL UP

Even if you’re just a hobbyist, it doesn’t hurt to step up your game. Develop your eye. Learn a little about lighting. Pick up an off-camera flash. Know what the hell an aperture is and how to use it. The more you flatter people and the more you catch those one-of-a-kind moments, the more likely people will remember you and what you do. And the more you treat your photography as an art, the better off you’ll be. And hell, you might end up ditching nightlife photography altogether, à la Nikola Tamindzic, formerly of Ambrel.net, who now produces some beautiful high-fashion work.

HOMEWORK

Check out the work of these NYC photographers. NSFW!

  • Nick Rhodes – NickyDigital (Personality & charisma!)
  • DJ Jess – Indierotica (Pure beauty, great with light.)
  • Nate “Igor” Smith – DrivenByBoredom (Catches the craziest moments & all the boobies.)

So, obviously, I don’t really hate party photographers, but I do hate when they act like creepy voyeurs or are standoffish jerks. Participation and interaction is the secret ingredient. Get deep!

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  • http://newmindspace.com Kevin Bracken

    Is that Jerry in the pic?

    • http://lenorajayne.com Lenora Jayne

      No, haha! I like Jerry’s photos, actually.
      It was from a friend’s art show. This dude with a huge, fancypants camera refused to get involved in Gwynn’s performance. All you had to do was take a daisy, and get a marking of paint on your hand.
      He was the only one to not participate and it really irritated me.

  • http://newmindspace.com Kevin Bracken

    Is that Jerry in the pic?

    • http://lenorajayne.com Lenora Jayne

      No, haha! I like Jerry’s photos, actually.
      It was from a friend’s art show. This dude with a huge, fancypants camera refused to get involved in Gwynn’s performance. All you had to do was take a daisy, and get a marking of paint on your hand.
      He was the only one to not participate and it really irritated me.

  • http://myspace.com/banjees thompson

    breakfast at tiff’s

  • http://myspace.com/banjees thompson

    breakfast at tiff’s

  • Pingback: Francis Mitra Photography» Blog Archive » Tips For Party Photographers

  • http://caressesingh.blogspot.com/ Caresse

    Hey!

    I’m a close, long-time friend of Ari’s and through her I know Evan, Sam Black, etc. and through them I stumbled across your Facebook, and then eventually here.

    While waiting for my scene to render, I figured I’d drop a line on this and another entry.

    I agree that sometimes night-life photographers are less than professional, and that more often than not, they’re just horny guys capitalizing on the substance induced lowered inhibitions of “artsy” girls.

    But in the picture you posted in this entry and where you commented that the photographer was rude in not participating – I disagree. I think that the rise in availability of better equipment and technology has created for an “inflation” of people supposedly in an industry.

    Everyone and their freakin’ mother calls themselves a photographer. It’s a little annoying.

    But, I think if you trace photography – or any art in general – back to what it’s really about – you’ll remember that it’s about YOUR honest perspective. Speaking for myself, I am very shy in person (while sober) so interaction is something I’m just…anxious about. Interestingly enough, Ari enlisted me to be the videographer for Sam Black’s “MidSummer’s Night Party” two summers ago. While I never ended up doing anything with the footage (breaking one of your cardinal rules to be quick in uploading) the experience was amazing for me. The ACT of viewing people through a lens served me far better than the visual evidence could ever serve a future audience (I think.)

    I remember capturing footage of a guy rolling balls just sticking his tongue out at a glowy-rotating object. I had to hang half my upper body off the loft using my legs to hold me up – when else would I have an excuse to do this except while holding a camcorder? And how else would I zoom in on little details without a camcorder?

    I think photography for the sake of an audience is just prostitution, a wretched Capitalism-induced deformity. If it’s not an honest representation of your perspective, you’re cheating yourself and the people who may be like you. When I look at the photo you posted, I just see a guy who’s maybe a little too shy or a little too unsure of himself. His way of participating IS to just take pictures. Rudeness, aloofness, snobbery – they’re all just defense mechanisms, and why in of all cultures, the art culture does not seem to embrace these differences in personalities is beyond me.

    But I’m a little weird and will probably end up joining the scores of poor, dead artists who refused to commercialize and starved to death as a result -___-.

    On another note: thanks for pointing out VistaPrint! Getting business cards makes me feel pretentious, but I do need them.

  • http://caressesingh.blogspot.com/ Caresse

    Hey!

    I’m a close, long-time friend of Ari’s and through her I know Evan, Sam Black, etc. and through them I stumbled across your Facebook, and then eventually here.

    While waiting for my scene to render, I figured I’d drop a line on this and another entry.

    I agree that sometimes night-life photographers are less than professional, and that more often than not, they’re just horny guys capitalizing on the substance induced lowered inhibitions of “artsy” girls.

    But in the picture you posted in this entry and where you commented that the photographer was rude in not participating – I disagree. I think that the rise in availability of better equipment and technology has created for an “inflation” of people supposedly in an industry.

    Everyone and their freakin’ mother calls themselves a photographer. It’s a little annoying.

    But, I think if you trace photography – or any art in general – back to what it’s really about – you’ll remember that it’s about YOUR honest perspective. Speaking for myself, I am very shy in person (while sober) so interaction is something I’m just…anxious about. Interestingly enough, Ari enlisted me to be the videographer for Sam Black’s “MidSummer’s Night Party” two summers ago. While I never ended up doing anything with the footage (breaking one of your cardinal rules to be quick in uploading) the experience was amazing for me. The ACT of viewing people through a lens served me far better than the visual evidence could ever serve a future audience (I think.)

    I remember capturing footage of a guy rolling balls just sticking his tongue out at a glowy-rotating object. I had to hang half my upper body off the loft using my legs to hold me up – when else would I have an excuse to do this except while holding a camcorder? And how else would I zoom in on little details without a camcorder?

    I think photography for the sake of an audience is just prostitution, a wretched Capitalism-induced deformity. If it’s not an honest representation of your perspective, you’re cheating yourself and the people who may be like you. When I look at the photo you posted, I just see a guy who’s maybe a little too shy or a little too unsure of himself. His way of participating IS to just take pictures. Rudeness, aloofness, snobbery – they’re all just defense mechanisms, and why in of all cultures, the art culture does not seem to embrace these differences in personalities is beyond me.

    But I’m a little weird and will probably end up joining the scores of poor, dead artists who refused to commercialize and starved to death as a result -___-.

    On another note: thanks for pointing out VistaPrint! Getting business cards makes me feel pretentious, but I do need them.