BIO

Tell us a little about yourself. Where are you from? Where do you currently reside?

I lived in NYC as a kid (Harlem) then moved to the PA burbs for a while then landed in Philly and never left. I live in the Kensington area of Philadelphia and I have been taking Photos for about 4 years now. 

What’s the photography scene like in Philly?

The photographer scene and any creative scene here in Philly; lots of talent but not enough outlets for people to actually work.

Does your environment influence your work?

Yes and no. I’ve had a love for movies since I was about 4 years old and I would say films/videos inspire me more than anything else.

What inspired you to pick up a camera?

I used to DJ and after 15 years of that, I needed something that would help me stay creative. I was always interested in cameras in general but from a cinema aspect. I had an idea to try to make a zine with just photos of friends and parties I was attending and I bought a disposable camera from the dollar store. I had a couple friends encourage me to keep shooting after that and so I did!

Favorite film stock?

I’ve been consistently using Portra 400 but I did receive some Cinestill 800 for my birthday and I’m waiting to see how that roll is going to turn out.

How do you go about choosing colors for the individuals you shoot?

I really try everything (gels/lights)and see how it looks before taking the picture or I just go through as many colors and see what looks best after I get the photos back.

Do you feel like you have more creative freedom when shooting females? Why?

No actually, I shoot mostly people I know or really close with so mostly, for my personal shoots, people are on board with whatever idea I may have which is nice.

Does your creative journey in djing reflect in your process of photography?

Not at all! I’m sooooo far removed from the dj world and I think for me personally, I can be more myself and creative with Photography.

Are the props and styling in your shoot done in forethought or do you just go with the flow and use the materials you have in your environment?

On occasion I’ll have something very specific that I know I’m going to definitely use like my smoke machine so I’ll plan around something like that or if I find a cool piece for someone to wear, I’ll plan around that as well. But there have definitely been a lot of times when myself and the model will just go with the flow and have come up with some really cool shit because there weren't any rules or pressure to do anything.

What defines an up and coming photographer to you? Do you identify with that? 

I'm not really sure how to answer this because I’ve only been doing this for 4 years and learned from trial and era and of course YouTube university so I feel like I’m learning a lot still. I will say that if you truly are into something, it shows In your work, I do think that there are people out there that just do it just for IG.

What mood do you like to curate on set? How do you do it?

Honestly, I like to make sure whoever I’m shooting is comfortable since I usually shoot one on one.

Name some films that have inspired you.

Ahhh! So many!!!! I love almost all Fellini films, especially Roma.  The original Suspiria and Enter the Void were both big inspos for me when I was first starting out as well.  Serpico is also a fave! Music documentaries inspire me as well because they always show these amazing reference photos throughout most of them. The Studio 54 documentary is one of my favorites for that. Paris Texas of course is a fave of mine and Hedwig and the Angry inch, these movies are very beautiful in every way. There’s so many movies I can name but y’all are just gonna have to come over and look through all my movies! 

What genre of  film would you like to produce? Why?

Art house! I really want to get into cinematography and that genre has some the best I’ve seen.

Candid or posed? Flash or no flash?

Candid! I do love flash, especially in the daytime.