*This post is a follow up from my previous post, How I Went from Being a Graphic Designer to a Personal Photographer for A-list Celebrities.*
I was back in New York, fresh off Ne-Yo's R.E.D UK Tour. I was high off life and looking to maintain it. I had momentum and wanted to capitalize. I found myself sitting on my couch thinking to myself, now what? Life seemed pretty boring back home after touring the entire UK with shows and after parties every night. But that was over. It was time to make something out of nothing.
I sat on my couch with my chin in one hand and my phone in the other, scrolling through my Facebook timeline. One of my Facebook friends, Mark, posted something that caught my attention. He posted a news article about Pasquale Rotella's court case with the City of Los Angeles. Pasquale Rotella is the Founder of EDC — (Electric Daisy Carnival, the biggest festival in North America.) Mark mentioned in the post that he knew him for years and he was rooting for him. I never met Mark. Never even had a conversation with him but, that was about to change.
EDC was in NY for the first time ever that weekend. It never really dawned on me that I should go because I couldn't stand that kind of music. No, really! At the time, I absolutely hated it and everything that came with it. But, this weekend, I hated the idea of not being high off life like I was for the past few weeks. I was looking for a new experience & something that involved photography. Up until this point, my entire body of work was Ne-Yo since I was brand new to photography and he was my first client.
I decided to send Mark a message for the first time and make an introduction. I asked him what are the odds of him being able to get me a pass to shoot EDC? I didn't wanna go and be a fan, I wanted to shoot! He said let me make a call. I kid you not, 10 minutes later, I had a press credential in my inbox with a 3 day pass to EDC.
When I got there, I couldn't believe the atmosphere. It was nuts. Everyone was happy, hanging out, holding up signs that read "Everyone loves you here". The bass was intense. It was great. The overall experience turned me into a fan, that day. I came a LONG way.
After EDC NY, I had so much fun I inquired about shooting EDC Las Vegas. They liked my work and invited me down to Las Vegas. This time, I got a text from Carl Cox's publicist who knew I was shooting and asked me if I would be interested in shooting Carl Cox from the DJ Booth. This would be the first time I ever shot a DJ booth before. She told me I had 5 minutes. I got on stage, did my thing, fired off some shots and this was the one I came away with. I saw and felt my photography go to another level because of the access I was given. From then on out, I knew in order to maintain those kind of pictures, I needed to maintain that level of access.
I started putting a portfolio together that showed my best shots of Ne-Yo, that only someone with ALL ACCESS could get, and I also included the picture above. Shortly after that, I entered this photo into a contest and it won Urban Photographer of the Year. I added that into the mix too. Then, I inquired about EDC London. This time, I showed them my shot of Carl Cox, Ne-Yo and my award. What came next? ALL ACCESS to EDC London. See below.
The picture above was the first shot I took when I arrived at EDC London. I showed up for Hardwell's set, where he was just named the #1 DJ in the World that morning. So now, I have a photo of the #1 DJ in the World while he's at his peak, at EDC in London. That was a big moment for me. I just kept stacking accolades after accolades. At this point, I was working for free. Why? Because I didn't consider it work. It was a hobby. I traded my services for access because the access was worth more than the money. The access I had was allowing me to get photo's not many people were getting — and that's what set me apart. Therefore, the access was priceless.
Next, I was looking for more festivals. I've never been to Australia before and I knew that they had a big one coming up. By now, I shot 3 different EDM festivals in 3 different locations and had work that pertained to what I wanted to shoot. It's cool to use Ne-Yo's photo's because it's respectable, but they want to see photo's in their own genre. So, I e-mailed Stereosonic in Australia and didn't say too much, I let my work speak for itself. Once they saw my work, their response was — "what's your rate?"
I was now on my way to shoot the biggest EDM festival in Australia.
After Australia, I reached out to Tomorroworld in Brazil. Flew down there too.
After Brazil, did the next EDC in NY — as you can see - much better access from the first time :)
You might ask, what's the best part of all this? Yea, traveling is a big part of it. Being able to create is a big part of it too. But having the Godfather of Trance, DJ Tiesto himself, take time out of his set in front of 50,000 people to turn around and acknowledge you and let you get the shot takes the cake!