The Person Behind the Camera 

I came up with Drop Klick Images because I wanted a name that was unique while not having my personal name involved. I want my art to speak for itself and I believe to fully do that was to create Drop Klick Images. The name came to me after I was frustrated with writing down names and using an AI generator for ideas and nothing stood out to me as that's me. One of my frustrated sayings is "I could drop kick a baby right now" and that's when it dawned on me. Drop Kick Images, but change it to Drop Click Images for the pun. My brother suggested to change it to Drop Klick Images with a K because it's slightly different and the initials look better as DKI instead of DCI. So DKI was formed off of a frustrated saying. My gamer tag is SheetBallz and I will leave it to your imagination to figure out how I came up with that one.

The simple answer is no. The more complex answer is while I mainly shoot shows I also love getting lost in the world with a camera and seeing what I find. This can be portraits, nature, action sport, and everything else. I am always up for the challenge!

All black! Its slimming and I am the shadows at shows.... like Batman.

I originally started by shooting nature photos as a way to express myself and spend time with my mom hiking. A few years later I upgraded my gear and was offered to shoot a local charity show called Rave For A Cause and the rest is history.

This is a toss up between Less Than Jake and Frank Turner. Both artists gave me an opportunity when most artists wouldn't even respond to my email or if they did it was a no. While both gave me a yes, Frank Turner had to cancel his show because he fell ill. I still hope one day I can shoot for him with the knowledge I have learned as a thank you for giving me a chance when most did not.

Yes there is a difference between shooting an artists and shooting for an artists. Shooting an artists is just that but shooting for an artists means you are working for the artists directly. This means you have a quota for shots the artists wants and you need to deliver. "With great power comes great responsibility."

"Bro, I didn't even see you on stage or in the crowd!" This was the best compliment because I am the shadow. As a concert photographer you do not want to be seen while doing your job. There are people at the show who paid money to be there to watch the artists and I am there to take the photo. Get in and get out without being noticed is a goal.

The hardest part about shooting shows for me is finding new perspective. Pit shots are cool and can be great for a portfolio, but they can also be boring. While I still get those shots I tend to try and shoot more crowd shots and find unique angles to shoot from. When shooting for an artists you need to remember that crowd shots and unique shots that capture the energy causes FOMO which leads to people buying more tickets.

The best thing about shooting shows is exploring new bands. Where I live I am fortunate enough to have venues that range from 100 people to 25,000. This allows artists big and small from all over the world to come to this area which allows me to listen to them and support them anyway I can.

I try to not view shows as a good or bad, but as an opportunity to grow and make connections while working on my craft. There have been a lot of valuable lessons I have learned over the years that have helped me mentally and professionally. With that being said there was a moment that nothing could prepare me for and that was Trophy Eyes at Mohawk Place in Buffalo, NY. The lessoned I learned from that night was that we all should learn First Aid.

I have been asked this a lot of times and I will say 9 times out of 10 gear doesn't matter, but in concert photography I feel like gear does matter. If you are shooting shows that are outside during the day any camera will do. But shooting in a dark room where you have no control over lighting you are going to want a camera that can handle higher ISO and lenses that have a higher aperture (F2.8 or higher). I will also say that it comes down to the person shooting. Anyone can have the latest and greatest gear, but if they don't know how to use it then the photos will be terrible no mater what.

Absolutely, but there's so many other variables that come to play. I want to tour with good people who have morals and respect for one another despite differences. For me personally, I am a sober person for 8 years, I workout and eat healthy for longevity, I nerd out when it comes to video games, movies, or music, I love terrible dad jokes, and I respect everyone. So for me personally who the artists is as a person means more to me than the name.

Every artists! But here's a list that is in no particular order

Slipknot

Sleep Token

BABYMETAL

Enter Shikari

Fever 333 / Letlive.

Blink 182

Skrillex

Fred Again..

Griz

The Ghost Inside

Rammstein

Frank Turner

Our Last Night

While She Sleeps

Jinjer

The Devil Wears Prada

Spiritbox

Rise Against

My Chemical Romance

Being As An Ocean

Electric Callboy

The three best tips I can tell any photographer is be respectful, enjoy the process with all the ups and downs, and have fun. Being respectful goes a long way in anything you do in life, especially in concert photography. Unless you have an email with all the rules don't just assume them. Talk to security and ask questions, if they don't know the answer they can find the answer and relay it to you. Enjoy the process because it makes you who you are. A lot of people give up on concert photography because it's hard to stand out and it's a long road to achieve your goal. But the constant rejections and all nighters for little to no money is all worth it when you do reach your goal. And have fun with it! We get to do something that most only dream of even if it's a hobby for most. Be proud that you are in the pit shooting an artists or for the artists.