ABOUT RICHARD

I have been capturing moments by way of photography since I was a child. First with the any camera I could get my hands on, then graduating to a Polaroid and eventually my first film camera in the early 80s. In college I had a darkroom in my dormitory bathroom and fondly remember the smells and shadows of developing film for the campus newspaper. My focus has always been about capturing an emotion, a feeling, something that preserves that fraction of time for ongoing memories. I’ve been mentored by some of the best photographers in the world, from Mick Rock who taught me to ‘focus on the energy, everything else is secondary’. Asa Mathat, who pushes me to ‘experiment and discover from mistakes, make more mistakes!’ and Doug Menuez, who enlightened me to always ‘consider the composition’. I’m very lucky to have these geniuses of photography in in my world and am grateful to always be inspired by their work.

I specialize in live events, portraits and personal projects. When it comes to capturing musicians, I take a special pride in working to avoid the typical photographs that have been around since the start of rock n roll and instead aim for capturing elements of the performance that are unique to the artist and their fans. Being a lifelong musician myself, I believe I have a unique eye for what they do and how they communicate to one another and to the audience from the stage. With portraits, I work to bring out the inner person through joy, intensity or whatever it is they want to convey. It’s rare that I do the same shots twice but instead work with the subject to uncover more about who they are and the emotions they want to convey. It’s a collaborative process every time. Lastly, for personal work, I let it speak for itself.

– Richard Kerris Photography