The Connector got to sit down with Amir Robinson, a freshman fine art photography major, to talk about his concert photography work. Robinson is from Montgomery, Alabama — a place he highly regards and where he first picked up a camera back when he entered high school.
How would you describe your photography style?
“I really like to photograph people. I’m not the best with objects and still shots, but I see people in their habitat and can shoot that well. I like to capture people and their personality wherever that might be.”
How did you get into concert photography?
“Kan Kan was performing, and I reached out to a bunch of people to try and get a media pass, but no one hit me back, but I was still like, ‘I have to go,’ so I bought a general admission ticket. I went early and met some of Kan Kan’s team outside unexpectedly. I actually brought my own press pass but never expected to be in the front row, but then the employees asked to see my work, and they said they’d get me one… an hour passed by, and I saw the same guy and asked if he had gotten the pass, which he said he was still working on. At that point, I thought he was not getting it, but at least I’d be close to the front of the stage. When I get in there, I see the two guys from the pit where I’m at, and they’re looking at the phone. I’m assuming they were looking at my work, and then they waved me up and said I could take pictures and send them the content.”
Further into the discussion, Robinson reflected on that experience by saying, “Fake it until you make it. Even with my fine artwork, I draw inspiration from other great artists”. So walk the walk and be confident in yourself and your work until other people are as well. Pictured below are some of Robinson’s recent concert photography work.
Photos Courtesy of Amir Robinson.
How do you make sure you’re ready to take the best pictures during concerts?
“I miss all the best shots. It’s more like you have to take pictures of everything. When you’re working with flash face detection — it slows the process down. The moment just happens. I literally just never take my eyes off the action. I also brought a longer zoom lens to my last concert, which was helpful. I took a picture of lil Candy Paint from afar.”
How do you make connections around Atlanta?
“My big bro Ryan went to Clark, an HBCU, and came to Atlanta before me. He helped me branch out in that aspect.”
Although Robinson has recently made his debut in concert photography, his passion lies wherever he can photograph people in their natural habitat. As we looked through some of his work, his piece titled “FIRST GENERATION PRODIGY 001” really stuck out. Of course, we had to know how that piece came about, which resulted in a longer conversation.
Tell us the story behind this photo?
“This was kinda in the beginning of the first semester, so I just met my roommate. He treated me like family. We went around to the mall and stuff and took pictures that day, but we came back to his auntie’s house, where he was getting his hair braided. His cousin was there, and he stopped to pick him up, and like everything kind of looked good. He was just holding him while he was getting his hair braided. I feel like it really speaks for the black community — how entangled we are, like how he’s holding his cousin and his auntie’s braiding his hair, we’re all integrated together.”
Photo Courtesy of Amir Robinson.
