Conversations with Brooks Bohannon

Today we’d like to introduce you to Brooks Bohannon.

Hi Brooks, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
As a kid I always loved taking photos and videos, it was an obsession for me. I started by making gaming videos on my YouTube channel and posting pictures from my iPhone 6 on Instagram. Eventually, when I was 14 I got a mirrorless camera, the Lumix G7. From there I practiced on and off, slowly improving at taking photos. In the Autumn of my Senior year of high school, a photo I took on a family trip to San Francisco was put in the school yearbook.

That moment made me realize how much I love taking photos and since that day I’ve been obsessed. Starting in August of 2022 I began to take photography seriously and dedicate as much time as possible to improving and reaching out to artists everywhere looking for work.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Starting out was very rough, I had next to 0 experience shooting concerts or portraits and since I was a hobby photographer until I started taking on jobs, I lacked any discipline when it came to deadlines, editing, and workflow.

Editing would take me multiple days to finish and getting work was extremely difficult as I didn’t have the connections that I do now.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Professionally, I specialize in concert and portrait photography with my main audience being musicians. I love fashion-focused concept shoots, however, those tend to be my more personal works as it’s rare I get offered to shoot them for others. I’d say I’m most well-known for my concert shots, as those always gain the most attention on social media. When it comes to concert shoots, I do just enough of everything in every shoot; a couple of black and white shots, a couple straight on promo shots, shutter drags, high contrast stop motions, film-style crowd shots, and almost anything else you can think of. I like to think that what sets me apart from everyone else is my diversity in the shots I take and the speed at which I get them finished.

None of my shoots are ever alike, I’m always innovating with new ways I can edit and take photos in order to express what I feel and see in the most eye-catching way possible. When it comes to speed, I like to get my shots to the artist within the next day whenever possible. I see many photographers take days to edit shots and by the time they deliver them to the artist, the buzz from their show has already started to diminish.

Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs, or other resources you think our readers should check out?
Most of the media I consume is for inspiration. Apps like Pinterest and TikTok as well as books like “The Unseen” by Paul Leiter and “Uncommon Places” by Stephen Shore have provided me with countless ideas for photos. AI art websites have also become an invaluable tool for my creative process.

Using AI-generated art, I can create a visual mockup of a photo I’m looking to take by giving it a very specific set of details about a shot and it will give me an idea of what type of photo I’m going for. I’m an extremely forgetful person during my day-to-day and because of that, I use the apple reminders app as well as a physical notebook to keep track of everything I have to do.

Pricing:

• Concert Shoots – $45
• Album Cover Shoots – $65
• Promo/Press Kit Photoshoot – $100
• Studio Shoot – $300

Contact Info:

• Website: brooksbohannon.myportfolio.com
• Instagram: @brooks.bohannon

Image Credits
Arlo Consuelo