still + moving images: three photographers

Gunner Stahl

real name jonathan simmons, he is an american photographer from atlanta. primarily photographing hip-hop/rap acts, he has shot artists like kanye west, playboi carti, 21 savage, lil yachty, and so on. he is known for his usage of the point and shoot camera.

i noticed that gunner stahl’s work rarely ever has effects added on. if so, then its marginal at most. i like this a lot because he kinda developed his own style while not affecting the pictures at all, which can be hard since most of his photos are taken within a "moment” and not planned.

Petra Collins

a canadian photographer, she shoots artists/celebrities from all sorts of mediums with her dreamlike/euphoric approach. she also directs and edits music videos and creates different art. she has photographed tyler, the creator, kim kardashian, virgil abloh, and billie eilish.

while researching her work, i’ve noticed that she uses a lot of close up shots of the subject along with pastel colors. her work definitely takes you into a different world. most of her photos place the subject in a certain environment, and the shoots show the subject in various situations in the environment.

Sam Balaban

an american photographer and director based in New Jersey, he has photographed many musical acts including tyler, the creator, jorja smith, kid cudi, FKA twigs, and frank ocean. he is known for his vibrant and dreamy/blurry aesthetic in his photographs.

as shown in these pictures, he uses a lot of movement and saturation. there’s also a heavy use of shiny effects and blurriness to create a warm and dream-like effect. most of his photos are taken at concerts, so movement in the photos would be expected. i like how he uses this to his advantage to add more personality to the photos. my favorite one out of these is of playboi carti (second one). the way his chains shine looks really cool to me.