Balancing the Beat & Photography with Ash
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[00:00:00]
[00:00:31] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Ash, this is, this is really exciting. I'm, I'm, you know, we, we crossed paths on social. I believe you filled out my survey,
[00:00:39] Asher Please: did, I.
[00:00:40] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: music and photography and, and, and the overlap and stuff. And, so I'm, and your, your, your name and your work caught my attention as I was looking at people who were responding. To that survey. and I saw that you photograph music, so I'm like, this is, you know, somebody I gotta speak to. so [00:01:00] as we as, just to kick things off, before you picked up a camera, what role did music play in your life?
[00:01:07] Asher Please: I was actually pretty multifaceted. First, you know, obviously I was a huge fan. I went to a ton of different concerts, festivals, just honestly just going to the club to check out some of my favorite DJs. And then, as I mentioned, DJing, at the time I was a dj. I had learned from another gentleman who has a large company out in my area and he actually picked me up to, you know, kind of be his tech and help out with the technical side of, you know, audio getting set up, making sure the PA system was, working properly.
And eventually I crossed over into just, you know, doing the DJing thing by myself, which was awesome. But it wasn't necessarily my calling. So, after some time, you know, going out, listening, seeing what the world had to offer with music, I decided I really wanted to spend most of my time in the [00:02:00] studio.
which is where I then, you know, pivoted and spent a lot of my time was, learning how to produce music, how to record, and how to mix. And that skill ended up becoming very valuable for me because, as it turns out, most people who say they want to do music never actually learn how to record, mix and master their music.
They usually get somebody else to do that. And that was awesome for me because I was, I ended up being pretty good at it. so I actually, took that and I went to Full Sail University in Florida to really, try to formalize that education. I felt like there was something that I might have been missing, and there was actually, there was, there was a lot of, nuance and context to the techniques that I was learning on YouTube and, just testing out on my own that, getting to actually have explained to me in person was just amazing.
and, you know, the whole time still going to a festival, still going to the club, still checking out anybody coming into town like, oh, who's this? A very open pilot for music. after I finished up at Full Sail, I came back and actually got a job with Live Nation working at the Queen because I [00:03:00] wanted to work in production.
unfortunately the production department at my local venue, the queen was fully packed up. There was a waiting list to get in, so I kind of just worked there, kind of hoping that, somebody would quit their job and that didn't quite work out, but that was okay. In the meantime, I was working on opening a studio up here in Wilmington, which did end up working out, and I did that for about five years straight.
after I got out of the, got outta working with the Queen, which was, that was a great time. I still, I don't regret any of that time spent. we made a lot of great music, recorded a lot of awesome things, and, you know, made a lot of people really happy 'cause they're able to, you know, approach their dreams from a new, a new standpoint.
making people's dreams realistic was, something that was really humbling for me. as I was working in the studio, you know, people would come in, they would play me a preview track and they're like, I know I'm not Drake, but. I really want to sound like that. And I'm like, be able to get you like 70% of the way there.
The other [00:04:00] 25, you're definitely gonna have to work on this, this and this. And, you know, actually being able to sit, sit down with people and work through that was really humbling. And honestly just, it felt good. It was fulfilling.
[00:04:11] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Yeah. Yeah. It sounds like, you've, you've already lived some of. What I wanted to do with my career, straight outta high school. I, I, I wanted, I actually went to Berkeley College of Music as a recording major, and I, I, I thought I was gonna own a recording studio and just record bands the rest of my life. Life changed,
[00:04:32] Asher Please: Here we are.
[00:04:34] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: but, that's, that's fantastic.
[00:04:36] Challenges and Adaptations
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[00:04:37] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: So you owned a studio, for five years. You ran this
[00:04:39] Asher Please: Yeah. So there was, there was a point where I had partnered with somebody and we opened up a joint venture. and we were doing that for a number of years. And then that individual actually got sick with, brain cancer and I stepped back to give him the space he needed to, get the treatment that he needed.
you know. It was just a lot for me to ask him to [00:05:00] help me continue running the studio while he was, undergoing treatment. So I just had to step back and, give him that space. But in the meantime, I actually ended up, operating out of other local studios. A lot of places knew my name, they knew who I was.
So they said, yeah, you can use our equipment. Pretty much anytime just, pay this rate and they would gimme a huge discount on their general hourly rate. 'cause now they don't have to pay an engineer. So I'm like, oh, okay, well I don't have to, start over. I can actually just take clients at whatever location they want.
Which was, again, a huge advantage over a lot of other folks who were, you know, kind of stuck with what equipment they had. I could kind of go to the studio that had what I needed from the session. but yeah, being able to do that for five years was outstanding. It paid all of my bills. It was a, it was truly a dream.
Like, I remember,I went to go buy a car for the first time by myself. and I just brought, my mom around 'cause, you know, never bought a car by myself. Never done this. I don't want to get, you know, thrown around in the wind by some random car salesman. And I was able to actually get approved.
I [00:06:00] got a nice little Mercedes. I was like living for a couple years. They're like, wow. I can't believe, like it was really the dream music was paying for my lifestyle and I was, I was like, wow, I should like write about this or something. People, people need to know that this is possible. And then the next step for me came when, you know, I started meeting artists who were making music that really resonated with me personally and.
They would ask me, you know, Hey, do you produce? And you know, at the time, yeah, I, I produced music, but I never sold myself as the producer. It was always the engineer, the guy who helped you get the recording right. So I said, you know, I do produce, we can kind of work on something, but I can't promise it'll be anything.
And, they were happy to work with me on that. And I kind of stepped into being the executive producer for a couple of different folks who wanted. Tracks that they couldn't necessarily find on, like, you know, just by typing in type B on YouTube. So we were working on that. I was, you know, calling up some [00:07:00] contacts, you know, if they needed a drummer, I could get them a drummer if they needed a guitarist, a saxophone, whoever really, we could get them in the studio and do some recording.
As long as, of course everybody had to have the budget. You know, we had want to keep it above board, make sure all our creators get paid, which I'm really passionate about now. Still, as you'll see as we go on with this, narrative here. but. That was really awesome and I think, I think I'd probably still be doing that today if it was not for the pandemic.
the pandemic came and pretty much wiped out my entire client base, almost overnight. I think there were two waves of clients that I got in mid pandemic, where I was like, oh, wow, I'm pretty busy again. The first wave was stimulus checks folks, which you might find funny, but, you know, a lot of people got their stimulus check and the first thing on their mind was to record their album and I respect it.
you know, at the time I was like, you know. The world is kind of on fire right now, guys, but I appreciate you coming here to, to do [00:08:00] this with me.
[00:08:01] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: yeah. Yeah. You know, I, there was definitely a, a resurgence in a way of, from COVID of people who, you know, might have recorded in the past or might have never recorded their own music before and realize, you know, what the world. Is now virtual, right? Where everybody's at home working, can record my music at home, right?
So I, I definitely see there is a shift. I mean, look, e even, in, there's that ne Netflix documentary of the, the, of the Aris tour tour from Taylor
[00:08:38] Asher Please: Oh yeah.
[00:08:38] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Swift, right? And in that she even talks about how COVID she recorded one or two albums at home on her bed, like. Didn't go anywhere and recorded albums that still are like Grammy winning and all that kind of stuff, right?
So it's doable for anybody, to do. it's, you [00:09:00] know, the, you could do it with whatever budget you want between hardware getting more affordable and software easier to come by and being very powerful in itself. heck, there's people that are using Da Vinci resolve to. Record and edit music and not even worry about the video aspect of it.
Right. And it's free.
[00:09:21] Asher Please: I, I, oh, you.
[00:09:24] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: yeah. So, so, so that was your, that must have been your, your moment from what I'm gathering from this story is that must have been your moment of, okay, recording isn't where I'm gonna make my money. Where I'm gonna make my living. Maybe I need to find something else that's creative to, know, put my name on
[00:09:44] Asher Please: So it was a, it was a multi-part process there. like I said, there were two waves. The first wave was the people who got their stimulus check and said, time to record an album. the second wave was actually politician. Who needed to run for mayor and, the Senate, and a lot of [00:10:00] folks were, were coming to me to record, like the radio ads, PSAs and that kind of thing.
And as soon as that started dying down, I was looking, you know, it was coming towards the end of the year. It's like August. And I'm like, I don't have anything at all on my calendar. This was the first time this has happened in. Actually a long time ever. so I kind of was freaking out.
[00:10:20] Photography and New Beginnings
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[00:10:20] Asher Please: at the time I had already started with photography as a hobby and a couple people had brought me in to do their weddings.
Those people also canceled, so I really had nothing. And a good friend of mine came to me and said, Hey, Are you looking for some daytime work? Because, you know, everybody knew me as a, a night owl at the time. All my studio clients would be booking 7:00 PM and onward. All the, things I photograph are.
You know, 10:00 PM onwards for a lot of them. so he was like, are you looking for some daytime work? my office just needs somebody to do some paperwork. And long story short, I accidentally became a full-time accountant. I don't know [00:11:00] how that happened. we just kind clicked because I had been doing my accounting work myself for God knows how long, since like 2015.
when I first started making money doing DJing. And I, it turns out I had actually really learned a lot. So they put me in charge, of getting everything caught up. you know, as I was working in the firm, a lot of the skills I learned to manage my creative businesses. Immediately became very useful, managing pretty much any other kind of business.
so I kind of just climbed the ladder super quick. I spent what, 4, 4, 4 and a half years there. and by the time, you know, by today, I would be the, you know, account manager for, I wanna say 12 different businesses. And that was a really interesting experience because what it taught me was, just being a lot more present about money and finances and that kind of thing.
And again, you know, at the end of the pandemic photography came back, events came back, [00:12:00] and I was starting to do that again. And I was just thinking to myself like all 2024, I'm like, man, I really like photography, but I really want to focus on. Doing this one part 'cause I'm not really like a wedding type of guy.
Like weddings are great. They, they pay a good amount of money, but I was never really there at the wedding to photograph for the money. Like I was looking to, do what I loved and capture these moments. and the wedding was awesome. It was a great place to do that, but it was a lot of pressure for something that I wasn't particularly like.
I didn't particularly enjoy being at a wedding Now. A concert that was something that I particularly loved doing. So I had, made tons of time to get involved with local open mics, showcases. I even got, put on the board of directors for the Delaware Music Network. just 'cause, you know, I was showing up, I was supporting their causes and they seem to, you know, I seem to know a lot of the members and a lot of the [00:13:00] people who are involved.
So they got me involved. And from there I did a. 18 month, analysis of their open mics, or I just showed up and photographed all the, featured artists every month. And then we did interviews. I did some written pieces, we did some videos. and I actually write about that on my, on my substack.
'cause you know, that was the, when I finally stepped back from working the open mic, I was like, man, I did a lot of these. Hang on. There's gotta be a lesson here.
[00:13:28] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Right.
[00:13:28] Asher Please: So it was kind of that experience where I was like, you know. Maybe I don't need to focus on anything else, but this one thing right here, this one vertical.
A lot of people sit, a lot of people online say, you can't make money doing X. You can't do Y, you can't live off of Z. And I'm like, but are they doing it or are they just working a nine to five and saying that? There's a lot of, I had another conversation with another gentleman and we came to the conclusion that a lot of people online try something for maybe 10 minutes and then say, yeah, you're [00:14:00] just not gonna make a living doing that.
And I'm like, but you've only been doing it for 10 minutes.
[00:14:07] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Yep. Yep.
[00:14:08] Asher Please: yeah, we see a lot of that with, the press, you know, getting press to get in the press pass to get into different shows. somebody will, you know, do three pitches, to stadium events and get no responses and then say, man, things are really different these days.
It's like, but you only did three pitches. You know, I'm, you know, I'm seeing people talking about having to do 10, 15, 20 pitches before they get one response. And people are online are talking about giving up. So I decided to shut all of that out and just really lock in and focus on just serving this one type of client.
Musicians, managers, you know, people who are actually making the tour happen. People who are trying to get more dates on their tour, people who are trying to really show off what their artists have to offer. Without necessarily, [00:15:00] you know, going on TV and, you know, parading them around. I mean, that's good too.
If they can get it. I'm, I'm all for it. As you know, a live stream concert is just, that's just another experience, another way to enjoy that experience. So, no hate there, but for me it was really capturing the moments, you know, and stills that really, resonated with me.
[00:15:20] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Mm-hmm.
[00:15:20] Asher Please: So.
[00:15:21] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: you've, you've, you've had a, a, a heck of a journey with, music and even now in the photography, and I wonder, what. You've, you've, you've listened to a lot of music, especially as you're photographing different concerts and whatnot. music inspires you like today? Like if you were to say, I need to go and just get into my cave and be creative for the next five hours, music would, would you put on that just gets you, gets you in that, in that zone?
[00:15:51] Asher Please: Ooh, asking the deep questions. So I would have to say there's two genres that I [00:16:00] really, really love when I need to. For example, I have a, an editing playlist. First, it's, alternative hip hop and alternative r and b kind of together. hip hop being just this absolutely massive genre. Now, there's a lot of different derivatives, but the alternative side of it where, you know, the beats aren't necessarily what you would hear on the radio per se, is just.
There's something cathartic about that. you know, growing up I was always kind of like the odd one out in the friend group. You know, I was always into something different and that's, that kind of resonates with me as I'm, you know, listening to music. I'm like, this person sounds like the odd man out.
Like, especially when you look who their peers are. r and b is the same kind of way. especially, again, on that alternative side of things. And then the second genre is house music. Absolutely love my house music. house music has gotten me through so many tough times in my life. Just, you know, putting on a beat and vibing to whatever, [00:17:00] whatever the keyboard player's laying down, whatever the DJ's got going on, we're just vibing.
And, you know, night rider music is what I call it. I get on the highway, it's, you know, two in the morning, I've got a two hour drive back to Delaware, and I'm like, yeah, I'm gonna put on some zoo.
[00:17:19] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: That's fantastic. so on, on a, a similar, similar, road, just to go with the road, topic here for a second. how does your musical ta your musical taste and preferences, impact what jobs you would prioritize? Let's say you had. Five opportunities lined up right, that you could take if you, if you have it, or maybe, you've got two that are the same day that you've gotta make a decision on, like, would your musical taste influence which projects you take?
Or is it more this one will pay better or this one will give you more flexibility? Like, how does that [00:18:00] all combine? when it comes to which concerts you would photograph, for example?
[00:18:05] Asher Please: Okay. so there is a bit of a hierarchy to it. first of all, I am a huge fan of convenience. when it comes to concerts, concerts are already really hectic. They're already really unpredictable. The artist could be two hours late and, you know, just not tell you sometimes. That's definitely happened before.
So I always want to pick the shows that are the most convenient to shoot, so I can always adapt to any. Unplanned instances is what I'll call. But beyond that, if I had to choose, you know, if I had to choose between two opportunities that were equally co convenient, I think for me, my mus, the way my musical taste would affect my choice is by my knowledge of the community that consumes that art.
So. For example, earlier, actually this was 2024, I shot a house music event up in Philadelphia called Departed and. [00:19:00] I pretty much dropped everything to go shoot that event because house music. But for me, the determining factor was the community. I already knew that. I liked the house music community, very accepting, very open, and I wanted to create images that would resonate with those people.
I liked the art direction for that event a lot, and I thought, wow, you know, whoever was working on this, they did. They went into the details. They did their research. They know their audience. They know what this group is into, and they're channeling that. That mystical foreign beach energy that a lot of house music loves to kind of reference to.
And they really put that into an art form and made that the visual identity for the event. And I just knew when I saw that, yeah, the people going to this event, those are my people. I'm gonna feel at home walking into this event. I'm not gonna feel like I'm intruding, I'm gonna feel like I [00:20:00] belong here.
And when I, when I feel like I belong and I pick up my camera, it's just a whole different, it's just a whole different, methodology, thought process. It's a whole different way I approach the shooting and I have so much more fun with it. the experimental side of what I want to do and how I wanna shoot really comes out in those events.
I don't feel constrained like I would, for example, shooting another show where. The visual is, you know, mainly like a single person standing in front of a mic, whereas with house music, yeah, we have some DJs and I could probably get 10 hero images of the DJ in maybe, maybe 15, 20 minutes, of just them playing.
But then that leaves the other two hours in 45 minutes of the event for me to roam around and shoot. Anything I really feel like shooting and with house music events, there are always gonna be, you know, people who are dressing up different types of ways from, you know, somebody might show up in [00:21:00] sweats and a t-shirt, somebody might show up in a full tuxedo and somebody might show up dressed as like a Roman gr, a Greek, a Roman statue.
And I'm like, all of these three people, they're like, best friends, let's get that in the same image.
[00:21:16] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Yeah, yeah,
[00:21:16] Asher Please: that's really telling a story now, like, okay.
[00:21:19] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: it is. let, let's that now. and let's say you, you are, about to give advice to a photographer who's about to shoot some concerts, they don't feel emotionally connected to the music in any way, but. It's maybe it's their first opportunity to photograph a concert, so they took the job.
Right.
[00:21:40] Asher Please: Yeah.
[00:21:40] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: it might be. They're getting paid. They're, they're good at what they do, but they're not emotionally connected to music. What advice would you give to that photographer?
[00:21:53] Asher Please: I would say, I would say focus on, focus on landing. [00:22:00] Landing your shot list. You oftentimes, you don't get a shot list with concerts, but I always advise people that they should make one.
[00:22:08] Connecting with the Artist's Vision
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[00:22:08] Asher Please: go on the artist's Spotify, go on their website, see what the artist's visuals are like. you don't necessarily have to match those visuals a hundred percent, but it's a fun project to try to get close, and I think that's great advice if you're not connected to the music.
Check the artist visuals, check what they're putting out, see if you can pick, pick up the pieces that they're putting down for the fans, and then work your darnest to match that output and see if you can add to that, asset portfolio that they're building there. because if, again, if you're not connected to the music.
I mean, and you're going to photograph a concert. I mean, I assume you love photography. So if you're not connected to the music, at least be connected to the photography, be connected to the work that has been done [00:23:00] before you. See if you can build upon that. And I think that's a fun project for me, and that's honestly how I approach a lot of music.
where I'm not particularly the target audience. I can at least look and say, okay, this is what they're putting down. Let me see if I can add to that. And that's huge. I think the artists, especially if they have management, appreciates that more than anything, because those images immediately become useful to them and if those images are immediately useful to them.
You might be getting a call back. It might not even be, you know, for the same band. Maybe the next band is somebody you really love. And that's kind of the dream. Like we all wanna shoot for our idols. So, you know, you gotta lay that foundation brick by brick. And even if you don't know, even if it's a complete no-name band, even if it, you think they're garbage, completely.
That's not necessarily what you're there to do. You're there to, you're there to capture those moments and you're there to add to that artist stockpile [00:24:00] of imagery. Or if you're shooting for press, you're there to add to the press outlet. So, you know, depending on who you're shooting for, if you're shooting for the artist, check their website, check their visuals.
If you're shooting for a press outlet, check past articles. See what other photographers who shoot for this, outlet are doing. There's a nice book called, steal Like an Artist. I'm sure a lot of people have read it, but that's kind of in the same vein, like, you know,
[00:24:23] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Yeah, a
[00:24:24] Asher Please: take a look.
[00:24:25] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: It's, it's great advice. Not only is it good for your creative brain, but it's also good for your business. So it's, that's fantastic advice.
[00:24:32] Asher Please: Absolutely.
[00:24:34] Defining Moments in Concert Photography
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[00:24:34] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: now, do, was there a, a defining moment, a first concert you photographed where you realized that from the photography side. You are now seeing music differently than the entire stadium that's there, know, watching, listening to this, to this artist, that you, you're hearing it different.
You're seeing it different because you're now in it. there a moment, that happened and [00:25:00] what was, what was that?
[00:25:02] Asher Please: Absolutely. So this actually happened twice. The first time was a, It was a college event called U Dance for University of Delaware, where they raised money for childhood cancer and University of Delaware. They go hard, I'm not gonna lie to you. They really do. So they have this, venue called the Bob Carpenter Center.
It's usually where they host like graduations and stuff. But instead on during ance, it's open for, I think it's like a full 12 hours or something like that. and they pretty much party the entire time, before the last hour, I wanna say is called the Rave Hour. And before that they just have various bands coming in and playing.
And I recall I was. In between assignments at Ance, I was there to shoot for two different people and neither one of them had anything lined up for like the next two hours. And it was like [00:26:00] I could go home and come back or I could just hang out here and see what's going on on stage. And I decided to hang out.
And this band called this local cover band called The Rockets. They came up on stage and proceeded to absolutely. Own the energy in the whole room. Like I don't think anybody who had played before them had actually really commanded the crowd like they were. And I was able to get into the pit. 'cause I of course have my photo pass and all my credentials and everything just ready to go.
I was basically on standby and I said, honestly. These guys didn't hire me. They didn't, they didn't. They don't even know me. But this is amazing. I want to capture this. And as I was working on, as I was working on framing and just figuring stuff out, 'cause I have to do that sometimes I shoot on primes, which is not ideal during a concert.
So, really have to. Pick my locations and shots. But as I'm doing that, I'm like really watching the artists on stage, how they're interacting with each other, the cues they're [00:27:00] passing to each other, and, how they're lining up each song and you know, what the next song is gonna be. And I'm really paying attention to the, these details.
I'm like, wow. These guys are super cool under pressure. You know, you could tell they've done this hundreds, possibly thousands of times, like they're so in sync. And when I finally pulled up my camera, they were so in sync that I was able to predict moments, like big moments happening on stage that were supposed to wow the audience.
And they did, I don't wanna say supposed to, they really did. Wow. The audience, they wowed me sitting in the pit. So, you know. I was able to use the onstage cues that they were giving each other though to really capture these key moments. And I think I captured like six or seven like hero style images of the individual artists on stage.
Just doing something, doing an action of something. And, all six of those shots went into the portfolio. And as I was, as I was editing, I was like, wow, this is [00:28:00] like. This is really intricate work that these, these people are doing. not only are they entertaining and coordinating, but they're, they're dealing with the emotions in the room and making sure that each song.
Is a compliment to those emotions. they even took a request at one point, I believe, where they kind of just yelled out and, you know, somebody, somebody in the crowd yelled out and everybody was like, yeah, that song. And they're like, okay. So at that point I said, you know, there's a lot going on stage that I'm really interested in seeing more about this.
I think this is. Something I want to pursue a lot more. 'cause at the time I'd mostly been shooting in nightclubs, mainly de dealing with DJs and independent, rappers who were trying to get their music out there. I'd never, you know, shot for a band that had gone on tour and like I said, had done this hundreds, possibly thousands of times.
And, you know, seeing that difference, seeing what was happening on stage and being able to really predict and capture those moments was just, [00:29:00] that was a. Opinion changing moment for me, that was a very crucial moment for me. 'cause I realized how much I really loved photographing musicians right in that moment.
[00:29:10] The Open Mic Experience
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[00:29:10] Asher Please: The second time actually happened at the open mic series I was telling you about that I shot for 18 months. you know, we have this thing with open mics where it's kind of like you kind of know what you're gonna get. That's not true. That's not true. That's not true at all. I, I came here to say that's not true at all.
I, after going to 18 open mics, I don't know what I'm gonna get. Sometimes it's entirely independent musicians. Sometimes a Grammy award-winning producer walks in with his entire team and they decide to lay down a mini concert for the whole room, and everything that happens in between those two points is possible at an open mic and shooting the open mics really.
Taught me that there were a lot of people who came up on stage at those open mics that had no business being at an open mic [00:30:00] whatsoever. Grammy award-winning producer, PC Beats, who goes by t Anthony came in one day, like I mentioned, he brought his whole team. He literally put on a curated show for everybody that day.
I think the room had like 50 people in it. And I'm like, what is he doing here? Like, how did we, how did we land this guy? Another artist I really appreciated, had just come, come back from Africa. She had scored an entire film and she was with her child and she brought on stage a little hand drum. And just gave us a, a very stripped down performance of one of her top tracks right now, which has over a million streams on Spotify.
And at the time, me not knowing this, I'm just listening like, wow, this is one of the best singers I've ever heard in my entire life. And she's sitting there with a hand drum just. Tapping along and her child is, not running wild, but definitely, definitely adding to the [00:31:00] audience's entertainment. as she's like interacting with her mom, she's completely un unaware that this is a performance her mom is doing for a, a whole group of people here.
And it's like, this is like, this is a real raw moment. Like this person came here and is sharing their soul with us. Again, I just, in that moment, I really felt something in my soul, my heart and soul just aligned on that and said, yeah, I wanna do more of this. And I went home later and found out, oh, she's like really popular.
Like she really does this. and her name was Tele Deja. And to this day, one of my favorite artists, she ended up dropping an EP later that year, later or this year. And again, one of my favorite releases of the year, and it was just 'cause I went to an open mic.
[00:31:46] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Yeah.
[00:31:46] Asher Please: And that, that was all, that was the cost of, admission for, you know, being in that fan club and I'm forever grateful.
So those are the, definitely the two moments. One huge stage production, one no production, stripped down [00:32:00] intimate moments, and both really rang true for me and really, you know, give me my North Star.
[00:32:06] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Yeah.
[00:32:07] Asher Please: Like this is why I do these.
[00:32:09] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Yeah.
[00:32:10] Gear and Techniques for Concert Photography
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[00:32:10] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: that story you mentioned you kind of like. touched on it, you use primes, which I also love primes. There's only one scenario where I don't use primes, and you would think in concert photography of any kind, you would not wanna use primes. So what primes are you using? I'm going to actually, I want to guess first. yeah, yeah. I'm assuming you've, you've got two body, two camera bodies on you,
[00:32:36] Asher Please: actually I only rock with one. I like to, I like to be very lean. definitely needed those dual card slots, but I, I like to be very lean. I need to move, a lot of concerts, you know, because I shoot for the artist. I'm not limited to the first three songs. so I want to be lean. I don't want to carry around a ton of extra equipment.
I literally just want to be able to reach into my bag, grab exactly what I need, slam it on, and take this [00:33:00] shot. And because I've been doing a lot of that, aforementioned like prediction based on state, on stage cues, looking, checking with the dj, talking to the artist beforehand, getting the set list, usually isn't a problem for me.
But you're right though. You're right though. Every single concert photographer. I've spoken to, it was like, yeah, I just have these two lenses, and I'm like, yeah, I'll probably get a second body. Eventually though.
[00:33:23] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: I am guessing that you've got a 50 on for a lot of it. only because if you're doing primes you're running around, you're running around, you've gotta be pretty. Pretty versatile with, and fifty's a a pretty versatile for concert length, if, from my my opinion, but, you're gonna need one for when you're on stage.
If you go, if you're getting up close at any point, you're gonna need something wider than 50. So I'm assuming you've got somewhere a 24 or 35, somewhere in your bag.
[00:33:58] Asher Please: Okay.
[00:33:58] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: And then [00:34:00] also when you're going far back, 50 is gonna be too far. So I'm assuming you've got a 1 35 in there. How far? How far off am I?
[00:34:07] Asher Please: Two outta three. Two outta three. But the third,
[00:34:10] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: that's
[00:34:10] Asher Please: that third guess, the third guess is very close. I, I want to give you partial credit because I actually do want a 1 35. I wanna buy a 1 35 really badly. The, 1.8 1 35 from Nikon, the Plen is like my dream lens right now. but it's a 50, a 24 and an 85.
[00:34:27] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Eight, five. Okay. Yeah, my, so my go-tos are 35 and 85,
[00:34:31] Asher Please: Understandable.
[00:34:32] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: one. So I photograph, surprise
[00:34:34] Asher Please: Mm-hmm.
[00:34:36] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: and so I have two camera bodies on me. The one on my left has my 35 on it. one on my right the proposal itself has a telephoto zoom lens on it. 30. 35 to one 50 from Tamron. and just because you need the, you have to, with, with like such a fast paced short period of time, you [00:35:00] can't
[00:35:00] Asher Please: It.
[00:35:01] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: switching
[00:35:01] Asher Please: Yeah, you can't miss it.
[00:35:02] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: but yeah. But otherwise I'm, I'm using primes, so, very interesting that you're that with, with concert photography. very interesting. Couple, couple more questions left for you.
And, so as somebody who has played in bands, as somebody who has toured, who has photographed bands, I totally understand there's that. between loving the music and loving the photography. And I also know from having photographed bands that I absolutely love, sometimes you get immersed in the moment of the music and you forgot to, that you have a camera in your hand. How do you balance, sometimes forgetting that, oh, I actually need to photograph these people and not just. Jam out to the music as a fan, how do you do that? How do you do that balance so you're [00:36:00] not losing shots that you should have gotten?
[00:36:02] Asher Please: So for me, actually, there's a really specific thing that's going through my head, especially if I love the band or DJ that's playing. first and foremost, it's. Wow, these, these guys sound really good. Can I make them look as good as they sound? And that is like, that is like my driving. Like if I'm hearing a song that is making me vibe, I am more inspired in that moment more than ever to go and get the shot that I'm thinking of.
Like I'm, my brain is, my brain might work a little differently than most in that regard because, When I start to hear a song, I think about the visuals in my head for that song. not necessarily the visuals the artist put out, but you know. If I'm like listening to a song on Spotify and there's no music video in my head, I can imagine what that music video would look like and it works a lot of the same way at a live performance.
Like, wow, this is like a really awesome moment. They're really singing into this, into [00:37:00] my soul. And that just inspires me more than ever to pick up my camera and get in there because if they're singing to my soul right now, I can see it in their eyes. I really can. and I really want to get in there and capture that moment.
if you look through my portfolio, you can definitely capture few of those shots where I was like, oh my gosh, this is it right here. I need to, I need to get this, I need to get this.
[00:37:23] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Yeah.
[00:37:23] Asher Please: I'm almost obsess about, getting that, getting in there for that moment.
[00:37:28] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Yeah, my favorite. So I, before joining, I'm, I'm currently wearing a shirt from my karate school. Before joining the karate school, I photographed the school for many, many years. And, I, I find with, when I photograph fans and when I photograph karate, find that I get so immersed in it that sometimes I'm actually. So in tune with what's happening that I am ready to click the shutter button for an exact moment I know is coming up. And that is like the all, like the, [00:38:00] the, the best feeling in the world when, you know, you don't even have to look at your screen. You, you know, you got it because you know the music or you know, the whatever it is happening so perfectly in your head that, you know, you know you're gonna nail it no matter what.
[00:38:14] Asher Please: so, I just, just to add to that, that was, that was the feeling I was having when I was shooting the Rockets at You dance. Like, I had never heard these guys play before, but you know, I guess years of working in the recording studio and just, helping people put songs together helped me recognize song structure.
As I was at the gig, just kinda inherently, and being able to really lock in for those moments is amazing. I completely understand that feeling like. Oh my gosh. If it's a song I know an artist I know too, like, oh yeah, no. The moment he's about to say this next verse, I need to be there. Like before he gets to the third bar, because that fourth, fifth, and sixth bar, the audience is gonna be going crazy.
I want to get that shot from the pit, like looking down at the audience, or I want to get him interacting with the [00:39:00] audience on stage or something like that. Whatever it is happening, like seeing that in your head ahead of time is so helpful and.
[00:39:07] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: a hundred percent.
[00:39:08] Asher Please: I think the people who can do that honestly take the best shots at the concert.
[00:39:13] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Yeah.
[00:39:14] Asher Please: Mm-hmm.
[00:39:14] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: sure. my last question to you is something I ask, I've been asking every guest, I don't know when I started asking this question, but, it's now a tradition. I'm finishing off every episode with a question of, your photography style was a genre of music, would it be and why? It's a tough one, but it really gets you thinking. And you know, as somebody who likes house music, who likes r and b and hip hop music. Your answer may not be either of those three, which I think is really fun when that's when that happens, but it, it also could be
[00:39:55] Asher Please: If I had to say, I would probably say [00:40:00] like, this is debatable if you consider pop a genre, but I would probably say pop music. My, my, photography style. Looks to me very colorful, very varied. As far as, you know, what it can, what I could be taking a picture of. I know it's all concerts, but I don't discriminate against any particular type of genre.
Like if I get a punk show, I get a punk show. If I get a rap show, I get a rap show, you know, so. It ultimately ends up for me, looking through the whole, whole portfolio. Like I really like my colors to pop. I really like them to stand out on the, on screen or on page, whatever the medium is. And in that regard, I definitely think that's what, that's the part of my style that is, near most nearest and dear to me, I guess I would say.
And in that, in that regard, I would definitely say it's kind of like pop, like it's a little bit of everything but polished really well. And that's what we're, that's what we're, that's what we're here to consume today.
[00:40:57] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: That's right.
[00:40:58] Asher Please: Little bit of every [00:41:00] genre thrown in there.
[00:41:02] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: That's right. I love it. I love it. See, I I I, it
[00:41:05] Asher Please: Made me think about that one.
[00:41:07] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Yeah. It's always fascinating just to hear 'cause you don't normally think about your photography as a genre of music,
[00:41:15] Asher Please: No, not at all. That's a fun exercise.
[00:41:18] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Yeah. Yeah. Ash, thank you so much for, for hopping in here, for chatting with me.
I, I love hearing about your background, and hopefully everybody who listens to this episode also. we'll walk away with, some fun and some, some inspiration to, you know, if, if they're thinking about doing concert photography, if they are maybe thinking about it a different way. So it's been, it's been a blast.
Thank you so much
[00:41:41] Asher Please: Thank you so much for having me. This was awesome. I can't wait to hear the full thing.