Band Photography Grit and Guts with Emily Hartmann
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[00:00:00]
[00:00:29] Emily Hartmann: Emily, I believe I came across your name, your Instagram as I was just. Scrolling through and you kind of, I just appeared.
[00:00:42] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: a you, you ziplined a across my screen while photographing a band.
[00:00:47] Emily Hartmann: And of course that caught my attention. so, I immediately reached out to you and I'm glad that we get to chat and I get to learn about, How you got into this and all that. So first of all, welcome to Lenses, & Lyrics. you are also [00:01:00] my first non-male guest, so I'm very excited to have somebody who's not a dude
Yeah.
[00:01:09] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: so thank you and welcome.
[00:01:11] Emily Hartmann: Thank you. Thank you for having me.
[00:01:13] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: so you are in New York, is that
[00:01:16] Emily Hartmann: Yes, correct.
[00:01:17] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Okay, cool. so we're practically, I'm in New Jersey, so we're practically
[00:01:20] Emily Hartmann: I am in Long Island, so we're neighbors.
[00:01:22] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Only a three hour drive.
[00:01:24] Emily Hartmann: No, it's fine.
[00:01:26] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Yeah.
[00:01:27] From Shows to Photo Passes
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[00:01:28] Emily Hartmann: so, so tell me, you, you photograph a lot of band, a lot of music. I do.
[00:01:32] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: history. History with music. Like, but more specifically, like what kind of scenes or environments were you drawn to early on?
Like, how, how did this come to be?
[00:01:43] Emily Hartmann: I, I've been going to shows for a really long time. It's just been what me and my friends do. And I started to also get into photography simultaneously and, you know, I'd be going to like a pop punk show, an alternative show, and I'd be like, fuck, I'd love to photograph my friends [00:02:00] having so much fun.
[00:02:01] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: it really started with being like, everybody around me is having so much fun.
[00:02:05] Emily Hartmann: How can I capture this and keep it as a, a lovely memory? And then it. It
[00:02:11] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Yeah.
[00:02:11] Emily Hartmann: just kind of spirals from there.
[00:02:14] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: So you, you, you, you were doing it just like. You started photographing it just, just for yourself. Just for fun.
[00:02:21] Emily Hartmann: yeah, just for me and my friends and it was a really fun time. And then I just started like cold emailing bands and I was like, Hey, please let me come photograph and, you know, you, you get some that bite.
[00:02:34] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: yeah,
I think my first, ahead.
[00:02:36] Emily Hartmann: My first like photo pass was for bowling for soup and it's 'cause I dmd one of them and I was like, hi, I am like 15.
Please, please let me come photograph your show.
[00:02:46] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Yeah, yeah, I, I totally, totally did that. I, I was in, a bunch of bands in the late nineties, early two thousands, and, up until even like joining bands, I was photo, I would always [00:03:00] go to shows and also, you know, have my camera there and photograph just from the, you know, the, the crowd and whatnot. And it, it really did just take, sending out cold emails to people,
[00:03:14] Emily Hartmann: I actually, I photographed a few warp tour dates by cold, like cold emailing Kevin Lyman and being like, hi, I am in high school, please. And he was like, yeah, do whatever you want. I think I photographed like six of the last like full warp tour run.
[00:03:29] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: like, I'm going to like eight of these. And he's like, yeah, show up every day.
[00:03:32] Emily Hartmann: I don't care.
[00:03:35] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: And, and he gave you, did he give
[00:03:36] Emily Hartmann: I got a photo pass for, yeah, for like six days. I kept showing up to the tent and they were like, you again? And I was like, hi.
[00:03:46] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: That's so good. That's so good. so, I'm assuming that because you were already going to shows and then. Pivoted to like start photographing the shows as well. [00:04:00] you didn't really feel like an outsider. You, you felt like you were just part of it, just from being part of the scene already or was there any moment where you still kind of felt that awkwardness of, do I belong here?
[00:04:10] Emily Hartmann: I think, I think I feel that now. I don't think I can ever really get rid of that. It doesn't matter how much I do it. I feel like that imposter syndrome is always gonna live in me.
[00:04:21] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Yeah. have you, have you ever photographed a band that you didn't want to photograph or that you had zero? Not necessarily like, like I refuse to photograph them, but like, I don't enjoy their music. Do I really wanna be doing it? Have you ever photographed a band that have to, you don't have to name drop the band.
I'm just asking in general, have you photographed of someone you didn't
[00:04:42] Emily Hartmann: I get that. Yeah. Yeah. I mean it's, it's, I feel like I can separate like what I'm listening to and.
[00:04:51] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: The type of visuals that they have, like an I can always appreciate, like a good visual, a good stage set up, fantastic [00:05:00] lighting. I can separate the two where I have my earplugs in anyway, so I, unless I know every word of the song, I don't know what's happening
Right.
[00:05:09] Emily Hartmann: while I'm photographing.
[00:05:10] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Yeah. Yeah. You know, it's, it's interesting. I, I feel like. So I'm a father of two, two young kids. One is a young girl, and of course she's in that phase of Taylor Swift is the best, right? and as a musician myself, I, I have a big appreciation for what she does in her music. Would I choose to listen to it on a daily basis?
No. Would I photograph the heck out of a Taylor Swift
[00:05:39] Emily Hartmann: Absolutely. Yes,
[00:05:41] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: can you like imagine the, the, just the stage production that you get to utilize in your
[00:05:46] Emily Hartmann: please. Ridiculous.
[00:05:49] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Yeah.
[00:05:49] Emily Hartmann: I did,
[00:05:50] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: get it. That, like, that, that,
[00:05:51] Emily Hartmann: yeah, I did.
[00:05:53] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: So,
[00:05:54] Emily Hartmann: before it crashed and burned. Blue Ridge Rock Festival
[00:05:57] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: okay.
[00:05:58] Emily Hartmann: and, That was so [00:06:00] fun. Like it, the, just the, the type of rock festival that it was, which I'm not typically into, like fantastic. I got to photograph like Slipknot Sleep Token and it was just me running around la la, la, la, la to every band, getting as much as I could.
[00:06:17] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: That's so good. you remember the first band that you photographed, like ever?
[00:06:22] Emily Hartmann: I'm, I'm guessing, and I'm gonna say it's a band called The House on Cliff that doesn't exist anymore,
[00:06:29] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Okay.
[00:06:30] Emily Hartmann: and I had to be like 14, 15 maybe.
[00:06:34] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: What kind of music were they?
[00:06:35] Emily Hartmann: like, yeah, probably like an alternative pop.
[00:06:39] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Okay.
[00:06:40] Emily Hartmann: Is probably the best to describe them. they were a band, they were a band local out of Boston, so they toured around here often.
I saw them a bunch at like Amityville and The Revolution when that was still a band, a venue. and those places don't have like photo policies, so I was like, great, I could bring my camera. And, and that's just kind of where it started.[00:07:00]
[00:07:00] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Yeah.
[00:07:00] Mistakes and Gear Essentials
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[00:07:00] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: do you remember if you like, anything wrong and had to learn some lessons during that, the first time that you were like, I'm gonna photograph, I'm gonna actually like, shoot for, for the show, you know, not just for your friends, not just for you like.
[00:07:16] Emily Hartmann: I feel like shooting for my friends is a very, like, first was a very organic sort of feedback. Because it's, it's like, oh, you want this a little brighter? You want this to look a little more like this? And then it just, I know how my friends like it, so I'm just gonna shoot like that.
[00:07:36] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: yeah.
[00:07:37] Emily Hartmann: Interesting. are there any mistakes that you made, like. In the beginning of your journey in, in concert photography and band photography where I'm talking like we've all done it. Stupid mistakes. Like,
Like formatting my
[00:07:52] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: lens
[00:07:53] Emily Hartmann: entire card right after a shoot. Yeah, I've done that.
[00:07:56] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: oh my God, I've done that once before too. Oh man.
[00:07:59] Emily Hartmann: [00:08:00] Unfortunately,
[00:08:00] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: that makes you feel
[00:08:02] Emily Hartmann: I.
[00:08:02] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: than doing that.
[00:08:03] Emily Hartmann: I know, like, what am I doing? It was like also just like, like I didn't even think about it. I was just going through the motions in my camera and I went, oh, oh, shit.
[00:08:14] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Yeah.
[00:08:15] Emily Hartmann: least I was halfway through the shoot so I could, I could make up for it.
[00:08:20] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Yeah,
[00:08:21] Emily Hartmann: I had the capabilities.
[00:08:22] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: yeah. One of my, this was not a, a, a band thing. This was a, there was a photographer I was mentoring and the, the irony in this, and, I, he had me photograph his destination wedding. And so they flew me out to New Orleans to photograph the wedding. he doesn't know this, but, I, so hopefully he is not listening to this. I, packed the wrong lens for the,
[00:08:46] Emily Hartmann: the trip, and I meant to bring a 35 millimeter in my 85 millimeter, and I swapped the 35 for a 50. So I had to shoot an entire wedding in an enclosed courtyard. [00:09:00] With a 50 and an 85 with nothing wide whatsoever.
Terrible.
[00:09:05] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: we've all made mistakes.
[00:09:07] Emily Hartmann: I, I really tried not to make mistakes. My camera bag probably has eight charged batteries in it at all times,
[00:09:13] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Right. Yep.
[00:09:15] Emily Hartmann: Every lens, I think maybe I could need.
[00:09:17] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Yeah. what, I, I got this. I, I'll, I'll have to, I feel like this would be really useful for, for concert photographers because of, of the high frame rate that you're doing and, and, you know. there's a, there's a charger that, I can't think of any. I think JUCO is the brand. but it is a three bay charger that not only could it charge all three batteries at once, just with A-U-S-B-C, it also has a built in battery to give it a little bit of juice when it's not plugged in. So it's like a nice, like quick access to fully charge batteries at any, at any time from your bag. I'll have to share that with you. and I'll put it in the show notes too so that
[00:09:59] Emily Hartmann: I have,
[00:09:59] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: [00:10:00] could check it out,
[00:10:00] Emily Hartmann: I have this one. It's, I could plug straight into the battery, the USBC, and then it shows me like how much is in there. Fantastic.
[00:10:09] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: yeah,
[00:10:10] Emily Hartmann: Love those things.
[00:10:11] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Tech technology with camera batteries have evolved so
[00:10:14] Emily Hartmann: S
years. Thank God
[00:10:17] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Yeah, I know.
[00:10:18] Fisheye Style and Pit Stories
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[00:10:18] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: and, are you shooting Cannon, Sony? What do
[00:10:21] Emily Hartmann: I shoot with a Canon 60 mark two,
[00:10:25] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: okay, nice,
[00:10:26] Emily Hartmann: and then I typically keep an eight millimeter lens on it.
[00:10:31] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Eight millimeters. Wow.
[00:10:35] Emily Hartmann: In the zip line video, I actually have the eight millimeter on. Yeah.
[00:10:39] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: wow. So you have, you're, when you go, you're, you have one, one camera, body, and
[00:10:44] Emily Hartmann: Yeah,
[00:10:45] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: you're.
[00:10:46] Emily Hartmann: I keep the one camera body and then depending on like venue size,
[00:10:50] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Yeah.
[00:10:51] Emily Hartmann: I typically always have the 24 to 70 in my bag, and then if, if it's a larger venue, I have the 70 to 200. [00:11:00] But I do really just love a fish eye shot. That's pretty much what most of my pictures are.
[00:11:05] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Yeah, I mean, I, I have it up here. It, I mean, the, the photos are, are incredible. I love, I love that that perspective of like, you're right up in there,
is, I mean, there's.
[00:11:14] Emily Hartmann: I've
[00:11:15] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: For concerts, there's nothing more exciting.
[00:11:17] Emily Hartmann: I've been going to shows for a really long time, and only once have I gotten a black eye. So, so it's really in the grand scheme of things, it's okay.
[00:11:29] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: and was, was it the, the drummer or a guitarist or bassist that gave you the black eye?
[00:11:36] Emily Hartmann: None. A crowd surfer that didn't jump high enough and he kneed me in the eye and I, we were at like, Brooklyn Monarch, I think. Is that the bigger one? Brooklyn Meadows, Monarch,
[00:11:49] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: been a while. It's been a
[00:11:50] Emily Hartmann: they're all on the same street. The bigger venue of the two. The guy jumps into the crowd knee right into my eye
[00:11:57] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Oh.
[00:11:58] Emily Hartmann: I went to all of my friends [00:12:00] and I'm holding this big ass ice pack on my eye and they're like, is your camera okay?
I was like, my camera's fine. Thank you so much. That's the right question to ask.
[00:12:11] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: That. Oh man. That, that just shows that your friends know you really well.
[00:12:15] Emily Hartmann: Yes.
[00:12:16] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: so did, did you go down, like, did you hit the floor when you got knee in the eye or you just,
[00:12:20] Emily Hartmann: no. I just got, I got hit in the face, went to the bar, found my friends, stood with them for like 15 minutes, went back in. What am I gonna do?
[00:12:29] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Oh, okay.
[00:12:30] Emily Hartmann: what,
[00:12:31] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: It's true. Oh, man. That there's, there's, there's nothing more punk rock or hardcore than getting a
[00:12:39] Emily Hartmann: am I gonna do?
[00:12:39] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: just getting right back in there
[00:12:41] Emily Hartmann: to keep shooting.
I just saw,
[00:12:42] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: man. That's
[00:12:43] Emily Hartmann: there's a band, I think they're from Georgia, called Silly Goose, where the front man like broke his nose and is like bleeding out of his face and just finished the set.
[00:12:57] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: You gotta love it.
[00:12:58] Emily Hartmann: Yeah.
[00:12:58] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: gotta love it. Oh man. The [00:13:00] show must go on. so early on, it seems like what you were chasing more. Early on was less the perfect shot in just the feeling of the room, the, the vibe of the, of the music. Has anything shifted since then? Is it still that way?
[00:13:19] Emily Hartmann: I really feel like it's the same.
[00:13:22] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: the same Do, I
[00:13:23] Emily Hartmann: Yeah.
[00:13:24] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: that when you get hired by a band to to shoot or a venue to shoot, are they asking for something in particular that you have to be looking out for?
[00:13:31] Emily Hartmann: Not typically. a lot of the bands I work with, I know, like how they operate on stage, so I can like anticipate moves before they make them. I don't think anybody's ever been like, oh, I want this. Like, maybe I'll get like a, oh, I wanna a wide room shot, but like, that's really all specifically I ever get asked for.
[00:13:52] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Yeah. Yeah. Interesting.
and so you are, you've got your plugs in, means you're, you're going to hear them not as. [00:14:00] As vibrant, right? As you might without the earplugs, but then you could your eardrums. so when you're, when you're shooting, when you're there right up, you know, either on stage or right below stage, whatever it might be, are you reacting to more of what you're seeing with the lights and their movements?
[00:14:18] Hunting for the Photo
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[00:14:18] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Are you still trying to react. And shoot. Based on what you're hearing, because you either know the music or just trying to hear if you don't know the band as well, like what, what's your reaction like to which part of things typically?
[00:14:32] Emily Hartmann: my head is like on a constant swivel, so you know, you do your first three in the front and I try to focus a lot on. the drummer. 'cause that's the closest I'm gonna be. And I refuse to, not have any drummer pictures. Sometimes people post like, here's this band and there's not one drummer involved, and that seems rude.
[00:14:53] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Yeah. Yeah, yeah.
[00:14:54] Emily Hartmann: and then like you swivel to like the front row people and it's just a lot of [00:15:00] like, what's next? Like where, where is the shot? And then there's also some venues where I know that. This is what this venue looks like and this shot from right here in particular is very beautiful, and I know that that will work.
You know, you, you just mentioned the drummer. I'm looking at a photo on your Instagram from March 28th. there's a drummer, black and white. He's wearing a Starship Trooper shirt, and you're like, just below a sim two, two symbols
Yeah.
[00:15:29] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: right? I mean, he's making this he's deep in the, in drumming.
It's a, that is like of those epic rare drummer shots that most people won't, won't get up in there
[00:15:41] Emily Hartmann: No.
[00:15:42] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: it.
[00:15:42] Emily Hartmann: it's, it's great that you go outta your way to, to get the photos that now you know, the band's gonna appreciate it more because the. appreciated is getting more love,
is great.
Yeah.
[00:15:53] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: when, when people's photograph bands and it's like eight pictures of the singer and one maybe of a [00:16:00] guitar player, I, what are you doing? Get everybody in there.
yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah.
[00:16:06] Silent Shows?
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[00:16:06] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: I got an interesting one for you. Now, let's say you've, you've photographed, I'm gonna assume at this point, hundreds. Of concerts and shows over the years. do you think your photos would look different if the band performed in pure silence? Meaning amps there, they'd hit the guitar, but no sound would come out? This is just a fun question. This is just like,
[00:16:35] Emily Hartmann: I feel like that,
[00:16:36] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: would happen?
[00:16:38] Emily Hartmann: I feel like that would really depend on like the band and like who they are as people and like even though nothing's coming out, are you still gonna give it your all?
[00:16:48] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Right.
[00:16:48] Emily Hartmann: I'm still gonna photograph the way that I typically do. So it just depends on are they, are they going full out? If they're going full out, I, I think I could make it work.
[00:16:58] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Interesting. You
[00:16:59] Emily Hartmann: Yeah.
[00:16:59] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: [00:17:00] I'm, I'm thinking like, as I'm, as I'm asking this, and as you're answering it, I'm like, in my head I'm visualizing rage against the machine, for example. They are the type of band where if they played something and nothing came out, they'd be like, what the fuck? And they would stop.
[00:17:16] Emily Hartmann: Yeah.
[00:17:18] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: but then there's bands that would probably get all into it, right? I
[00:17:21] Emily Hartmann: Yeah.
[00:17:22] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: like a, a music video. They're filming a music video and they're, they're basically lip syncing to their own music. and it's awkward for most bands to do that. So, anyway, just a, I was like, I'm gonna, I've never asked this question before, so I wanted to see what, what you thought of it.
Yeah, I feel like it, it really just depends on, on how they react and what kind of, how, how they hold themselves in that type of situation.
[00:17:46] Scene Community and Fan Moments
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[00:17:46] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: you've at this point, built relationships within the music scene. at what point? Would you say a photographer stops being the photographer and starts being part of [00:18:00] the music community? The, the, their local scene or the larger concert venue scene or, you know, where the scene stops looking at them and that, that community around the photographers and the, and the, and the venues looking at this new photographer as a photographer and a part of them.
[00:18:22] Emily Hartmann: I feel like it, it, it can depend a lot. I feel like if you consistently go out there and you, and it, it depends on how you carry yourself as a photographer. If you're. Very chill and you just kind of get along with everybody. It, it goes a lot better in your favor than if you tend to cause any sort of issue.
Like you just have to kind of exist and
[00:18:47] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Yeah.
[00:18:47] Emily Hartmann: who you are, with the people around you and you know, then you make friends with people and you become friends with the people that go to the shows, the promoters, the people playing in shows, and then it just kind of [00:19:00] becomes a community aspect.
[00:19:03] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: and then you start going to shows.
[00:19:05] Emily Hartmann: You start going to shows without like coordinating with people. And your friends are still there.
[00:19:10] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Right.
[00:19:11] Emily Hartmann: You still know people that are at this show.
[00:19:14] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, it's a good, it's a good answer. so have you ever not captured a photo because you felt too, like, embedded in the moment as a fan of the band you were photographing or as a friend to the band you were photographing? Like, have you ever been like, I wanna just enjoy this moment and not photo, not, not be looking at my, through my camera for
[00:19:40] Emily Hartmann: Absolutely. Yeah, I've definitely like, like watched somebody do something and then like, wow, that was really cool. That would've been a really great picture, but I took it in instead.
[00:19:51] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's, it's, it's those moments where were like, please do that again. Please do
[00:19:55] Emily Hartmann: No, please do it again.
[00:19:57] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Totally get that. Totally get that. [00:20:00] when, when I was like deep in photographing bands, my sort of self project photographing. the shoes that the band would be wearing,
[00:20:09] Emily Hartmann: Mm-hmm.
[00:20:10] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: of times
[00:20:10] Emily Hartmann: it was like converse. Of course. I'm curious, do you have your own like project that you do every time you photograph a band that you know, you may not share it with everybody. It, you may not get paid to do it, it's just like for you.
so anytime I'm on tour with a band,
[00:20:29] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Mm-hmm. of my favorite shots is that, like under the symbol, through the symbol shot of a drummer. not like the one you were just describing. That was like with a, a big lens zoomed in. But with my fish eye and the flash, if you just like shove it in there, it's such a fun angle.
[00:20:48] Emily Hartmann: The fisheye, you then get the entire drummer doing the movement
[00:20:52] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Yeah.
[00:20:53] Emily Hartmann: I always think that looks very nice.
[00:20:55] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Oh yeah.
[00:20:56] Emily Hartmann: yeah, that's a good one. has being behind the camera [00:21:00] changed how you experience a live show when you're not photographing it,
Absolutely. 'cause I watched the whole thing and I go, damn, that would've been a great shot. I, I, I like, can't turn it off.
[00:21:15] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Yeah. Yeah. yeah. I feel that way. Like. In every, like my, my family knows when we go somewhere, if I see something and I'm like, head, they know exactly what I'm doing, like in my head visualizing what, how I would photograph it. They know it.
[00:21:36] Emily Hartmann: And, so I, I totally get that you, that not being able to shut it off always, like banking
Yeah.
[00:21:44] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: for the future and stuff.
[00:21:46] Emily Hartmann: Like watching people move and seeing how like that person as an artist works and then like watching their photographer like run across stage and,
[00:21:55] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: yeah,
[00:21:56] Emily Hartmann: watching what they're doing.
[00:21:58] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: yeah.
[00:21:59] Emily Hartmann: A lot of the time I'll [00:22:00] be like this, and my friends are like, what are you even looking at? I'm like, oh, their photographer just ran that way.
So I'm watching him like, I can't help it.
[00:22:08] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: yeah, yeah. Oh, man. my, my family like laughed at me because, a year ago. my, my nephew had his bar mitzvah and my brother and sister-in-law hired a friend of mine photograph the bar Mitzvah, I get there and I see he's got lights set up and stuff, and I'm there in a suit ready to. know, be at my nephew's bar mitzvah
[00:22:34] Emily Hartmann: and I'm like helping him move lights and like, I can't, not,
I have to help. I can't.
[00:22:40] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: yeah.
I see equipment. I see you're about to change. I can't not help you. in my nature,
[00:22:46] Emily Hartmann: No, please let me off. I, I have to at least offer, you can tell me to fuck off and leave you alone, but,
[00:22:52] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Yeah,
[00:22:52] Emily Hartmann: but I have to offer to help you, please.
[00:22:55] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: yeah, yeah. Oh man. If you could go back [00:23:00] and document one music scene, any place, any era, any band, where would you put yourself and why?
That's a crazy question. Crazy. In a good way.
[00:23:14] Emily Hartmann: that's crazy in a good way where I don't, I don't know. think.
I, I've been a, a pop punk girly, like from, from the depths, like, like that's where I, I originated as like a, a pierce the veil stanny. So I, I think if we went to like, like San Diego at Pierce the veils like, like gimme like three years in. Yeah. Gimme that I'm there. Sign me up. Because I'd love to see them in such a small capacity.
Yeah. Huh. You know, it's, it's interesting. California, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania like it, that's the, we're in the pop punk [00:24:00] capital the, of the country. Absolutely.
[00:24:03] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: California, of course, being on the other side of the country, but still, part of us.
I mean, we have pro, this area has produced so many incredible pop-punk bands over the years. So many. It's, it's insane. And I mean, then plus you're talking some big shots, you know, that, have, that have made it, that started in pop punk and now. Are way beyond it. Right. Jack Antonoff, for example. so it's, it, it really is inspiring for, I hope it's inspiring for up and coming musicians to look at the history of this area and be like, damn, they, they produced a lot of incredibly talented. Musicians that have gone on to do really big things, either sticking to what they do or pivoting in either way, if they're enjoying it.
[00:24:53] Emily Hartmann: Great. So, I also feel like. New Jersey holds a lot of like where, where good [00:25:00] stuff is produced. I feel like a lot of bands come and they're like, oh, before our New Jersey show at Starland Ballroom, we're going to hit the studio with whoever. Like I feel like that's a pretty common occurrence.
[00:25:13] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Yeah. Yep. It's, it's the, so true. so for a musician, let's say, who's thinking about picking up a camera? What's something that they will have an advantage in most photographers do not, and what might actually hold them back?
[00:25:33] Emily Hartmann: There's a lot of, immediate access, like depending on the size of the band you're in, in whatever real capacity, you immediately have more access than somebody coming out. Like you could photograph the shows that your band plays and there's never an issue about it.
[00:25:51] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Yeah.
[00:25:51] Emily Hartmann: Which is lovely. And then it also can, I feel like some people could see it as like a [00:26:00] cop out where it's like, oh, you're already in the band.
It doesn't matter what you produce. Your friends are still gonna like it 'cause they're your friends and you're in this band.
[00:26:09] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: I've seen that happen.
that. Oh, interesting. Okay. Yeah, I, I, I would, I consider that a similar thing to in the sports industry where like Ken Griffey Jr. Is now photographing sports games. and so many, I had a whole episode on this topic where there's so many people in the celebrity world in general, as very broad term, but sports, movies, music, et cetera, where they're now doing professional photography for it might be. Ken Griffey Jr., One of my favorite examples, he's doing great work. He, he had it in the bag to,
[00:26:47] Emily Hartmann: to go and just photograph
Yeah.
[00:26:49] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: he didn't have to do much work to get there. He just said, Hey, I'm Ken Griffey Jr. I used to play in the Mariners. know,
[00:26:56] Emily Hartmann: Right? What are they gonna do? Say No, no, they're not gonna say [00:27:00] no.
[00:27:00] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Right. So, yeah, I could totally, I could totally see that in the music space as well.
[00:27:04] Style Genre and What’s Next
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[00:27:14] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: So, my last question for you, Emily, is one that I have asked every single guest, and it's, it's gonna make you think, but I have a feeling I know what your answer's gonna be already. If your photography style was a genre of music, what would it be and why?
[00:27:23] Emily Hartmann: Oh my God, I have no idea. probably, probably like, like pop punk alternative hardcore. They, they all tend to mush together
[00:27:33] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Right.
[00:27:34] Emily Hartmann: I just think I have like a, like a. A grittier look than other people. I love when the image is dark.
[00:27:43] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: I have to purposefully like, be like, oh no, this is too dark.
[00:27:46] Emily Hartmann: I have to lighten it 'cause you can't see anything because that's the way I like it. I think it looks good that way.
[00:27:52] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: And
[00:27:52] Emily Hartmann: I
[00:27:52] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: tend to really take advantage of the stage lighting to bring out, know, that those fun unique colors [00:28:00] per concert per show. which
[00:28:03] Emily Hartmann: act is different.
[00:28:04] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: yeah. Yeah. And then going with the gritty look, it, it definitely adds to, I mean, look, there's, there's a photo again looking at your Instagram, March 17th, maybe it was Slipknot. Could that be at Brooklyn Bowl? Was that Oh no, you even put it, Nekrogoblikon, yeah. Yeah. So the singer is, you know, shirtless. You got his tattoo, but the lighting is this beautiful stage lighting. You got the, the fog in the background. I mean, it's gritty, it's dark, but also vibrant
[00:28:37] Emily Hartmann: Yeah, the, like
[00:28:38] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: yeah.
[00:28:39] Emily Hartmann: try to fight the stage lighting, which it, it just gives you more work and
[00:28:44] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Yeah.
[00:28:45] Emily Hartmann: it, it's really impossible 'cause you have zero control over what's gonna happen.
[00:28:50] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Yeah.
[00:28:51] Emily Hartmann: even when you're on tour, you can only ask for so much as the photographer.
[00:28:56] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Right, right. tell me what, are you, do you have a tour [00:29:00] coming up that you're gonna be doing with any band or are you like, what's, what's something coming up in the pipeline?
[00:29:04] Emily Hartmann: currently I'm not doing anything crazy. I've been doing a lot of community theater photography 'cause it tends to fall in the same type of realm of quick movements. I'm not sure what's going on. Un uncontrolled lighting,
[00:29:19] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Yeah.
[00:29:20] Emily Hartmann: and I have less of a chance of getting a black eye.
[00:29:23] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: True. Very, very well. Hopefully anything's possible.
[00:29:29] Emily Hartmann: Anything is possible, but I, I'm in a seat. I'm sat.
[00:29:33] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Yeah. Yeah. well that's fun. I mean, not knowing what's going on, Definitely, will you that creative challenge each time, which I think is, is really useful, as you continue in your, with your work of, you know, for the foreseeable future. So, this has been a lot of fun. I, I love learning about everybody's, Methods, their thoughts on everything. I'm so glad we were able to make this work. [00:30:00] And, any, any particular place you want listeners to go check out your work? I know I name dropped Instagram a bunch of times, which I'll link to in the show notes. Of course.
[00:30:08] Emily Hartmann: Yeah, e everything I post is really on my Instagram. I'm really neglectful of my website and I have to go and fix that every once in a while, but my most common stuff is all on my Instagram.
[00:30:19] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: Cool, cool. Emily, thank you again for
[00:30:23] Emily Hartmann: you for having me.
[00:30:23] Scott Wyden Kivowitz: with me on this.