The Full-Circle Moment
On April 18, I photographed Snail Mail at Union Collective in Baltimore for my first paid concert photography gig.
I’ve been a fan of Snail Mail ever since hearing “Thinning” years ago. Something about the honesty and atmosphere of that song stuck with me early on, and it became one of those songs tied to certain memories and periods of life in a way that feels hard to explain.
Years before photographing this show, I had actually seen Snail Mail perform live in Baltimore at a seated theater-style venue during the Lush era around 2017–2018. I still remember how quiet and immersive the room felt compared to most concerts I had been to at the time. Seeing the project grow from those earlier performances to photographing a live set years later felt surreal in a very full-circle kind of way.
Walking into the Union Collective parking lot where the show was held that night, I definitely felt nervous. It was the first time I had been hired specifically to photograph a concert, and I kept thinking about how much trust comes with documenting something live and unrepeatable.
One of the moments that stuck with me most was getting my photo pass wristband and walking into the pit in front of the stage for the first time. I remember feeling genuinely excited and honestly a little shocked that I was actually there doing it. It was one of those moments where something you’ve wanted for a long time suddenly becomes real in front of you.
The Pit
I had actually never photographed a concert before beyond casually bringing a disposable camera to shows, so going into the night was both exciting and a little unpredictable. Shooting from the pit for the first time while also working entirely on film forced me to slow down, trust my instincts, and react to moments as they happened rather than relying on endless frames or constantly checking results.
There was something about photographing a live show on film that felt very different from the way concerts are usually documented now. Every frame mattered more. The changing stage lights, fast movement, and constant shifts in atmosphere meant I had to stay present the entire time and pay attention to small moments before they disappeared. Instead of trying to perfectly capture every second, I found myself focusing more on the feeling of being there.
I approached photographing the night the same way I approach most of my work: paying attention to atmosphere, movement, and the quieter moments happening between everything else. The shifting lights, crowd reactions, moments between songs, and the feeling of the room all became just as important to document as the performance itself.
A lot of my favorite moments weren’t necessarily the biggest or most dramatic ones either. Sometimes it was the way the lighting briefly hit the stage, the interaction between band members between songs, or the movement and energy of the crowd reacting to certain tracks. Even moments that technically felt imperfect — motion blur, heavy grain, missed focus, blown highlights — ended up contributing to the overall feeling of the images rather than taking away from them.
On film, I shot a mix of CineStill 800T pushed to 1600, Reflx Lab 800T pushed to 1600, and Kodak Professional T-MAX P3200. The lighting throughout the set worked especially well with the tungsten-balanced stocks, and some of the Reflx Lab frames ended up with unexpected light leaks that honestly fit the atmosphere of the night perfectly. Because I was shooting film, there was also an element of uncertainty throughout the entire night. I couldn’t immediately review anything or know exactly how certain frames would turn out, which honestly made the process feel more immersive. It reminded me a lot of why I was drawn to photography in the first place: paying attention, observing closely, and trying to preserve the atmosphere of a moment rather than controlling it completely.
The Gig
The night moved between older songs and newer material from Ricochet. Hearing the newer songs live while also waiting for “Thinning” to eventually come on made the entire set feel reflective in a way I wasn’t expecting.
“Thinning” ended up being the last song of the night, which honestly made it hit even harder. After following Snail Mail since first hearing that song years ago and then standing in the pit photographing the show while hearing it live at the end of the set felt surreal in a way that’s difficult to fully describe. It felt like one of those moments where time folds together a little bit — remembering earlier versions of yourself while still being fully present in where you are now.
Looking back, the night feels important to me not only because it was my first paid concert gig, but because it felt like a step toward the kind of work I want to continue creating work centered around documenting experiences honestly and preserving the feeling of being present inside them. I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity and excited to continue exploring live music photography moving forward.
The Goodbye
