[ARTIST FEATURE] Shammae : Photographer, Entrepreneur, Model

My name is Shammae and I am a Miami based model and photographer. My art (photography) is an appreciation of music and how it moves people. It doesn’t matter the genre, artist, or how long they have been working at perfecting their craft, music in general is one of the easiest ways to bring people together and create beautiful memories. It is a magic in itself that I genuinely and deeply respect and as such, I have been leaning more into music event photography to capture that magic. The thing I love about my photography and niche is that I am in full control of the perspective I am creating. This allows me to look beyond the normal or typical aspects of photography that prioritizes technicality and precision over raw emotion. When I am buzzing around the event getting shots, my goal is always to create a storyline that gives the viewers FOMO, and makes them eager to attend the next event just because the phots they seen looked like it was the place to be. Whatever I see other photographers in the space doing, I purposely avoid because I am not interested in capturing the vision of someone else, we are far too different as people for us to create similar or practically the same stories. My photography journey ironically started when I was fed up and at my wits end with unreliable photographers as a model, where I decided that I will take control over my own portfolio and shoots. I picked up the Canon Rebel T7 that my dad bought and from there my journey has blossomed, opening doors I never seen imaginable for myself but most importantly: it is an outlet that brings me an abundance of happiness.

To be a creative, is to be a visionary in any aspect of life. Whether it is in the fashion sector, music, photography, architecture or the many others that exist, to be a creative is to see gaps that need to be filled in innovative and progressive ways. When I am out and about with my camera, I check my surroundings and majority of the time I notice that I am the only female photographer there, if not one out of the handful (which is rarely ever no more than 4.) Just being in the space gives me a leg up because I am seen as a rarity or unicorn so people flock to me. Pair that with my love for shooting in monochrome (black and white) and you have a recipe for serious intrigue since the modern tech era we are in is extremely color saturated. Removing the saturation in my opinion is the best way to evoke the raw and natural emotion of a photo - since the color has been taken away you have to focus on the details of the image itself and how it makes you feel, which I personally do not see much of especially in event photography where people lean more to shots in color.

Whatever you do when you set out to create, ask yourself: “What sets my work apart from everything else that is being produced?” and “What can I do to give myself a unique schtick that not only helps benefit my community, but also brings about progressive change in the industry?”