Running – and run clubs – have been a cornerstone of my London experience. To photograph an advertising campaign for Brooks Running, combining my candid street photography and relaxed lifestyle portraits, felt like the “I made it” moment I had been seeking since moving to London from Canada.
Beyond that, having the opportunity to work with music artist Dermot Kennedy, whose tracks I’ve listened to for years, and who dozens of my Canadian friends are fans of, introduced a new element that brought all my interests together: music.
Advertising photography for Brooks Running’s campaign with Irish music artist Dermot Kennedy, photographed at Russborough House outside Dublin before his DK5K fan run.
Commercial lifestyle photography of Dermot Kennedy leading the DK5K, where fans chosen by lottery ran alongside him like a run club.
Photographing Music
While the only formal photography training I’ve had – in high school – was taught by one of Vancouver’s top concert photographers at the time, concert photography – one side of music photography – was something I never broke into. I always preferred being observational on my own terms, like I do with London street photography, or directing subjects and talent one-on-one, like I do in advertising photography and fashion.
Getting paid to enjoy gigs and shows (albeit on small budgets) felt like the ultimate professional photography goal. The game of who you know is present everywhere in photography, but the gatekeeping in music is what often makes it feel unobtainable.
On the other hand, each time I’ve been to shows and observed concert photographers, I’ve rarely envied them. I’ll admit that it’s often been in less than sober circumstances, and navigating the crowd to get the shot seemed like a nightmare.
The middle ground I’ve found is working with talent for portraits.
Getting to know someone and making them comfortable, like in all my lifestyle photography, has enabled me to get relaxed portraits that feel like a friend took them. Applying that through editorial fashion photography for magazines helped me connect the dots on how working with music aligns with what I shoot best – and what I love, which is connecting with someone.
That’s what’s been rewarding to me, and enjoying concerts as an attendee instead – and supporting someone I’ve connected with – is the reward.
Portrait photography of Lagos-based music artist Shallipopi in Paris for The Rakish Gent: working one-on-one with talent is the middle ground I’ve found in music photography.
The Enquiry
I woke up one morning to an email in my inbox, asking about my availability for a campaign in Dublin.
Most often, the coolest projects come from the shortest messages. Those words carry the most weight.
To make things difficult, they often come with the shortest timelines, too.
I saw a 604 area code in the enquirer’s phone number and I made the connection it came from Canada.
After wondering how the relationship had been made, I later learned a friend from my fraternity days in university had replied to an Instagram story looking for a photographer in Ireland and put me forward. Turns out Tom, who I owe many beers to for this, had met director Darren Rayner nearly 10 years prior at a ski videography workshop in B.C.
One thing my photography teacher taught us – which is especially true in music artist photography (and in all facets of life) – was to “be nice to everyone, you never know who will be the gatekeeper or the one with an opportunity.”
The producer said she saw my love for action sports, and that the candid work in my portfolio would make me an excellent fit – beyond being a fellow photographer from Vancouver, Canada.
I must admit, like concerts, I was never one for action sports either, mainly because I was never confident at team sports, outside of the banter on the bench. In my parents’ joint wedding speech, my “favourite position was off”.
On the other hand, I thrived at self-paced sports like running and weight training. I was the only one I was up against, the same as with my street photography work.
When the enquiry came in, it just so happened that the London Marathon had concluded and resulted in some of my favourite London street photography.
Furthermore, my London Marathon work came shortly before editorial press portraits with ultramarathon runner Josia, building his PR and press package before he ran from Nice to Barcelona to raise money for mental health.
Personal branding photography in London for ultramarathon runner Josia on Albert Bridge, part of the press package for his run from Nice to Barcelona to raise money for mental health.
Fortunately for me, it all came at the right time – everything happens for a reason.
When I learned the project enquiry was for running shoe brand Brooks, it was the brand I felt most aligned with – I quite literally had a pair of Brooks actively getting shipped to my house because I made the decision weeks prior that Brooks were for me. No joke. Nearly a third of my run clubs have been wearing Brooks, all because they’ve had foot problems with every other brand. As did I.
While everything was the perfect fit on paper, it overlapped with the Turkey holiday my wife and I had already postponed once.
With her blessing and support – something new we’ve begun to work through as travel for my photography has continued to come at short notice – the 36 hours required in Dublin happened to land in the middle of an existing travel day between Turkish destinations.
With one flight – and one flight only – at 6:00am following the shoot to the exact niche Turkish city I needed to be in, it all fell perfectly into place.
The Campaign
The campaign was debuting Brooks’ partnership with Irish music artist Dermot Kennedy in his hometown of Dublin. As he was about to set off on his world tour, he’d host his “DK5K” runs in key cities, where fans, chosen through a lottery, would have the chance to run alongside Dermot like a run club.
The scene was set at Russborough House, a beautiful, historic private estate in the Wicklow countryside outside Dublin. It had a spectacular home and surrounding woods with ideal weather on the day.
Dermot Kennedy between the stone columns at Russborough House in County Wicklow, the estate that set the scene for the Brooks Running campaign.
Our call time was at 6:30am to make it there early. That would’ve been no problem; however, my flight from Istanbul to Dublin the day before was turned around mid-flight because of a problem with the plane – something I’d never experienced before.
I had headphones in, editing my Istanbul street photography, and heard we were coming in for a landing, but only when I looked out the window did I see we were back in Istanbul... and I had to ask the gentleman in disbelief what was happening.
Thankfully, they put us on a new flight, but a relaxed 1:00 pm arrival turned into a too-close-for-comfort 10:00 pm arrival. It still gave me enough time for Bambino’s Pizza and a Guinness, and a quick moment to myself in a cool city with a purpose, but I knew I needed the rest for the next day.
The next day, when we were well on our way to the shoot location, I learned the only time I'd get through my shot list would be between takes while the video team filmed the “Water Break” runner interview series. While I was promised two minutes with Dermot to guide and pose him, that never came to fruition.
I know from working with talent, like Shallipopi in Paris, that a promise of an hour can quickly dissolve into 20 minutes. Many photographers have a body double stand in to get everything perfect beforehand, with someone matching the skin tone, height, etc. – but that only helps if you can execute all the planning you’ve made.
What was meant to be a relaxed fashion photography campaign turned into something much more aligned with my street style photography: working quickly with what you have around you to create a strong image, and relying on quick, friendly chats with comfort riding on first impressions to get the shot.
At the time, I felt I got something, but I kept thinking about what I could’ve got if I'd had all the time in the world. And that doesn’t always happen.
The Run
The moment the interviews cut, we sprang right into documentary-style reportage, and I went from a (stressed) director to an observer. With everything out of my hands, this was the part I enjoyed the most – and it’s the feeling that gets me shooting London’s streets time and time again.
I climbed into the back of a Gator (like an ATV with a pickup truck bed), and we led the race, catching candid moments through the whole journey.
Covered in dust and nearly falling out several times, I got unique angles I never would’ve got doing the typical street photography I was used to. For someone short like me, standing up on the truck (while balanced) let me get top-down shots from above – one that Brooks immediately posted after the race (the two-hour editing window certainly didn’t de-stress me either).
The top-down image Brooks posted straight after the race, taken standing up in the back of the Gator as it led the DK5K.
Documentary-style running photography of Dermot Kennedy and his fans on a tree-lined trail, approached the same way I work as a London street photographer.
The Gator let me get candid, emotion-led moments between Dermot Kennedy and his biggest fans, some of whom flew from across the world just for this 5K run with him. It felt like a special privilege to be there.
Photography truly enables you to dive deeper into worlds you already love – and takes you places you wouldn’t expect.
Lifestyle advertising photography of Dermot Kennedy making his way through fans after the DK5K, some of whom flew in from across the world to run with him.
The Wrap
After an amazing celebratory meal at Xi’An Street Food, it was off to bed and an early morning wake-up for Bodrum.
I rejoined my holiday feeling fulfilled. Travelling for photography was a dream; I’m in the stage of life right now where it’s perfect for me. My vision board was coming to life in London, with my IBM x Wimbledon campaign on digital billboards across the city while I shot Brooks and Dermot.
The unexpected best part: I returned my unworn Brooks when I got home, because I walked away with two fresh new pairs (with a wide fit, too, which has solved all my running problems).
I couldn’t have asked for a better time, or a more supportive wife, for enabling such a cool project that felt like summer and captures what I love. The team members have become friends and are some of the first I’d reach out to when I’m in Vancouver again.
A few weeks later, I headed off to capture Copenhagen Fashion Week for Pinterest – my next photography trip of the summer. But until then, I was enjoying the much-anticipated Turkish sun.
Dermot Kennedy in the same pale blue Brooks I came home with, in the wide fit that solved all my running problems.