Today we’d like to introduce you to Eryn Smith.
Eryn, we’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today both personally and as an artist.
I have been enjoying photography for 7 years now. I got my first camera, a Kodak point and shoot when I was in middle school. I grew up around my mom doing photography and really, I think she inspired me to keep pursuing it. I enjoy shooting all sorts of things, but I mainly stick to urban settings and concerts. I live near St. Louis and visit Chicago constantly and both those cities make me so happy. I love capturing the buildings and doing a minimalist style with them. I recently got into shooting concerts because I have always admired the music industry but I’m not musically inclined, so I decided I would pursue my own creativity with my camera. Now I travel around the Metro East area and up to the Chicago area to shoot with bands. I hope to turn my passion into a career someday.
We’d love to hear more about your art. What do you do you do and why and what do you hope others will take away from your work?
I love the city, especially St. Louis and Chicago. I live closer to St. Louis so I will travel there a lot and just shoot around the city and capture what stands out to me. I also visit Chicago frequently and that city has captured my heart. I think my favorite part of shooting in the city is the structure of buildings and all the quirky things you will find. When I shoot urban themes, I think I really try to stick to a minimalistic theme when I edit. My favorites from my urban collection would be the minimal building shots. One other thing I shoot is concerts. About a year and a half ago I started traveling around St. Louis and up to Chicago to shoot. It all started when I was at a concert and had a mental breakdown because I was so stressed out by school and everyone telling me I needed to do this or that, but they weren’t things I wanted to do. Then I saw the photographer at the concert and my whole life has flipped since then. The thing that really made me fall in love with concert photography are the emotions and feelings you can capture at a show. Not only can you capture the emotions of the band/artists, but the crowd is always a must to shoot. You can look at a photo and see the unity music brings, but also look at the photo of an artist and see the passion they have for what they do, which I admire. Sharing these photos makes me feel like I’m sharing the artist and giving them the talk and exposure, they deserve. I want to capture fun moments for the artist and share not only my passion but the artists passion. I tend to stick to punk/alternative music, but I hope to branch out music wise and help other artists share their passion.
How can artists connect with other artists?
Be happy and helpful! I still struggle with this because the photography community can be very stale when it comes to concert photography. I have learned though to just smile and be kind. We’re all here just doing our own thing, so why not make a friend and share your creative ideas, open new doors to new outlets, and learn new things from your fellow artists.
Do you have any events or exhibitions coming up? Where would one go to see more of your work? How can people support you and your artwork?
Anyone can view my work on my Instagram, @erynnsmith_ , or my website, https://erynnic0le.myportfolio.com. One way to support me would be to let your friends know about me. Anyone looking for headshots or any bands looking for a photographer. I hope to set a print site in the near future, but at this point I want to help others and share my art because I can.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://erynnic0le.myportfolio.com
- Phone: 618-780-4828
- Email: erynnic0le@hotmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/erynnsmith/?hl=en
Image Credit:
The picture of the drummer (Eman Duran) and the black and white singer (Ryan Rumchaks) are both from Homesafe, based in Chicago. The headless guitarist is Ryan Scott Graham of Speak Low If You Speak Love. And the last singer photo is Matt Shultz of Cage the Elephant. The rest are all urban photos I shot in Chicago.
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