Stephan Vance is a Pensacola, FL-based professional photographer focused on lifestyle and music photography. Stephan submitted some incredible photos to the Fashion Meets Music Festival Assignment and as a result, caught our eye. Nice work, Stephan!
Why photography?
While I was in college I ended up doing a study abroad program in Hong Kong and started wandering around taking photos of the city with my Fuji X100s each day. It ended up being something I really fell in love with and decided then to start taking it more serious.
How long have you been shooting?
I’ve been shooting for about 5 years now and about 2 of those professionally.
Your website mentions that you shoot music, people, weddings, and more. What types of Assignments are you shooting the most?
Music and entertainment shoots definitely. One huge lesson I’ve learned from a lot of photographers I respect is to shoot what you love and find your niche. When I first started I wanted to shoot everything and I learned really fast that weddings were not my favorite.
What’s your favorite moment from a photo shoot?
One of my favorite moments was shooting DJ Khaled recently in Columbus, Ohio. The festival only let a few photographers in the photo pit to shoot and I was lucky enough to be included in that group. The energy that he pulls from the crowd is insane and being right in the middle of it was pretty awesome and inspiring.
What was your most challenging shoot and why?
Festivals are usually pretty challenging since you are only allowed to shoot for the first three songs of the set for most artist.
Your shots from the Fashion Meets Music Festival were pretty incredible. The festival organizers loved them. Nice work! Can you talk about your approach to shooting musicians?
Long before I ever started doing photography, I was playing and touring in bands. So it kind of helped me know what the musicians and their management expect and shoot the type of stuff that I would want to see. At Fashion Meets Music I was traveling with the band Young Natives so it was pretty fun being able to get to places that you normally wouldn’t be allowed.
What’s next? (feel free to discuss upcoming projects, ideas, gear, etc.)
I always love an opportunity to go out with artists and bands and work with them directly since you then have access to the full venues most of the time. I’m currently in the talks with a few artists and hope to be jumping on a few tours in the near future.
What’s your go-to camera setup right now?
Currently, my go-to camera setup is a Canon 5D mkiii with Sigma Art and Canon L lenses. I also use a Fuji X100s for backstage areas and more candid shots.
Your website and IG are super-inspiring, would you mind if we share them with our BYLINERS?
Sure! You can find me on pretty much any social media site at @stephanvance and on my website at www.stephanvance.com.
About BYLINED.
BYLINED is the first customer engagement platform that gives brands the opportunity to engage their fans for unique, brand oriented photos along with the intelligence behind the photo. Check us out at www.bylined.me.
