Last month we teamed up with touring music photographer, Jake Chamseddine to challenge the 500px community to show us their photos that best capture a performance.
Performance photography, including music, sport, street, and everything in between, is all about capturing the emotion of the performer, the crowd, and the room and these submissions did just that! Continue reading to see who Jake selected as the grand prize winner as well as a selection of some of his favorite images from the Quest.
A message from Jake:
Saying I was excited when I had the opportunity to go through submissions is an understatement. Seeing all the talent and creativity that shines through the 500px community is amazing. Before jumping into winners or talking about specific submissions I just wanted to take a second to thank every single person who entered a photo for this contest. Seeing how you took this prompt and made it your own is very inspiring.
With that being said let’s dive into these submissions. There was so much diversity in this Quest picking three winners was not an easy task. I’ve also included three runner-up images that I feel deserved a shoutout.
First Place Winners
Photo by Logon Westom
No specific title for this image but I love it! The symmetry, the way the lights flare off the guitar, the emotion on the guitar players face. It all comes together to showcase a very special moment. Performances can be anywhere but there is something special about performances inside a venue. Great photo!
Photo by Alex Shkinderov
From the color, to the symmetry, to the subject matter. This photo stood out to me instantly when looking through the submissions. This is a photo that I myself would select when sorting through personal images. It is strong, it feels bold. Love the way the red almost silhouettes the subjects. Great work!
Photo by Fernando Diaz
Ying and Yang! The first thing I thought of when looking at this image. Initially felt a sense of stress when seeing the fire behind them, but quickly was calmed down by the position of the dancers. I am so curious as to how this was shot or what the situation was because it isn’t very often you see a performance image like this!
Runners Up
Photo by Laurent Mounif
I loved how Laurent took the prompt of performance images and submitted this image of what seems to be a kick-boxing match. Martial arts is an art form in its own right and watching these fighters perform is something special. Capturing a moment this quick is difficult, plus I love the moody black and white.
Photo by PrithviRaj Banerfjee
Performances don’t always take place inside an arena or venue, and this photo is a testament to that. I can only imagine the amount of work that went into this photo. From the obvious passion of the musician to the surroundings. I love the way the colors pop, the golden colors across the photo are great. This is a very special moment and great capture.
Photo by Carl-Fredrick Francois
I love this image because it feels like a live portrait. I love when subjects are still or isolated in an image. I also love his facial expression, it feels very “Migos”. I think there is something important when people use shadows in their performance images as well. Gives it a more mysterious vibe. Great image!
Again, I just want to say thank you to everyone that participated in this contest! I love seeing all the talent 500px has to offer and seeing how you interpreted the prompt in your own way is incredible!
If you’d like to see more of Jakes’s work, check out the following:
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