We were lucky to catch up with Kylen Lunn recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Kylen, so happy to have you with us today and there is so much we want to ask you about. So many of us go through similar pain points throughout our journeys and so hearing about how others developed certain skills or qualities that we are struggling with can be helpful. Along those lines, we’d love to hear from you about how you developed your ability to take risk?
My ability to take risks without being so anxious was something that recently developed in my life. It’s honestly kind of random and silly, but in December of 2023, I was out to eat with a friend and got a fortune cookie at the counter. So, I broke it open and the note inside the cookie said ” You will continue to take chances, and be glad you did.” I was already trying to think about what I was going to make my New Year’s resolution, and after seeing that note, I put it in the back of my phone case, and decided from then on, I was going to do exactly what it said. I said yes to just about any photography job, any trip, and any hangout, which seems like a lot to do, but I was honestly very determined and wanted to make my dreams a reality. Doing this allowed me to take the risks I never would have taken before. I went on a two week road trip with my friend on the west coast, shot my first ever Lollapalooza set by taking a chance and sending a cold email to a band performing there. Which, in turn, landed me my first two tours, one of them being all over Europe. It showed me that money will return, and experiences last forever, it also showed me that dreams really can come true. I ended up losing that fortune cookie note. But shortly after, I was standing in line for a concert in New York and this random woman walked up to me and said “Sir… Remember to take chances even if they sound ridiculous.” So I’d like to believe that those words are just reminding me of the words I should continue to live by.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I am a full-time touring concert/portrait photographer/videographer now based in New York City! I just recently went full time, and it’s truly been everything I’ve dreamed of. I feel like there is something so special about being able to capture a tour with visuals that represent that specific tour. As well as having the bands and their management trust you with that part of the process. Especially considering that what happens on stage is only a fraction of what makes a tour, a tour. What happened at 1 a.m. at that truck stop we went to? What happened in the morning right before gear load-in, that made the band die laughing? There is so much unseen by the audience of concerts that deserves to see the light of day. That’s what I am there to capture.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Looking back, there are so many qualities, skills, and areas of knowledge that impacted my journey, but I think the three main ones that really got me to where I am today are:
– Creating quality content, but having fast turn around times.
– From my experience, bands and festivals want to be able to post the photos from a set the very next day, or even the hour after the show. Having a fast turn around time with quality content has landed me a quite a few gigs, I cannot lie.
– Capturing the shows in a new/different light.
-This one is EXTREMELY hard because show photos can be such a toss up. But I’ve found that the coolest piece of personal advice that I keep in mind while shooting and editing is what shots or perspectives can I create that the audience who were at the show might not have seen. How can I shoot the show in an interesting way that isn’t like “here is a show that happened,” but more of a “here is the way I saw art in the show.” If that makes sense.
– Being good at making friends/networking is HUGE.
-This goes for just about any industry honestly. Nobody wants to work with someone who is a horrible person. I personally feel like being a likable creative is so much more enticing to me than someone who is super talented, but a horrible person. This goes for touring as well. I have only been touring for a year now, but you have to remember that you will usually be living with a band for 3+ weeks. They would definitely want to live with someone that isn’t a vibe killer. But again this is just my personal opinion.
What is the number one obstacle or challenge you are currently facing and what are you doing to try to resolve or overcome this challenge?
Imposter Syndrome and comparing my work to others is the main obstacle I have trouble overcoming. Which I’m sure a lot of photographers in the industry struggle with as well. It’s almost impossible to not compare yourself to others when everyone is posting their work on social media and making amazing things. I love my work and see it as art pieces that I’ve created. But every now and then a voice in the back of my head will look at my photos and think “This is an alright photo that I took but not a work of art.” It’s hard to make sense of this now that I’m typing it out, but I hope some of you can understand. To get out of that headspace, I think about something a friend once told me: “When you write down, and really look at the things you’ve done on paper, you can see that you belong here, in this field.” This is a paraphrase but it rings true I’d say.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/kylentookthese
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kylen-lunn-072753231?original_referer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F
Image Credits
Kylen Lunn
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