BEST OF 2017 2017: The Year in Photos By Nicole Ginelli · December 14, 2017

A look back at our favorite photos of the year.

Bandcamp is home to amazing musicians all over the world, so it’s only natural that we’d want Bandcamp Daily to feature independent photographers who also have unique and exciting perspectives. The process behind a photoshoot with an artist often requires multiple coordinated efforts, and can take place under stressful conditions, with tight time limits. It’s a credit to our photographers that none of these pressures are evident in their final resonate images. It’s always our goal with our original photography to elevate the message of the musicians we profile, and to allow for a meaningful collaboration between talented musicians and photographers. We reached out to some of the photographers we worked with over the course of the past year and asked them to share their behind-the-scenes thoughts and secrets. These are our favorite photoshoots of the year.

Nicole Ginelli, Editorial Art Director

Son Little
Photos by Ralston Smith

“Son Little has a blue-collar, everyman look about him that belies the soulful sound he creates. He often wears a hat, and that’s the one item I felt was a visual bridge to his creative and artistic side as a singer. That’s something I wanted to play off of in this shoot. We tried some shots of Son Little seated, with the sun shining on his face. The images were OK, but they didn’t inspire me. Then, I switched positions, so the sun was to his back. While I adjusted my strobe light, he laid down, and that’s when the ‘a-ha’ moment came. I love the image of him laying on his back, glasses perched on his chest, his hat covering his face. I love his expression. He seems totally at ease.”

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Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith
Photos by Faith Silva

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Alex Cameron
Photos by Eleanor Petry

“Alex and Roy are quite animated and playful. I wanted those qualities to show through in the photos. I also wanted to capture a deeper side of Alex. He’s very good at posing, so I wanted to get some shots that were rawer and more personal. It was a blast hanging out with the guys. They got me talking about my family, growing up, and religion. I appreciated that we could talk about real stuff, and not stay on the surface. Alex and Roy played toss during the whole shoot—they’re quite good at multi-tasking. After the shoot, some of us went back to the city and met up for dumplings. We talked and laughed. It was really warm. We really connected, and I think that shows in the photos.”

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Chastity Belt
Photos by Chona Kasinger

“As always, I tried to capture something authentic, not super posed or forced. These four seem to genuinely enjoy one another’s company, so their positive energy made things easy. It didn’t hurt that they were naturally comfortable in front of the camera. The whole shoot was fun and super quick—20 minutes or so in all. A shoot doesn’t have to drag on forever to yield good results. If you feel like you got what you need, pack it up. I have a tendency to overshoot—I think that must be a relic of my ‘first three songs no flash’ days as a concert photographer—but I knew after a certain point that I had what I needed.”

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Alex Zhang Hungtai
Photos by Sean Marc Lee

“Taiwan in the summer is very hot and humid, so shooting at night is the easiest way to protect yourself from the sun. I like to play by ear when I’m shooting, so I sometimes depend on ‘stumbling’ upon a perfect scene or location. When we were wandering the alleys, we found a place right as we were wrapping up—the spot with the red car in it. It was a ’90s-era Honda Civic and, with both of us being teenagers in the ’90s at the height of import car culture, it just felt way too right. I first met Alex a few years ago here in Taiwan, and we’ve stayed in touch through the years. Our friendship kept the shoot easy-going—there was an unspoken understanding, and shared inspiration from cinema. Since we knew each other’s tastes, everything just fell right into place.”

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Necronomidol
Photos by Mari Kojima

“I get (a) little nervous when I have to shoot in dark places. Since I use film most of the time, I don’t know how my photos will turn out. So it was like an experiment when I was shooting at the venue while Necronomidol was playing. I guess they felt comfortable with me since I’m a female photographer, and when I asked them to lay down on the ground to take photos of them, it wasn’t about sexiness—I felt I could capture their strength. When we were shooting outside, some young lady walked by us and said something really mean about how the girls were dressed up. I got so mad at her and kinda yelled at her for saying such bullshit. The Necronomidol girls are doing what they really want, and have such a strong will. I totally support and respect their style.”

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Diet Cig
Photos by Brad Ogbonna

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Maimouna Youssef
Photos by Farrah Skeiky

“Portrait photography has never been my strength. I’m self-taught, so I have a tendency to stick to what I know. This shoot was a challenge for me to leave my comfort zone, while making sure my incredible subject felt comfortable and confident, too. Maimouna is a striking person in both appearance and personality, and she’s incredibly warm, so it was clear that warmth and connection were crucial to this shoot. Maimouna had three outfits, and each one spawned a different persona. We were lucky enough to shoot in the home of my friend Curry Hackett, who has one of those homes that looks like it couldn’t possibly exist outside of Pinterest. We found ourselves falling in love with different textures and details in every room. The idea was to fit Maimouna in just enough that she was part of this collection of vintage items, while clearly remaining the centerpiece.”

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Japanese Breakfast
Photos by Collin Hughes

“Michelle’s soundcheck went late, and ended up extending into my shoot window, so I had to get it all done in 40 minutes. But Michelle was incredibly down to earth, which helped change the mood from a stressful press op to a walk with a friend through the park. It had been raining earlier in the day, but as soon as we walked out of the venue, the sun came out, which energized the mood and color. Everything about New York felt ‘cleaner’ thanks to the rain, and the serendipitous timing, with the end-of-day light, made it feel cinematic. The leftover puddles helped as well!”

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