Skylar DeFazio Visits Section 36 Music!

Skylar DeFazio is the incredible photographer behind SkyDProductions. While she has built her portfolio of portraits (family, couples, graduation, etc), she has recently branched out into concert photography. I can say with certainty that was a good addition. I'm thrilled she was willing to visit with us so we could all learn a little bit about her. I'm sure you'll love to hear what she has to say.

So, let’s see what happens when Skylar DeFazio visits Section 36 Music!

When did you realize that photography was something that you loved? 

Photography was always a big part of my life even before I picked up a camera. I was always taking pictures on my phone. However, my photography journey really started in high school. I had taken a college level photo class where I learned all the basics and even some fun editing techniques in photoshop. Eventually, my senior year, a friend of mine at the time and I started an Instagram account together. I kept building up my portfolio by offering up photoshoots to my friends and eventually took the account over and made it into SkyDProductions! 

Would you say your photographs have a specific style? 

If I were to label my style at all it would be warm and natural. I love a good warm toned picture, I feel like it brings life to the photo. I also like to keep things natural and capture moments, but I am always willing to experiment around with my style. 

You’ve recently added concert photography to your portfolio. How did that come to be? 

Concert photography was always a dream of mine. I love music so finding ways to incorporate that and my love for photography gets me so excited. I did my first concert shoot about 4 years ago. A local CT band, known as Mandala, was performing at a venue that was set to close for good, so they had one final show. At the time I had a Canon Rebel T6i, which wasn’t super ideal for a concert scene but I made it work! Three out of the four bands responded to me and loved the pictures and I felt so accomplished. Recently, I wanted to get back into it since I have upgraded to a Nikon Z6iii since then. I had DMed other concert photographers for some advice on how to really get into that world and they said just to reach out locally. So, I gave it a shot with another local band I listened to known as Similar Kind. I DMed them on Instagram about a show they were performing at, asking if I could take pictures and they replied saying they could get me a photo pass. I felt so official since this was my first official pass! I had gotten to the venue right when the doors opened. Similar Kind was an opener for headliner Noah Richardson. Once I was inside the venue, Noah was roaming around and came up to me asking if I was taking pictures for the openers, and in that moment I offered to take some for him as well! Throughout the whole show I had so much fun capturing these performers in the moment. I even got to go on stage and take a photo of Noah Richardson and the crowd. The “family photo” as he called it. Long story short, it was such a great first pass experience and I would love to do more of it! 

What has been your favorite photography experience thus far? 

This is a hard one. I have had so many fun experiences during my photography journey. However, I think I might have to go with my recent concert work. Being able to capture the passion of these performers and even fan reactions filled me with so much joy. Similar Kind even posted some of my pictures on their account and I honestly wouldn’t shut up about it for the rest of the day! 

What would you say are your biggest photography career challenges?

Besides my sometimes struggle to pose clients, I’d say one of my biggest challenges is getting myself out there. I’m still building myself up in this world and usually when people go looking for photographers they probably go for the ones that are a bit more well known. However, I think I’ve been getting better at it! I’ve been posting ads on local Facebook pages of different towns around me and I’ve been gaining some more clients through those! 

Do you have any specific photography career goals? 

I believe my specific photography career goal would be to make a living out of it. Photography is something I am very passionate about and I can see myself always doing it, even if it just ends up as a side gig. A dream would definitely be to be able to work in the concert and music field for sure!

--

That seems like a solid goal!

As always, I want to thank Skylar for visiting with us, and for sending along the pictures to accompany the interview. 

I'm sure you’ll all want to follow her and see what she has going on. Here are the best places to find her:

Instagram

Website

Thanks again Skylar, and good luck reaching your goals!