This past week, I got the opportunity to shoot Behind the Scenes (BTS) photos for Thumbtack’s big studio production and it was freaking awesome, holy cow! I feel so lucky the team gave me the opportunity to capture moments from the 5 day shoot and let me hang around on set. It was a crazy, full, amazing experience and I loved every moment of it.
For me, photography has been one of my biggest passions ever since I was little and would steal my Mom’s camera. Throughout high school, I really dove into it and tried to learn as much as I could. However, as I got into University I barely picked up my camera other than for the random photoshoot or school project. It wasn’t until studying abroad in Australia last year that I started to get back into it again and I am so so happy that I did. For me, there is nothing more rewarding than capturing experiences, making people see the beauty in themselves and sharing moments. Now-a-days, I don’t hike or do pretty much anything without my camera in hand and every moment of the day becomes a frame in my mind. Photography will always be a huge part of my life, so I am so happy that I got to really flex my muscles in a professional sense this past week and prove to myself that photography can be more than a side hobby. It was my first time doing BTS photography and I loved it. BTS is amazing as you get to capture so many moments all at once; all the work and passion that comes together to pull off such a big studio shoot. Plus you get to be sneaky and take photos without people knowing of them living in the moment and doing what they do best (the good stuff). I am so insanely grateful to the Thumbtack team for pushing me to pursue my interests and grow as a human and creative throughout this semester. Interning at Thumbtack has been the highlight of my University career and I can’t wait to come back and work with such an amazing, talented, crazy group of people after graduation - HECKYA!
Here are some of my favorites, shoutout to Will Miller for the killer lighting (musings continued after):
5 days, 2 camera, 1 burrito, 15 beers, 1 Greg, 30 pieces of cheese, 8 face-swaps, 4 chimichangas, 150 polaroids, 1 Airbnb, 1 awesome light set up, 3 TV spots, 20 pros, 1 awesome company, 5 new creative pals, 1576 BTS pics and some new found confidence in my photo skills – still pinching myself to make sure it was real. If you had told my 17 year old self that I would be living the life I had always dreamed of; hiking every weekend, designing in SF with amazing people, shooting BTS photography for a studio shoot, I never would have believed you. Life is rad my friends and if you go after what you love, you can do it all. I am so so so grateful and filled past the brim with happiness and disbelief.
Cheers - keleniak
#heckyaSF2