Gunner Stahl
August 19th, 1993 - Present
Personal Background
Gunner Stahl was born on August 19th, 1993 in Atlanta, Georgia. Stahl is African-American. He went to school at East Atlanta City Public High School. Growing up in East Atlanta, he was exposed to urban hip-hop culture at a young age. He brought his camera to a party one night and took pictures of local rappers performing. As he began to get noticed, he was offered jobs for various magazines, all of which he declined. Nowadays, Stahl photographs candids and photoshoots of big-name rappers such as Young Thug, Lil Uzi Vert, Lil Yachty, and A$AP Rocky.
Style
Stahl’s work focuses on urban hip-hop and party culture. Many of his pictures are taken on HDR cameras, which capture both bright and dark elements. His portraits capture the real lives of famous rappers, as well as concerts and parties. Stahl deploys a specific photography technique that makes his portraits and scenes seem like Renaissance Era paintings. His masterful use of thirds, selective focus, and general photo composition contribute to make his photographs unique. Due to his young age and masterful use of the lens, Stahl has been referred to as an urban prodigy.
Philosophy
Stahl’s work is all about putting the urban scene into the public eye. Stahl has been described as the “first soundcloud photographer” due to his underground origin and quick rise to fame. He is an individualist, showing up to functions and taking pictures on his own. Often times he becomes very close with the subject of his work before photographing them so that he can capture their true selves. Stahl is somewhat of a "method photographer", as he takes on the roles of his subjects and surroundings so that he can take higher quality and more true images.
Influences
Stahl’s iconic gritty urban photography has influenced me in my work. The unique camera techniques he uses makes his photos stand out. I like the overall aesthetic that Stahl creates. I also like the scene and culture that he captures. Stahl's use of selective blur and focus, capturing of semi-controversial realities such as drugs, parties, and "hood wealth", and network of relationships with cultural icons are all things that I want to learn to do. I would like to eventually do something similar to what he does.
Sources
Stahl's Photography
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My Photography |
- In this image, Stahl captures rap artist Desiigner sitting out of the sunroof of (presumably) expensive car. My picture shows me sitting out of the sunroof of my friend’s expensive car. Desiigner is shown holding a handful of hundred dollar bills, but being an unemployed high school student, I substituted my Louis Vuitton wallet in place of the banknotes. The lighting and contrast is very similar. The angle of photograph is almost the exact same.
- In this picture, Stahl captures the rap group Migos (consisting of Quavo, Offset, and Takeoff) posing for a photoshoot. My image shows me, Eli, and Matteo posing in a similar fashion. The color schemes are very similar. In both pictures, the contrast and shadows are enhanced using HDR techniques. The back solid yellow color is the same.
- In this picture, Stahl showcases popular R&B singer and cultural icon Kehlani at a party. I chose to photograph my girlfriend after we came home from a party. Both Kehlani and my girlfriend are wearing designer clothes. The lighting is similar and I used color matching in Photoshop to make the main color scheme identical. The pictures look very similar as both are portraits in similar lighting with similar composition.
These pictures were taken to represent what it would be like if I lived a life like Gunner Stahl. I would love to live a life like his. The picture of me sitting out of the sunroof shows great photo composition and balance, and demonstrates how I would like to be in the future. The picture of me with Eli and Matteo demonstrates how important my friends are to me. I'm very close with them and they are the subject of many of my photographs. The picture of my girlfriend shows her pure beauty and demonstrates very good balance and composition. She means a lot to me and is also the subject of many ofthe pictures I take.