The sneaker industry has spread beyond the space of regular advertising, with the assistance of social media they can have you wanting a shoe before it releases. Not from the sometimes vague and limited information given bit by bit as the release gets closer. No, that not it, what has the hype train build daily where a shoe the was considered a brick turns into a must cop is the photo because we all know presentation is key.
No one knows that better than Matthew Christopher a photographer with a keen eye, who has taken his love and passion for sneakers and has one-upped everyone when it comes to sneaker photos on social media.
Matthew’s photos have been used as cover art for Sneaker Reporters ‘The Weekly Drop’ playlist, but what made me stop, stare like his post was his photo of the Nike SB ‘Community Garden’ titled Lemon Wash now his presentation was true artistry. His ability to take a plane sneaker and set it away reminiscent of Nike ads you’d see in a SLAM magazine.
Lemon Wash
For this week’s installment of Kicking It With, I was able to talk to Matthew about his journey as a photographer (primarily shooting sneaker) as another individual whose doing new and exciting (non-traditional) things within the sneaker community.
How did you become a sneaker photographer?
I wouldn’t consider myself a “sneaker photographer” I feel placing labels on oneself can at times restrict our creativity and mental states, I look at myself simply as a photographer with a love and passion for sneakers. To keep things short I started photographing my personal collection on an iPhone roughly 4 years ago. I found the process brought along a sense of peace and right then I fell in love with photography. I then purchased my first entry-level DSLR following my current set up being a Canon EOS R.
Have any companies reached out for you to shoot for them?
Yes, I have been approached by some smaller companies to photograph their products, but I am still waiting to be able to work with any companies on my list. That is the goal one day.
Where does your passion for sneakers come from?
Back in the early 2000s, I had purchased my first pair of white/white air force 1 mids. Driving over an hour to find a footshop with my size, ever since then I’ve had a love for sneakers that remains til this day.
As a father are you hoping to pass this on to your daughter?
It would be awesome to share such a passion of mine with my daughter but it is not something I would ever force upon her. She is her own person and I respect that and understand that she may not find the same joy in what I do. So yes I am hoping to pass it down but if not I’ll be just as happy knowing she is following her own passions in life.
When you find out your daughter has superpowers, Matthew including his daughter in on the fun
How do you get the sneakers you shoot?
Some pairs are from my personal collection which I have acquired over the years, some for retail some I have purchased through the resale market. I have no plugs though at this point in time if I don’t score for retail then I just move on to the next one (for the most part). My page features pairs from a good homie of mine @vash_thestampede_ collection, I recommend checking out his page as well. We collab to create the content in which you see.
What is your thought process when shooting a sneaker from the concept to the final product?
When I’m photographing sneakers in the street I am more focused on composing the sneaker with its surroundings to provide a visually appealing image. Whether it be colors, lines, textures, and so on, to the placement of the sneaker itself. There is a lot that goes into photographing anything that I think a lot of people who don’t do it day in day out tend to disregard. Knowing your camera inside and out and understanding the function of your camera plays a huge role in the final product images you see from myself and many other photographers. On another note when I’m photographing sneakers at home I usually dig into the history of the colorway or collaboration and see if I can incorporate props to help visually tell that story to the viewer.
I follow other sneaker photographers on social media and they turned their photos into merchandise like prints for people to put up in their homes or having them on clothing like hoodies. Now is the anything similar your working on for your followers?
I have been working on samples for prints actually it’s certainly something to expect and look out for in the future. I am in the early stages of making them available to the public. I want to assure the best quality prints I can offer for a reasonable price point. At the moment I see myself sticking strictly to prints but who knows what the future holds.
So being from Massachusetts, which is home to sneaker shops such as Concepts. I remember a post that featured the Concepts X New Balance 997 and 998. Do you have a relationship with Tarek Hassan?
I have never met Tarek Hassan, I have just always been a supporter of concepts. Their collaborations are always top-notch when it comes to storytelling and quality which is something I also try to incorporate throughout my own work.
What’s the story behind your custom New Balance 574 NB1?
There was actually no back story to either colorway, the colors just worked so well together it was hard not to create them. I did sit there for roughly two weeks playing with color combinations until I found one I was pleased with. I then went back to that creation every day for a week and once I felt that same wow factor on the 7th day as I did the 1st, I pulled the trigger. Though I love sneakers with stories behind their colorways, I also love great color blocking and New balance is known for having just that when it comes to their General Releases.
As a collector of sneakers has that passion led to collecting other rage items? Let say Pokémon Cards.
Yes, for years I have collected graded Pokémon cards actually, I look at it from more of an investment standpoint having something to hand down to my daughter when she is older. Sneakers took a back seat for me when I really got involved in photography, it’s hard to keep up with one expensive hobby never mind two.
As the search to cop the sneaker to make you the freshest in your group continues the new area of one-upping one another has gone viral on social media. With a more and more artistic rendition of sneaker photo flood your feed, while there are so many to choose from memyselfnmykickz vision is one you can’t ignore.
Thanks Again to Matthew for seating down with me for the second Kicking It With, feature if you would like to see more of his work check out the gallery of photos below and follow Matthew on Instagram. Come back next week to read up on our next guest.
Recent Comments