Kenny Rodriguez
As the official photographer for parties like the Rub and Tiki Disco, Rodriguez’s goal when shooting is to, as he puts it, “capture that raw, sexy honesty that people have.
His approach
“I’ve made the flash mine—I’m not going to tell you because it’s my secret. I do it in a way that it looks like there’s a hole of light that just pierced into this night for a millisecond and captured everything really real, and then I fade back into the darkness.”
His tips for shooting nightlife
“Learn your craft before you step out into the night. Photography is managing light and composing a shot. First, you gotta have an eye. Second, learn how to manage light. When you step into nightlife, that’s an animal; it’s dark and it’s loud. It’s a beast.”
“You can’t wear earplugs because then you don’t feel the music. It’s muffled.”
His favorite parties to shoot
“The Rub is like a family. It’s got the most diverse crowd, the best representation of what New York City is. Hip-hop, R&B, house, rock, everything; the crowd reflects that, and they’re so happy. I’ve never seen a fight, I’ve never seen anything crazy like that, never.”
“The crowd at Freedom is older but very diverse. They’re lovers of hip-hop, ’90s and ’80s hip-hop, the real shit—not Drake or all that shit.”
“I do events at Le Bain at the Standard. That place is the best place to shoot. All of the walls are black, the ceiling’s black, it’s ideal for a nightlife photographer. You can really shape your light and make it look really, really intimate.”
