UBN Portrait
Photo Studio

We love photography, and for a long time we’d been curious about what would happen if we brought a real photo studio into the middle of Us By Night.

When the opportunity came up to work with photographer Craig Fleming, a simple idea quickly grew into something bigger: what if we photographed every speaker immediately after they walked off stage?

Most of our speakers, no matter how accomplished they are, will admit to some degree of imposter syndrome. There’s tension before a talk, adrenaline while they’re on stage, and then that unmistakable sense of relief when it’s over. That little moment, just after stepping off stage, was exactly what we wanted to capture.

So we built a fully equipped portrait studio at the festival, with Craig behind the camera. Speakers came in straight after their talks, but we also opened the studio to our visitors. Over three nights, Craig and his team photographed close to 200 people, creating a spontaneous portrait of the community that makes Us By Night what it is.

What started as an experiment became something we’d love to continue. Can’t wait for the next excuse.