Photographer Spotlight: Sawyer Michaels

I’m sitting down today at Papatzul in Soho with one of New York’s talented creatives, Sawyer Michaels. Our initial encounter took place in 2020 when I was a production assistant for a womenswear brand in the Upper West Side, where Sawyer stepped in as a last-minute photographer replacement. Our creative synergy was apparent from the start, leading to him shooting the launch of my own designs and later the initial campaign for Plandid. In my personal life, Sawyer has been there to shoot my engagement, a handful of test concepts, the boudoir book I gifted my husband on our wedding day… so as you can imagine we’ve built quite a relationship through all these major life moments. His work typically speaks for itself, but today I’ll be asking him for a little more insight on how he got started in photography, his method and his inspiration.

Walker outwear collection shot by Sawyer Michaels, 2021.

Paige: We’re going to rewind a bit here, and it feels a bit surface level to ask you questions I probably know the answers to. But here we go. When did you get your first camera?

Sawyer: I got my first camera when I was 16.

Paige: And when was your first paid job?

Sawyer: Pretty much right away. What happened was, my friend at the time was a nightclub photographer and he didn’t want to go to work this one night. He had started to get multiple bookings and was already working with DJs for local radio stations like Hot 97 and La Mega.

Paige: This was happening here in New York?

Sawyer: Yes this was here in New York. Back then the top NYC DJs were playing on the radio. That’s how, as a DJ, your trajectory was solidified.

Paige: So that’s essentially how they built a name for themselves?

Sawyer: Yes and the same went for photographers. If you were working with a top DJ at the time, you were solidified as a nightclub photographer. At that point in time traveling as a DJ was just starting to become a thing. Oh, I’m going to Europe to do this set, I’m gonna go to New York, Miami… That was right before the big EDM wave.

Paige: Gotcha.

Sawyer: But long story short, my friend decided he didn’t want to go that night because he was already gaining popularity, he was working with this other DJ that he felt was more important and he was like, “Here’s my camera, go shoot this event, I can’t go.” And that was my first paid job. That was like a $300 night.

Paige: And at 16, you’re like sick I made $300 in one night.

Sawyer: Oh, I was like hell yeah.

Paige: Did you do event photography for a while after that? When did you start going after fashion?

Sawyer: I did events for maybe the next 5 years until I was about 21 or 22. Nightlife does get old pretty fast, especially being from here. I got kind of tired of it. Fashion did not happen for at least another… I wanna say 5 years. I started off with more portrait photography. Something about nightlife that I really enjoyed was the documentary aspect of it. It wasn’t so much about having fun and taking photos of people getting trashed. It was more about documenting what was happening, and so that kind of led me into this avenue of, “I like capturing these moments because I have a really hard time living in the moment.” I love looking back on it and being like holy crap we did that.

Paige: Well, I stand corrected I actually didn’t know this story.

Sawyer: That’s pretty much the gist of why I got started in photography, but the longer more emotional story is that I had a really unhappy childhood because I was an only child, with no siblings, cousins, no extended family at all. I was the 5-year-old Spanish kid sleeping in a pile of jackets while my parents were dancing and partying. So I’ve always had that in my environment, I never had a large family. And so when I found out about nightclub photography, it felt like home to me. Now there are hundreds of other people who are partying on Thanksgiving Eve and Christmas Eve. I thought I was by myself and now I have all these people around me.

Paige: That’s so heartwarming and honestly makes for a great story, it’s more interesting than saying oh I just bought a camera and thought I’d be good at it.

Sawyer: [Laughing] No, I just wanted to be happy!

Paige: Who would you say has been your biggest influence? Maybe name a photographer and then a model.

Sawyer: There are two big influences, one being Kirill Bichutsky. He was very popular in the early 2000s in nightclub photography in New York. He was doing the raunchiest shit, like Terry Richardson style.

Photo shot by Kirill Bichutsky.

Paige: And despite what they’ve done as an individual, they were influencing the photography industry.

Sawyer: Yes, he owned it. He ended up working with adult stars, people flooded towards him. He was just doing this incredible nightlife thing. It was one of the first times I’d seen party photography from not such a boring perspective. It was more of capturing the moment.

Paige: So it was just what was happening in the moment, he wasn’t directing people what to do or how to act?

Sawyer: No, he wasn’t like hey take your clothes off. He created this one-of-a-kind party environment that will probably never happen again. Party-goers were just going up to him wanting to take their top or pants off and have it photographed. And the other inspiration, who is a little bit more toned down is Rukes. He was one of the most prominent DJ photographers for a long time. He shot pretty much all the EDM festivals in the early 2000s. A lot of big names like Avicii, Deadmau5, and Kaskade.

Photo taken by Rukes.

Paige: So with that, who would be your dream model to shoot? Or influencer I guess they don’t technically need to be like a traditional model.

Sawyer: The person I’ve always wanted to shoot with, especially now, would be my favorite artist Karol G. There’s something nostalgic about the way she performs, she’s very engaging with her audience to the point where it feels like a big party. I was at her concert here at MetLife Stadium and she asked the audience to join in on a shot or “Guaro” as we say in Colombia. I feel like- and I don’t feel this quite often I’m not an empath or anything- with her aesthetic, her drive and how she carries herself there’s just something about her that we would very much relate on. She’s Colombian, I’m Colombian. We would knock it out of the park and be best friends.

Paige: I’ll have to look her up after this because I can’t put a face to the name right now. Looking back, what would be your favorite project in your career?

Sawyer: One of the biggest helping hands is when Tyrell Hampton discovered me, it was for this pajama party that Clavin Klein hosted back in 2019.

Paige: Cool! This was an actual party or it was the theme for an editorial?

Sawyer: It was an actual pajama party, everyone posted up in CK pajamas. Kendall Jenner was there, a whole bunch of influencers. I was hired to edit for Tyrell, I had never worked with him before. He seemed to like me solely because I had spent SO much time on color science and editing. At that point in time I wasn’t really posting, I was ashamed of my work, I didn’t feel confident about it, but the one thing I kept studying was making colors pop and come alive. It activates my memory when I’m looking at an image if it’s in color.

Paige: I can see that, I need to hear more about this PJ party!

Sawyer: I was editing this image of Kendall and Tyrell immediately came over and was like I love the edit you did. I have work for you we should keep in touch. And ever since then, I’ve been working with him on some of my biggest projects.

Paige: That’s so incredible, did Kendall see your work?

Sawyer: Yes, she shared one of the shots on her social after the event!

Calvin Klein Pajama Party, 2019.

Paige: When we work together I come to you with a big inspo dump and then we shoot posts back and forth on IG for the next few weeks until we get something scheduled. If somebody contacts you and they don’t have this laundry list of ideas, what is your process for planning a shoot?

Sawyer: It really depends on who the client is, if they’re a beginner model and they want headshots I ask them straight up what is it that they want to accomplish. Do you want to go into acting? Modelling? I advise on what I think they should be doing from there. I begin to curate a deck and the creative direction by looking at notable people in their industry.

Paige: Do you prefer when somebody comes to you with a very clear vision or do you rather have full creative control?

Sawyer: Again it depends on the client, if it’s a brand that I don’t know anything about, I would prefer that you have full insight into your creative direction and will ask for a mood board.

Paige: Right you need to make sure you align with what the brand has done and further the story they’re telling rather than creating something from scratch. When a graphic design client comes to me and they have no idea who they are as a brand yet, I have to build that identity with them vs. an existing brand that maybe needs updated graphics for their social or web, it’s more of an evolution of what already exists.

Sawyer: Exactly, on the other hand, if I’m shooting with a model I kind of know what to do and where to go. For beginner models, I take my time making sure they know what they’re doing and how to pose.

Paige: Do you have one camera or multiple? I can’t remember you always just show up with a big case of equipment.

Sawyer: Multiple!

Paige: And which would you say is your favorite?

Sawyer: This one I have with me, it’s a Leica Q3. I got pretty lucky getting it, apparently they’re pretty difficult to find.

Paige: Is it digital or film?

Sawyer: Digital. Ever since I bought it everything feels beautiful again.

Paige: Do you always carry around a camera with you?

Sawyer: Not all the time but pretty frequently.

Paige: If you’re out do you just snap photos of people or things you see that inspire you?

Sawyer: Yes, like right now you’re matching the furniture and interiors of this restaurant really well. Your color palette is perfect, you have the green sweater which is matching the plants, the tan leather and your coat are identical, the pink of the flower and the pink on your shopping bag. You’re very on-brand right now.

Paige: [Poses for photo]

Sawyer: There we go!