Cody Keto in Red: An Impromptu Portrait Session at Cobalt Studios
Updated: 5 hours ago
Tattooed portrait of Cody Keto leaning forward over flowing red fabric in dark studio light. Cody Keto stepping onto a draped pedestal with flowing fabric and a glowing-eye effect. Shadowed profile of Cody Keto seated against a red background with light outlining his tattooed shou Cody Keto seated with his head bowed in deep red light, framed by bright film-burn effects. Wide portrait of Cody Keto leaning forward in red fabric with a glowing eye and textured light effec Cody Keto extending his arms through a smoky double-exposure effect in a dramatic red portrait. Cody Keto bending beneath red fabric and reaching toward an abstract black textured overlay. Dark seated profile of Cody Keto with folded arms against a deep red studio background. Full-length portrait of Cody Keto standing on a pedestal with red fabric covering his head and torso Cody Keto holding flowing red fabric with outstretched arms in a smoky, viewfinder-framed portrait.
Community over competition.
Some shoots matter because of the concept. This one mattered because of the person.
Years ago, when Rose and I were starting to think seriously about meetups and building more of a photography community around us, somebody told us we should go check out Portland Shooters.
Cody Keto was co-hosting one of the first photo meetups I ever attended.
I remember walking in and seeing this big tattooed dude leading a photography event and having that immediate moment of, who the fuck is this guy? He was a little intimidating from across the room, clearly knew what he was doing, and seemed to know everybody.
That event ended up having a pretty ridiculous ripple effect on my life. I met people there who eventually became some of my closest friends and it helped push me farther into the Portland photography community that Rose and I were already trying to build around ourselves.
Over the years Cody became more than another photographer I knew.
He's somebody I care deeply about and someone whose career I quietly keep an eye on. He is bold and headstrong, has strong opinions, he's a giant nerd, he's comfortable to be around, and I've always seen him as a leader. More importantly, he genuinely gives a shit about creative community. He teaches, shares information and makes room for other people instead of treating photography like some secret club. Sounds exactly like the kind of human I'd want in my circle.
Which makes it kind of perfect that when we finally photographed something together, there was almost no plan at all.
Cody showed up at Cobalt Studios in a T-shirt. We hadn't built some giant concept or mood board beforehand. At some point I basically said, well, we could just shoot shirtless.
He told me that because it was me, he was comfortable doing it.
That tiny interaction probably means more to me than the concept itself. There wasn't anything weird about it. We've known each other long enough that there was trust there, and we could just make something.
So we did.
We found this aggressive red look and leaned into the power Cody naturally carries. Because I know him and trust his taste, I also felt considerably freer in the edit. Cody isn't afraid to push his own work, so I gave myself permission to do the same, adding overlays and making some choices I might normally second-guess.
The result feels appropriately bold for him.
And considering we basically walked into the studio and started fucking around, I'm extremely proud of where it landed.
That's one of my favorite things about photography anyway. Sometimes months of planning produce exactly what you expected.
Sometimes a friend walks into your studio in a T-shirt and you accidentally make something you love.
Credits:Portrait: Cody Keto, @codyketophotography
Photography: Michael / Nilas, @xnilasx
Studio: Cobalt Studios PDX, @cobaltstudiospdx
If you want portraits that don't need to fit neatly into a box, take a look at my Alternative Portrait work.
ID: 116
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