I met the hip hop artist TROOF at a local open mic, as part of the collective GFC (GoodFella Crew). 

I think we became friends on social media and I kept up with his music there, frequently revisiting the open mic to see/hear him perform.  A mix of pretty boy swag and hard core lyricist, he was truly an enigma – and a cool dude too. 

When his manager (now his future Mrs.) called me about doing a promo shoot for him, I was elated.  I’m always down to work with artists whose music I actually like. 

I sent them some location options and they picked one near downtown, near some train tracks.  Together, the three of us used the afternoon to get some pretty dope stuff:

Though they had a concept in mind, we gravitated to various parts of the area and just let the creativity flow. 

Like many of my artist-subjects, he was open to my suggestions … and like many of them, he ended up liking the shots that were more organic than planned. 

Like this one:

And this one:

Several from this shoot made it to his new website.  And we’ve done several shoots since then … I’m also shooting their wedding this fall! :)

It’s always rewarding to me when clients become friends … when we’re able to build a relationship based on our creative energy. 

Though I knew them before our first shoot, I got to know them even more after it.  And now we have a collaborative relationship where I know exactly what to give them and they come to me because they know I’ll deliver.  

Check out more of my shots of TROOF here.

Check out his music and see more photos at www.dakidtroof.com

Also, find him on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.