Corey Hayes
Around a year ago I came across Corey Hayes ’ photos through a project he did called , “ Alter Ego .”
That project got quite a bit of media as it showed a bunch of regular people who love dressing up in cosplay . It was almost like finding our your neighbour was a super hero ... looking deeper into Corey ’ s photography you find out he ’ s passionate about photographing people . Whether it ’ s actors , musicians ... it ’ s all about people . Corey ’ s based in New York City and has had his work appear in The New York Times , Vogue UK , GQ and many other magazines and has published a book , Nightshift NYC with Russell Leigh Sharman and Cheryl Harris Sharman . Corey welcome to the first edition of Photo Live ...
I ’ d love to know what it ’ s like to be a working photographer in New York City , sitting thousands of miles away in Australia , we have this preconceived conception of New York being a thriving , gritty in places city , with people everywhere and always something happening .
That is usually people ’ s perception of it , and there ’ s quite a bit of truth to it . For me New York has always been a very neighborhood scene .
I live on the Upper West Side and for the most part stay pretty close . I know my laundry person , the people at my local teashop , and recognize folks at all of my usual haunts , so for me it is not unlike some of what I experienced growing up in a small town . Being a working photographer is tough ! I think I can best sum it up with a story . The first time I dropped off my portfolio was at Blue Note Records . When the person at the front desk took it she placed it in a pile of other portfolios and one in particular I recognized as one of my favorite photographers . I immediately realized that I needed to constantly be working on improving my work as the people I was competing with were some of the best photographers in the world .
Tell us about your photography , what sort of work are you doing most often ?
After spending about 5 years in NYC assisting other photographers and another 8 doing work as a freelance photographer , this past year I ’ ve made a big shift in my work and have started working with a non-profit called New York City relief that helps the homeless here in NYC . Most of my day to day work these days is photographing the poor and homeless folks we serve , and trying to help them recapture some dignity in their lives .
What about personal work - do you have much time for projects ?
I do still take on clients from time to time , and try to make time for personal work as well . I find that now that I ’ m trying to make these two areas converge . I ’ m a bit more discerning when it comes to which jobs I take . After working with the homeless for the past year , it ’ s hard to go back to a place of wanting to see a lot of fancy hair and makeup in my images . Right now I want to see more of the beauty that resides in each person without anything added . Photographing people right when they walk into the studio , that is what I ’ m exploring right now .
You do quite a lot of actors headshots , what ’ s your process ? I mean what do try to capture on a shoot ?
Wow , these are really good questions ! My process always begins with a meeting . I always try to grab coffee with the actor I ’ m planning to shoot beforehand . If I do anything right in my work it starts with getting to know someone first before put-
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