Concerts with a Camera

Denzel Curry, Kid Cudi and Metro Boomin. What do all of these rappers have in common? They have been photographed by senior Damon Pourmohsen. 

“I got into photography kind of by accident. I had always been taking pictures of my friends,” Pourmohsen said. “Over quarantine I saw people have disposable cameras and post on their Instagram. I was like ‘Wow that’s pretty cool and I feel like I do that better.’”

That’s when Pourmohsen decided to turn his passion for music into concert film photography.

“So I bought my first camera and Denzel Curry had an event in Long Beach,” Pourmohsen said. “I had been a Denzel Curry fan for a super long time and was like ‘you know what screw it, I’m going to take my camera and act like a professional photographer.’ Which I was not at all.”

So Pourmohsen with just confidence and a camera made his way to Mr. Curry and an amazing opportunity.

“I sneaked my way in and I talked to him and met some of his team, really cool people,” Pourmohsen said. “Then they invited me to tour with Kid Cudi.”

Kid Cudi is a two-time Grammy-winning artist. He is a legend within the rap community, most known for his songs “Mr. Rager’’ and ‘‘Pursuit of Happiness’’ among many others. 

“That was a really cool experience. Meeting Kid Cudi and being on tour with them was really sick,” Pourmohsen said.

Pourmohsen started his film photography halfway through 2022 and hasn’t stopped. Most recently on the Dec. 5, he was taking photos for Metro Boomin.  

“Photography is kind of like a rush,” Pourmohsen said. “Especially concert photography because it can be super chaotic.”

Photography isn’t all Pourmohsen works on. His passion is mostly music and anything related to it. 

“I know I want to do something in the music industry and I have my own music that I’m working on, but if that doesn’t play out I’m still in the industry with my photography. I just want to grow my brand and maybe start a clothing brand with my photography on clothing,” Pourmohsen said. 

He loves “being on stage and just seeing the crowd react to the performer, trying to get your shot, trying to be creative, do something new, find new angles, step outside the box of what everyone else is doing. Just making cool art,” Pourmohsen said.