We had the good fortune of connecting with Andrew Sherman and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Andrew, do you disagree with some advice that is more or less universally accepted?
“Never shoot for free.” I understand this and by all means, make money when you can on your art, but I have gotten so many opportunities and jobs from meeting people at free shoots and by always striving to deliver top level work. If you are doing good work and people are seeing it, you will get hired. Photographers have the luxury of getting free advertising just from posting the work they are hired to do. It’s up to you how you take those opportunities and make them work for you. I will always do some free shoots when I can, although admittedly it is getting harder time-wise.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I have found that I love taking photos of people almost more than anything else. I prefer musicians on stage but honestly, I’ve found I love shooting many types of events. I shoot a lot for the Dallas Observer but there are so many amazing shows in DFW, Observer can’t possibly cover them all. So I started my own online music photography magazine called Last Nite Live. It’s a place where I can showcase and cover the shows that no one is hiring me to cover. The real idea though is to have photographers from around the country, even the globe, submit concert photo recaps. I have found there is something extra when you are posting to a publication than just your own social media. I also started a podcast called the Dallas Famous Podcast where I interview all sorts of interesting and creative types in DFW. Season two just kicked off!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
My life revolves around live music and events so I would drag them to a show or three. I’m pretty boring and if I’m not shooting I’m at home with my girlfriend relaxing.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
John LaRue, owner of Deep Ellum Art Co and Micheal Kervin, owner and talent buyer for Time2Fly Music. Kervin always understood the importance of getting great photos of an event, and LaRue (and Kervin) was and is always throwing great shows and events. The belief those two men had in me before I knew exactly what I was doing gave me the space and freedom to learn my craft and I will forever be grateful to them for that.

Website: www.drewlio.com

Instagram: @drewliophoto

Facebook: @drewliophoto

Other: Dallas Famous Podcast –https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/dallasfamouspodcast Last Nite Live (My Online Magazine that features concert photo recaps from myself and other photographers.) www.lastnitelive.com Linktree; https://linktr.ee/drewliophoto

Image Credits
Photo 1-Flea of Red Hot Chili Peppers Photo 2 – Thom Yorke of The Smile Photo 3 Machine Gun Kelly, Photo 4 The Cure, Photo 55 Billy Strings Photo 6 Ashnikko Photo 7 The Polyphonic Spree 8 Big X Tha Plug All photos taken by Andrew Sherman

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