Danny Pleckham photographed by @jshootin
1. At what age did you first pick up a camera?
I started taking photos when I was about 15 years old with my friend Carter Shimp.
2. What was your first camera & lens and what is your current camera & lens?
My VERY first camera for a while was just my iPhone 6. I used it to capture a lot of landscape/street photography when I was out & about. I transitioned to my parent’s Canon Rebel T2i & the kit lens that came with it after that until ultimately saving up to buy the Sony A7III years later which is what I currently still use today. I don’t have any fancy lenses either, just the 24-70 kit lens and the 70-210 kit zoom lens.
3. What advice do you have for someone who is just starting out in photography?
For someone who has never picked up a camera before, focus on framing and what you are capturing.
Really pay attention to those grid lines and the angles in which you are shooting and go from there. If you’ve dabbled in photography a little bit, expand on those shots you’re getting, experiment with more, learn how to edit colors and touch up photos in color AND black and white as well.
4. What is the favorite image that you’ve made?
Tough question.. I feel that the most iconic image for me personally is the headshot of JuiceWRLD performing in Chicago. This picture is incredibly special to me because that concert was my very first time covering a show, as well as it being JuiceWRLD’s final show in his hometown. That image will always be extremely sentimental to me.
5. If you could thank two people right now who would it be and why?
1) Carter Shimp
2) Chris Vergara
Carter introduced me to all of this. He and I came up together doing very similar things. He went a different route than I did creatively, but our foundation is all the same between us. I would never be where I am now without him & I’m sure he would say the same. We still talk all the time & continue to grow together & share what we have been working on. Truly an incredible human.
I met Chris after I had been doing photography for some time. I was mainly only doing portrait/street/landscape photography and nothing more when we met. Immediately we were friends and Chris had me start working on set with him for video production projects under his company. Today, he has exploded and runs an incredible company called Round3 which you just have to check out. Chris and I also continued to help grown our ever-expanding brand TreeHouse Studios with our good friend Zach Miesuk. Chris showed me that there was much more to this than just doing photography for fun. He showed me that this could be my career & we’ve both taken off ever since.
Thank you both so much.
Danny Pleckham photographed by The Reel Moment
6. Who is the bucket list person/brand you’ve always wanted to photograph?
A bucket list artist I’d LOVE to photograph would have to be Drake or Logic. Growing up I was a huge Drake fan as well as a huge Logic fan. I seriously know almost all their songs word for word. Their music has been monumental in getting through the ups and downs of life so being able to work with them in some capacity would be an incredible full-circle moment.
As far as brands go, I’d love to work with New Balance or Cactus Jack. Two VERY different brands, but to me they’re two very UNIQUE brands that are doing amazing things.
7. What has been your most memorable moment on this journey?
I think one of the most memorable moments so far would be when I was covering The Lyrical Lemonade Summer Smash Festival in 2022. (BIG shoutout to the LL guys) Lil Uzi Vert was performing and wanted to show off all of these tattoos he just got. I just so happened to be in the right place at the right time and Uzi pointed at me, asked to grab some photos of him & his new tattoos and gave me a big thumbs up after. I thought he was pointing to multiple people around me, but when I turned around I realized I was the only one standing there. It was a small moment, but the images I got went viral all over social media, and to have an interaction/opportunity like that with an artist like Uzi was mind-boggling to me since I’m a fan of his as well.
8. If you could go back in time and change one thing, what would it be?
As corny as this might sound, I wouldn’t change a thing. Everything that I have been through and done in my time has been nothing short of a movie. When you’re in an industry like this, life feels very surreal. Whether there are good things or bad things happening, it feels like you’re a part of some film sometimes. Every “bad” thing that has happened to me while continuing this journey has been a learning lesson. There are no “bad” things, only opportunities to learn and do better the next time. There will always be a next time too unless you let these negative moments affect you and force you to give up. You can never give up. Everything happens EXACTLY how it is supposed to and through all the ups and downs, you will get to where you want to be exactly when you’re ready. You can’t rush it!
9. What advice do you have for someone who gets stuck on this journey?
If you’re stuck on this journey and catch yourself going in circles back and forth, I would say do two things. First, be patient. As I mentioned, this journey takes time and you cannot rush it. As long as you continue working towards your goal and are working on SOMETHING every day, that is progress. You are always progressing, just not as fast as you might like. Second, if you are being patient but just don’t enjoy specific parts of things going on, or anything similar to that, change it up! Experiment. There are a million ways to make it in this industry. Switch things up, give other things a try, experiment with new styles, test out new processes or methods of your workflow. It’s important to constantly change, to constantly be moving, and to always try new things otherwise you’ll realize things will get very boring very quickly!