frank ocean: changing the met gala photography game

A tornado flew around my room before Frank Ocean came to the 2019 Met Gala with his camera.

Frank Ocean at the 2019 Met Gala. Theme was Camp: Notes on Fashion. Camera in his hand is the Contax T3, a 35mm point and shoot.

Frank is a singer and songwriter, but he is also a rapper, record producer, composer, keyboard player, ghostwriter, visual artist, actor, AND photographer. This multi-talented artist takes killer photos that I’m incredibly jealous of and inspired by.

1/36 photographing photographers. It’s giving…the spiderman meme

I remember seeing film photos taken by Frank Ocean from the 2019 Met Gala, and although ALL Met Galas are worthy of a million photos, 2019’s Camp: Notes on Fashion was the one to take behind the scenes pictures of. When I think of a Met Gala theme that hit the nail on the head, I think of this one. This year was particularly interesting because of the no photo rule once celebrities get inside the exhibit, but thank god for Frank because he got a cheeky 36 for all of us to enjoy :D

His pictures are so raw, real, and showed a behind the scenes look on what the Met Gala is TRULY like. Us peasants could never even DREAM about what The Met would ever be like (a single ticket can run you about $75,000. That’s a lot of zeros!). Additionally, there is an incredible amount of mystery about what goes on inside the Met Gala because of the no phone rule (although some celebs may sneak a quick iPhone pic of them smoking in the bathroom or something).

3/36 shadow pic, I love taking a good shadow pic now and again. Silhouette is on point because you can tell it’s Frank just by the shape.

Frank’s pictures make the viewer feel like they are in the same room as these superstars. Some photos are posed, some are just quickly taken, some are random, and some are in black and white. The combination of subjects and their accessories, wild colors and costumes, crazy makeup looks, and the editing is something that I aspire to create in photos I take myself as an amature photographer.

5/36 Lupita looking quintessentially gorgeous

6/36 now THIS! THIS is CAMP! So camp, in fact, he took 2 pictures.

Frank Ocean: California native, scorpio, started ghostwriting for a few celebs you may have heard of…like Beyoncé and Justin Bieber (no biggie). A multi-talented artist who succeeds in many different creative categories. He briefly went to college but set his sights on pursuing a music career instead of finishing his degree. He started releasing mixtapes and quickly gained popularity. He released a mixtape, called nostalgia in 2011, and then a year later released channel ORANGE, an album that reached No. 1 on the Top Albums chart. In 2016 he released Blonde which had massive success and took home several awards.

Glitz, glamour, and everything in between. Frank captured it all. What intrigues me the most is that each and every of these 36 photos made such an impact on Frank that he deemed it worthy enough to snap a pic.

Billy Porter. Arguably the most iconic king to walk up those Met Gala stairs, or should I say, be carried. Porter’s look from 2019 still lives rent free in my brain. Maybe it was those golden snitch-esque wings, or maybe it was the hot men carrying him in, who’s to say? I say Billy Porter is the KING of camp.

Frank’s photos make me feel like I could reach out and TOUCH Gigi Hadid’s frosted eyelashes. Now THAT is talent.

11/36 Gigi Hadid could slap me in the face and I would say thank you.

12/36 my god Winnie Harlow’s headpiece is doing something to my soul.

Winter called…it wants their Robb Stark back!!

13/36 Not super campy, but it’s Richard Madden and he ALWAYS looks good

One thing I love when taking my own photos is taking pictures of things that don’t always make a ton of sense, but add some context. At the end of the day, your photos should be telling a story and not just the same pose over and over and over again. Experimenting with different angles, settings, and adjusting your perspective can provide a hell of a lot of storytelling for your audience. This next picture threw me for a loop. At first, I thought it was someone’s glove on a table, but no, it’s a dress! That glove is a train! Attached to that high heel you see! My god!

15/36 just some candids, gotta love them :)

I will never ever ever forget about this picture of Kendall Jenner. According to the internet, Kendall and Frank are good buddies, and this pic shows us exactly that. My favorite part of this photo? The fact that she’s looking at Frank and not the lens. Major friendship moment here despite the mean finger.

16/36 flipping the bird as a symbol of friendship

“My guy pretty like a girl
And he got fight stories to tell
I see both sides like Chanel
See on both sides like Chanel”

Opening lyrics from Frank Ocean’s Chanel

We’re at a tea party here so it’s only natural that I say this. “Off with your head!”

18/36 Jared Leto, I think you’re missing something…

Eye spy with my little eye(s)

My love language is fun facts, so I’m about to drop one on you. Much like myself, Frank Ocean experiences synesthesia. This phenomenon is a type of sensory crossover in the brain where we can associate certain feelings with colors, smells, tastes, etc. Frank actually experienced this during the first summer he fell in love, to Frank, this summer bled orange, and inspired the title of his first studio album channel ORANGE.

Did you know Frank’s dog, Everest (Bernese Mountain Dog), is credited as an executive producer on channel ORANGE?

23/36 a very cool tie attached to a very cool person (I assume)

25/36 alexander wang dress (attached to Hailey Bieber)

Laverne Cox, you are immaculate.

“Work Hard. Have Fun. Make History” What a slogan! I think this might be my new mantra.

28/36 Jeff! (just in a suit but it’s Jeff).

I’m really sad Lizzo got cancelled because I loved her. Her music made me so happy inside but it makes me sad that she treats her staff disrespectfully :( so I won’t say much more other than:

“If I'm shining, everybody gonna shine
(Yeah, I'm goals)
I was born like this, don't even gotta try
(Now you know)
I'm like Chardonnay, get better over time
(So you know)
Heard you say I'm not the baddest bitch, you lie

It ain't my fault that I'm out here getting loose
Gotta blame it on the Goose
Gotta blame it on my juice, baby
It ain't my fault that I'm out here making news
I'm the pudding in the proof
Gotta blame it on my juice”

Lyrics from my favorite Lizzo song, Juice, now I guess I can just listen to the Harry Styles cover?

The first time I heard a Frank Ocean song was actually on Vine, and it was the lyric that I started this blog off with, you know the one, lol.

30/36 Frank with an automobile (which he loves)

I hate to say this, but James Charles videos are my guilty pleasure. I wonder why Frank took this photo because I remember James getting heat from not only just getting invited to The Met Gala, but also for his outfit not being on theme.

31/36 HI SISTERS! (Read in terrifying voice)

32/36 second iPhone sighting, tsk tsk Gigi

Frankie fun fact alert! Before frank was a musical artist, he got his start as a sandwich artist at Subway (I bet his subs were incredibly poetic).

Colby jack, parmesan, feta, asiago, mozzarella, burrata, nacho, cheddar, vermont sharp, havarti, muenster, gouda, brie, bleu, etc.

I’d like to close off this tea party blog by saying I appreciate when artists like Frank Ocean, Tyler the Creator, and Donald Glover (Childish Gambino) experiment with other creative hats outside of where they started from. One thing about me is that I never want to limit myself to just ONE thing, I want to explore MANY things and be this insane multifaceted human being with so many random but incredible talents that you can’t help but be fascinated by me. I’ve always been curious, and I’d love nothing more than to STAY curious for the rest of my life.

Cheers to you Frank for your incredible photography, music, writing, production, and much much more. I’ll be patiently waiting for the next album, but for now, I’ll cherish the sounds you’ve dropped already.

I listened to this playlist as I wrote this blog. If you love Frank as much as Kanye loves Kanye, give it a listen!

Frank Playlist

frank ocean: changing the met gala photography game

Where I Was, Am, and Will Be