“A portrait is not made in the camera but on either side of it.”
— Edward Steichen

born: jun 20, 1987

Lives in Ocean Grove, NJ

Full Name: Matthew Samuel Isamu Raspanti

Favorite thing to Jam when you Edit? : Funk, Jazz OR 90's Hip/Hop

- Hi, I'm Matt -  

I was born somewhere. I was raised there too. I have parents.
In 2009, I graduated with a BFA in PHOTOGRAPHY from the School of Visual Arts and have been working as a STILL and MOTION Photographer ever since. I really enjoy taking portraits. If I had to look for a reason as to why I'm drawn to shoot the subjects that I do, it's CONNECTION. It could be that connection between the subject and the photographer through the lens or a connection to your audience, like a musician. Ever since I was little, I was in love with music. I picked up my first guitar when I was in 8th Grade and haven't stopped playing it since. It started to seep into everything I did. In fact, one of my first paying gigs was from taking photos of bands at live shows at various venues in the Tri-State Area. 

I fell in love with photography shooting bands, mostly the music I was into at the time, which was mostly emo/hardcore/metal vein. It was a free ticket into a show that I wanted to see anyway so I felt right at home in the crowd. I noticed over the years of shooting and playing and attending various shows that there was this connection between the audience and the entertainer. It's something I've strived for when performing and its something that I've always liked to document. I've been told that, "when you're smiling, the audience smiles along with you."
 

- That's the connection -
Isn't that something worth photographing?

- TO SEE WHAT MY CURRENT PROJECTS ARE -

past clients include

cryptosherpa.net
HelBiz
Jersey Shore Dream Center
shorechristian.org
Daizu Soy Candles
18th and Addison

OH AND check out

Thee Idea Men

iTunes

Spotify