Two Sides of a Person

Photography By Travis Trautt

Music photographer Travis Trautt shares his series, “MUG SHOT VOLUME 1”. Travis opens up about how the series show two sides of the subject, the process of using peel apart polaroids, and finally having a story to tell.

Seattle, USA

How did you begin your journey as a photographer?

I actually grew up in a photo studio. My Dad worked around photography in a few different capacities. So as a young kid I was a child model. Then as I got older, I started helping out on sets. I was taught everything about photography during that time. So when I finally decided to pick up a camera, I already had a pretty great understanding of lighting and composition.

What have you learned along the way?

A LOT. HAHA. I am always learning. I think as a human, always being open to growth is super important. I’m always working with or around other photographers that inspire me. We all come from different places and see moments very different. Its inspiring to see how others work.

Your work primarily focuses on live music and band portraits. How did you get into working as a music photographer? How does it inspire you?

I actually do a lot of other photography work but my love is music. My social media is very tailored to music.

Music always played a big part in my life. When I moved to Seattle, I didn’t have many friends that would go see shows I wanted to see. I also have been sober for a long time. I was having a hard time just attending concerts alone. So I started bringing my camera to smaller shows. It kind of gave me a purpose. Anyways, very quickly I have a photo picked up by a local publication and then started contributing to them. It snowballed from their fast.

Music keeps me in the moment. Anticipating and being able to capture moments and a feeling behind music inspires me. The musicians creating the music and are on stage performing are also inspiring. Its wild to be a part of that. I love capturing the time before and after the performance. All the musicians go through tons of emotions.

I also continue to find new music and artists. Music helps with my personal inspiration on new projects.

You are sharing your series called "Mug Shot Volume 1". What is this series about?

To keep it simple. I wanted to show two sides of a person on a single polaroid.

What inspired you to create "Mug Shot Volume 1"?

A few things in play here. I am a really big fan of peel apart Polaroids. As we all know, the film is now very expensive and hard to come by. I have some boxes sitting in my fridge but I rarely shoot them anymore in fear of running out.

Early last year my homie Luis sent me a FB marketplace post that had a bunch of Polaroid 669 and I was able to pick up significant amount of boxes for really cheap. I decided that I want actually put them to use rather than hoard them.

At this point I was starting to play and test my other cameras with the film. But I just wasn’t inspired by the output on them. At least not for a series. One day I was talking to my homie Ken at a film store here in Seattle called Shot on Film. He was telling my about his recent purchase from a camera store going out of business. He knows I love pack film and he pointed to the Polaroid 203 camera that was used for passport photos. It had two lenses built in. That’s the moment I wanted to do something with that camera.

What is the process behind each shoot for the series?

The process was fairly simple once I had the concept. I just started lugging around this ridiculous camera to artists’ shows I was shooting portraits of before their sets. I ended up just leaving it in the trunk of my car TBH.

As for capturing, I would take the first photo as just a normal look. Then I would give them a short moment to come up with a second side of them. I would normally say do something fucked or weird. And without giving the subject much time- it would be the first thing that comes to mind. No time to back out of that idea.

What have been some memorable subjects thus far and why?

Each one has such a different story behind them. The ones of Frankie and the Witch Fingers were the first ones. Those came out so rad. That kept me fueled. Another would be Billy Woods. He has a thing that his face/eyes can't be seen so I had to mess with the chemicals as they dried to obscure his face a bit.

What have been some difficulties in making these portraits?

First is the film. It wasn’t stored properly. So many packed were dried out. I had many moments that didn’t make it into this book because the pack of film I brought didn’t work. That was rough. Those moments became very discouraging.

Second would be the camera size. Traveling with it is not easy. And I broke a few along the way. HA. I think I went through 4 of them over the year.

How does this series show your growth or a different version of you as a photographer?

I have never kept with a series with an idea that I continued with. I look and buy a lot of photo books. And there is always a theme. This was the first time that I felt had a story to tell.

Why was it important for you to make these into a book?

I love print. These felt like they had to be shared that way. I havent shared many of them on my social cause I wanted to them all to be seen together.

What's next for "Mug Shot Volume 1"?

I am looking at a date to a release show in Seattle. It will most likely be first week of Feb based on when I receive them. Hoping to do a group show with some of my fave Seattle photogs that I am inspired by if I can pull it together in time.

What's next for you?

Volume 2 for sure. I think I have enough film to get through another one. But I’m continuing to work on more printed ideas. I have a couple other books I am working on. They will come in time.