Beyond The Grid, Vol. 04 - Shooting Beauty in a City That’s Obsessed With It
It’s 5 PM, 95 degrees, and someone’s spraying oil on a model outside a small tent while the rest of us are melting. Miami Swim Week has a specific energy—and it’s not exactly the one you get to see.
For a city that’s all about looking good, Swim Week might be the most extreme version of that obsession. As someone capturing it, it’s always a bit of a strange one for me. You spend your days surrounded by beautiful people, shooting swimwear campaigns, afterparties, backstage chaos… but after a while, the gloss starts to feel a little... much.
I’ve shot Miami Swim Week on and off for a few years now. And every time, I find myself looking for the shot that feels against the grain. The one that’s happening behind the main show—the moment all the other photographers are too busy to notice because they’re chasing the same thing as the person sitting next to them.
Because the truth is, while the final images look slick, the real scenes behind the camera are anything but. The heat is suffocating, the humidity fogs your lens, and you’re constantly navigating around other people with their own agendas and chaotic schedules.
There’s a reason most of my favorite shots from Swim Week are the ones no one asked for—the candid laughs, the off-guard looks by the pool, the moments caught from behind the model or between the crowd. The messy, human moments in between all the polished ones.
That’s the part that keeps it interesting for me. Finding a way to make images that feel a little rough around the edges, even in the middle of the most over-the-top event in the most over-the-top city.
And as much as I might grumble about the chaos, the truth is I’ve met some of the best humans at Swim Week. The photographers, the models, the people behind the scenes.
It’s not the perfect stuff that keeps me coming back—it’s the people, the chaos, the connections and those unexpected in-between moments.
Until next week.
Ben