Rukes.com | The world's top ranked DJ photography/EDM photography website

Rukes . com | The world's top ranked DJ photography/EDM photography website! Photos from DJ's latest EDM events, such as Deadmau5, Swedish House Mafia, Skrillex, Zedd, Martin Garris, Avicii, and more! Plus events like Electric Daisy Carnival, Coachella, Super and Stereo!

What does Rukes mean?

It is a combination of the words' stone 'and' rule '. Also known as the misspelling of the word 'rule', because the L and K on the keyboard are adjacent.

How do you pronounce 'Rukes'?

Roo ks. Not a 'commotion';)

How many people work for Rukes.com?

Only me. I am the only photographer, and all the photos on Rukes.com are taken by me (unless someone uses my camera to take a picture of me, of course)

Can I work for Rukes.com?

Unfortunately, I don't think my website will follow the path of 'I have 50 club photographers under my name' (or even one person), so now Rukes.com will be just me.

Why # 1 DJ (photographer)?

This started a few years after I started my career. My first major client was Paul Van Dyke, and I did photography for all of his major performances in the United States. Around the same time, he became the top 100 DJ in DJ Mag. So I added '# 1 DJ Photographer' to my profile because I am his photographer. Of course, as the top photographer for DJs, I didn't initially realize that it could obviously be interpreted in another way.

After he was no longer the number one DJ in the magazine, I started shooting more DJs. I never really deleted it from my profile, I just kept it there because I don't really like social media. In the end, everyone started calling me DJ's number one photographer, so it ultimately became a description of myself rather than who I was working with.

Later, when I started making DJ Rukes' tracks for fun, some DJs said I was the best DJ in the world, so I jokingly added parentheses and became both the best DJ and the best DJ photographer.

Will you attend X concert? Why didn't you go to X concert?

Please check my calendar for Rukes.com. If I were traveling now, you would see my date there. If it's not listed, I won't be here. I deliberately postponed the editing of dates for a few months so that I could release all the dates at once, especially the tour and post tour performances. As for why I didn't participate in a certain performance, it's because I wasn't hired to do it.

I can use one of your photos to

You can use online photos in the following ways without cutting off the logo:

Post on any personal or fan page social media, use as a Facebook cover, etc. If the logo is cut off from the cover, there's no problem. Just click on it and the full version will be there.

For online articles on websites/blogs that only provide dance music, without trimming the logo, and indicating "Drew Ressler/rukes. com" or "rukes. com".

Approval must be obtained for use in any broadcast, other online or print media. Please send all questions to

Publish on Tumblr as long as the logo is not cropped (i.e. the photo is made "vertical" or you add your Tumblr username to the photo), and if possible, also post the source link (original photo or www.rukes. com).

Post on Instagram without tagging "photo by @ rukes" or similar content. It's okay if the photo is cropped into a square shape, but I prefer the full image on Instagram.

You can also use my photos for educational purposes (such as school projects, etc.) as long as you have the appropriate permission.

Why do some performances have seats while others don't?

I live in Los Angeles, so there are no location tags for anything in this area. Anything outside of the region, such as San Diego and around the world, gets a place in the gallery name.

I want a different photo as a print, can you send me that image?

No, I won't send the original pictures to anyone unless it's necessary for business purposes. If you want to print all at once, please visit my printing website for instructions.

Are you going to school for photography?

No, they are all self-taught. The first gallery on this website is the first photo in history.

Why do your photos look like this?

I really like depth of field, so I like to use lenses that highlight depth of field, such as f/1.2. I also like to ensure that my photos are exposed correctly, and most importantly, focused correctly. I won't set my camera to f/5.6 or higher, just to get the focus I want. I will do my best to use the focus I must get, otherwise I will ruin this photo. I also like a bit of high contrast and saturation to bring out colors and make them stand out in the dark. Finally, I tried to capture this moment with photos; This means there are no blurs or light marks. It's easy to capture "cool" shots with some motion blur, but it's much harder to take the same photo where everything freezes in time.

Why are your photos rarely black and white?

Black and white photos are great in some situations, but they can easily make people like a bad photo. By default, because the world we see is in color, anything we recognize in black and white is automatically 'otherworldly'. You can take the most boring photos in black and white, making them stunning. It is much more difficult to achieve the same effect in color photos, which is what I have been striving to do. I only restore black and white effects when the color effect is poor. I enjoy challenging myself.

I'm not saying that black and white is not good, but if you see a photographer's gallery full of black and white, or most of the photos are black and white, then it's not a good phenomenon. Especially when there are many colors in the music industry.

How did you enter this industry/What should I do?

I took the photos when the digital SLR was still very "new" (Canon 20D has just been released), so I am usually the only person in the club who takes pictures. It has become even more difficult now because almost everyone has a camera that can go in regardless of their actual talent/reason (unfortunately, usually to see drunk girls). I first requested a media pass from the booking agent/promoter in exchange for providing photos (as I knew nothing about cameras at the time, I didn't give up any groundbreaking work). This is a great practice, but once you take the first step, free work becomes a big taboo. In this era, it's best to do a few things. Practice as much as possible. Working with a local musician may not have enough budget to pay you, but you don't mind continuing to practice. Once you have a good portfolio, go find artists and promoters who need photographers. Remember, photographers are humans who cannot teleport. Photographers generally cannot report on two performances at the same time, so opportunities always exist. In my recent tour, I had to deny filming some major concerts for another big DJ, just because I had already been booked. They went with another great photographer, so they won't give up looking for someone.

In addition, try joining the local website that dispatches photographers to gain more attention/get some compensation/participate in activities. If you can support yourself, leave as soon as possible. When you can do everything on your own, working for one of them will never succeed. A big taboo is trying to eliminate a currently paid photographer by simultaneously working for free. This is likely to anger paid photographers and also anger promoters. Let the promoters know that you are nearby, and if they need you (such as when their usual photographer is out of town/sick), they may hire you as a backup/replacement. If you try to replace paid photographers with free jobs, it's also a failure because it means the promoters/people who pay photographers don't have money (and are looking for a good way to get rid of paying photographers) and won't pay you soon. Excellent promoters/artists who make money can afford to hire photographers to varying degrees, so seeing 'we cannot pay you to take photos' as a huge warning signal of impending failure. Never work for free unless you are learning how to use a camera.

Do you have any suggestions? Can you take a look at my photo? How can I make my photos look like this?

The best advice I can give is to use manual mode as much as possible. For most performances, I use a combination of M, Av, and P depending on the situation. For my 1DX II, I set it to around 1600 ISO (never exceeding 3200) because it has almost no noise; So I suggest you find the ISO with the maximum noise you can handle and use it. I wish I could check everyone's photos, but to be honest, the only photo I really like is the one I took, so I have to end comparing your photos with mine. Although I can say some positive things about your work, overall it will only distract attention and may not be completely honest. Your goal should be to not care what other people's photos look like, but to care 100% about what your photos look like. If you want to imitate someone's style when learning photography/new cameras, that's completely fine, but in the long run, you need to develop and find your own unique photographic perspective, rather than comparing your work to others' or relying on others' work.

Do you have any suggestions for photographers who are just starting out?

Just do what you think is good. Utilize other photographers for inspiration and only try to copy the lens while honing skills. You should become the master of your own creativity, not a follower of others' creativity. Make sure there is a simple way for people to see your work. A simple portfolio website is perfect, making it a great choice when people apply for a news pass. If your photos capture this moment well, no one will really care that you don't have a certain number of followers on some social media websites.

At the concert, utilize the advantages you possess. Of course, some other photographers may be able to take longer shots and go to more places, but this should not affect your photos. Work within the restricted scope.

Do you have any photos of?

If I take it, I'll hang it up. If it is severely defocused, only then it may not be able to undergo final inspection. Please don't ask me 'Do you only have these?' because I won't try to hide the photo just to say 'Oh, you caught me, this is the rest!'.

What is your current equipment?

All Canon models: R5, Speedlite EL-1, RF 15-35L f/2.8 IS, RF 24-70L f/2.8 IS, RF 85L f/1.2, RF 70-200L f/2.8 IS, EF 35L f/1.4 II, EF 8-15L fisheye f/4, EF 90 tilt shift f/2.8.

Do you use a tripod? Some shots/scenes are impossible without a single one!

No, I didn't. I think I have a stable talent in photography. I can usually set the shutter speed to 1/4 and still take stable photos without a tripod or IS. I have a monopod for DJ background photography and also a photo shoot for large crowds.

I heard you don't drink alcohol?

I don't drink alcohol, smoke, or use drugs. I have drunk alcohol several times in my life, but I am not used to the taste of alcohol.