It’s fair to say that Brinson+Banks know a thing or two about tattoos. “I have more than a dozen,” says Kendrick Brinson, “and David has a full sleeve on one arm and is filling up his other.”
So it’s only natural that they would be inspired to pitch Inked—a glossy dedicated to tattoos and the people who love them—the idea of shooting portraits at the recent Golden State Tattoo Expo in Pasadena, California, which is sponsored by the magazine.
Given the green light, passes, and an area to set up their lights and red backdrop, Kendrick and her partner in life and art, David Walter Banks, took turns manning their mobile studio and wandering the convention floor—which was filled with 200-plus tattoo artists plying their art amid the buzz of tattoo machines—in search of interesting people.
“As visual artists, we both have an appreciation for beautiful tattoos,” says Kendrick, “so it was fun seeing a range, from people who only had one or two tattoos to artists to the extreme collectors, who were just completely covered—even their scalps.”
Below are a handful of our favorite images from their shoot. See more in their the new portfolio, “Tattoo Portraits.”
Photo by Brinson+Banks.
Photo by Brinson+Banks.
Photo by Brinson+Banks.
Photo by Brinson+Banks.
Photo by Brinson+Banks.
Photo by Brinson+Banks.
