Jake Scevola had zero idea about cameras when he began shooting his DJ mates spinning at house parties in Western Sydney, but it’s taken him a long way.
Now, he’s the head photographer of MY Media Sydney, a group producing visuals and photographs for clients like Merivale, Swerve Group and Zanerobe while also documenting the biggest names in dance music. While he feels at home on the dancefloor and at raves, Jake also likes documenting more intimate moments between lovers and friends, and his career highlights include being staunched by Rihanna’s bodyguard. Thankfully, he lived to tell the tale:
“I was advised by a client to go in Rogue and get a paparazzi shot of Rihanna at Ivy Pool… Our crew member got the shot, but I acted as the decoy and had to try to not shit myself being stood over by one of Rihanna’s personal bodyguards. The guy looked ex-Marine AF and demanded to look through my camera and delete photos that might possibly have had her in it, and if he found out I published such shots that he would end my career, then me… We got the shot though.”
Risking your life for a flick of RiRi? We like the determination. See Jake’s favourite pictures below, and check him out on Instagram:
A personal fave of mine & Anthony. Found this old bus depot and the incredible light coming through, and received a lot of love and reposts from popular Instagram pages thanks to @bellnjerry – I’m pictured in the image.
Shot my fave adolescent artists at what we now know to be the Final Melbourne Stereosonic. RIP.
Spent 18 hours in Banff while on tour with little to no time to explore, so I shot this from car as we were leaving. It was 5:00am and ‘Bitch, Don’t Kill My Vibe’ came on, it felt so fitting at the time and I’ll never forget this moment.
Did a quick shoot between partying with Belle Lucia on Cloud 9 in Fiji with 100 punters.
his particular image received a lot of love worldwide, published in Cafe Racer Motorcycle magazines throughout Europe & the US. The rider was kind enough to track me down and send me a print of this shot, legend.
An epic moment on the OWSLA Boat Party at Your Paradise 2016, all puns aside everyone was ‘Waiting’ for this moment right here. Not to mention moments after it was polished off with a topically late, yet epic Mannequin Challenge which racked up 2.5 million views, a truly unforgettable day for all on board.
On tour with good mate J-Trick, we stepped outside our hotel room a few hours before a gig, both realising it was our first time ever seeing snow, and proper snowfall it was! My inner childhood Jake was squealing with excitement!
Another special moment from Your Paradise 2015 where punters get to party on a sandbank when its low tide. This was special more so for me because it was my first time being in and shooting out of a heli.
After shooting close to 150 nights at Pacha Sydney, to this day, this still goes down as one of my favourites. No matter how large the acts that have played or production that was put on every Saturday night, having this moment where the dancer looks straight through the lens with deep blue eyes complimented by the blue light bouncing off the mirrored throne & costume, which was then displayed on billboards throughout Sydney – a bucket list for any photographer.
The trance scene has to be up there as one of my favourites in terms of large scale events I cover, with this one being the biggest moment in every aspect. #1 Aussie Trance DJ/Producer, MaRLo headlining his own ‘Altitude’ tour to sold out Hordern Pavilion, with all 6,000+ people singing his hair-raising anthem ‘Haunted.’
An entree from a menu shoot for Vine, Double Bay. I always loved the composition of this image, the pattern of the plate to the colourful and perfect presentation of the food. I wish I knew the name of this dish, I would order it in a heartbeat.
First time using an underwater housing. Mimi was up for little shoot, and thanks to her amazing talent as a ballet dancer, the image came out and It seems also mermaid-like as she went to swim deeper. The water was aqua blue, however I made some slight adjustments in post which made me love it even more.
Here’s a shot from Level 5 at Ivy Penthouse during the Spring/Summer event Marco Polo. Another favourite of mine as lighting at this venue can be challenging at times, with the time of day and surrounding buildings having it almost backlighting the fauna surrounding me.
On board the Tango super yacht doing a full interior/exterior shoot for Boat International Magazine. The owner (somehow) parks his Rolls Royce on the helipad, loose!
Another special moment for music events, multi-platinum recording artist duo Jack Ü playing for the first time ever in Australia at Home Nightclub, Sydney.
A favourite of mine with friend, Elyse Lauthier. This would be what I would consider my first modelling Shoot? It was very spontaneous, we found a small hut, a coconut and just went for it, reminds me that I need to do more shoots like this.
A final moment with Above & Beyond and all of their 10,000+ Sydney fans in Allphones Arena during their worldwide broadcast, Group Therapy Radio EP #150. It was funny seeing my head pop up on a global live stream, haha.
Shooting undeniably the most skilled DJ in Australia, good friend Ember allowed me to experiment in studio with lighting and create a crisp low key style shot, what a dude!
San Francisco reminded me a lot of Melbourne with the vibrant & parallel streets, this is a large depth of field shot capturing the subjects both near & far from where I’m shooting in Alamo Park. Lovers of Robin Williams would remember this location from the iconic film Mrs. Doubtfire.
Finishing off with another fisheye shot from Pacha Sydney (If you haven’t guessed yet, this lens is my forte in my choice of glass, I’m just a sucker for symmetry) and the lighting in this shot couldn’t not have happened at a better time with Hnery Fong.
