In photographing this project, I never knew what to expect each and every time I stepped onto campus tailgating parties. Depending on the campus, students reacted to me differently. Since most of the events were centered on drinking, students paid no attention to me and were fully engrossed in socializing. Momentarily, they were interested in why I was taking pictures, and most asked me if and when they would be posted onto Facebook. But perhaps they paid so little attention to me because I looked like them, and I was able to adapt to their environment effortlessly.

What was most interesting for me to learn as I worked on the Tailgating project was, how necessary it is to gain the trust of your subjects. And many times, to gain the trust of your subjects is no more complicated than being female, and looking a relatively similar age as the subject. Had I been a middle-aged man, attempting to blend in to a tailgating party full of couples grinding and students doing kegstands, I think I would have had a much different response.

The fascinating thing about photography is that every situation photographed is completely dependent upon many unpredictable factors. You never know how shoot is going to turn out. You can merely approach an event with an idea of what you want to get out of it, but almost every time, your results will be completely unexpected, and usually better than what you had in mind. When I showed up with my assistant to the Stanford Campus for the USC vs. Stanford game, I was a little bit nervous. I was accustomed to photographing at the USC campus where students were outgoing and free spirited, openly drinking and dancing in front of lecture halls. Stanford was quiet and contained, more studious and the parties much less unruly.

Luckily, I had planned to meet some previous subjects from my USC adventures at the Stanford Campus. Even their presence was less riotous within the stoic environment of Stanford University. But with time, as my assistant and I blended into the party and began to direct and encourage them to let lose for the images, the events began to transpire on their own. We were simply the catalysts and the reason needed for them to really let go and party the way they authentically wanted to. In the end, I got natural and spontaneous images of an event that transpired organically, but also may not have existed without my presence. That is the beauty of photography. You are a part of something, recording it as it actually happens and at the same time, directing its course.

– Angie Smith, March 2009