Behind the Scenes with Drag Queens

Photos and Writing by Samantha Wilson

The idea for my project was to get a behind-the-scenes look at drag queens; more specifically, a look from start to finish of what these ladies do in order to put on a great show. I personally love drag culture and I really want more people to see how fun drag queens are as well as see how hard they work at their craft.

The drag show I went to was called “Bitchcraft” hosted by Tatiana Rexia at Club Out And About in Pasco, Washington.

I tried to tell their story in chronological order. We started in the dressing room where I was able to get shots of the queens doing their makeup and getting ready. It was important to capture the amount of time and effort they put into their makeup, wigs and outfits. On any given night, the drag queens will arrive three or more hours before the show to get ready. Most of this is due to the amount of makeup they need to wear to make sure it can be seen under the harsh stage lights. However, it also takes time for them to put on their hip padding and tights too. For example, Sugar Woodward wears a minimum of 4 layers of tights to soften the look of the padding (which is made out of green foam).

The latter half of my photos was during their actual performances. I was constantly in shutter priority mode adjusting my shutter speed to be fast enough to get a crisp picture but slow enough to capture enough visible light. It was quite the challenge and I only have a handful of decent photos.

All in all it was an amazing night. On the day of the shoot I had merely planned to chat with the girls for a bit and then be a fly on the wall but, they invited me in with open arms. I hadn’t laughed so much in a single night in months! They are a very close group of performers and I hope their talent and love of their craft shines through in these photos.

The camera I used was a Nikon D5000.