Some photo assignments are boring, some are easy, some are difficult and boring, some are really fun and others are insane and amazing. This past weekend I had the pleasure of photographing Miss Gay America Maryland at The Horseshoe Casino in Baltimore for The Baltimore Sun.

To see photos I didn’t upload here, check out their gallery.

Lately I’ve been shooting straight portrait style stuff for photo assignments – fun, easy, nice but there’s only so much you can do in a corporate setting. It’s actually one of my favorite types of assignments because I get to control and play with lighting. However, sometimes it’s nice to get out into a wildly different environment than I’m used to.

Miss Gay America Maryland was full of color, light, sound and personality. I started out shooting the performances (singing, dancing, acting, etc) but when I saw what was backstage after the curtain momentarily opened I knew that was where I wanted to be.

Thank you to all the queens who didn’t mind me poking around and photographing in their private spaces and thank you all for being so kind and nice.

All photos are copyright of Kaitlin Newman and The Baltimore Sun, please do not reproduce, share, or use without permission. 

Rebecca Blaqueout is crowned Miss Gay America Maryland 2016