About Humble Moments Studio
Hello… I’m Tyler Robinson, owner and operator of Humble Moments Studio. I’ve been shooting for over ten years — across street photography, live music, wildlife, people, sports, events, and brands — and every one of those environments made me sharper for the next.
I started carrying a camera because I couldn’t stop noticing things. The way street lamps cut through fog on an autumn night. The energy of a live room with twenty people in it. The look on someone’s face right before something happens. Maine gave me a lifetime of those moments before I ever picked up a camera seriously.
I didn’t start with a camera. I started with a toy drone I bought on a trip to San Francisco. Taught myself to fly it, earned my FAA Part 107 license, and fell in love with the perspective it gave me. Eventually the airspace restrictions, the permits, the planning — it all turned spontaneous photography into paperwork. I sold the drone and picked up a handheld camera. Never looked back.
From there I found street photography. Quieter, more patient, more demanding. You can’t make people behave naturally on command. You learn to read a scene, wait for it, and be ready when something real unfolds. The city became my primary subject — different times of day, different seasons, always looking for the honest moment hiding inside an ordinary one.
A friend asked me to help film local bands at small venues. Twenty people in a room, but the energy was enormous. No brief, no client, no expectations — just documenting what was in front of us. Live music is one of the hardest things to photograph: unpredictable light, one-take moments, kinetic energy you have to feel before you can capture it. I learned by doing it, show after show, until I got good at it.
That work led me to Moments Of — a Portland-based indie band I started with by shooting behind-the-scenes video and photography for their music videos “Drive,” “Conductive,” and “Impulse.” From there they invited me on tour: six cities — Philadelphia, Baltimore, Raleigh, Orlando, Tampa, Jacksonville. Load-ins, soundchecks, greenrooms, shows — every night a different room, a different vibe, the same commitment to getting the shot. When we came off the road, they brought me back in an expanded role — camera operator and gaffer on “Glass” and “Threshold.”
That tour was the turning point. I stopped calling it a hobby and started Humble Moments Studio.
After launching I took a shotgun approach — cold outreach to anyone and anything that sounded interesting. Businesses, museums, sports teams, venues. The Maine Mariners said yes. I spent time on the ice shooting game coverage and behind the scenes — fast, unpredictable, unforgiving light, no second chances. Hockey pushed my technical skills in ways live music never had.
From there I pursued a press pass with USM to shoot the Huskies men’s and women’s basketball teams live. More reps, different environment, same discipline — be ready before the moment happens or you’ve already missed it.
That range is intentional now. The more different environments I shoot in, the sharper I get in all of them.
Why Humble Moments?
The name has two origins. When my daughter was born, I understood for the first time what it means to be present for a moment that can’t be repeated. That feeling never left me — and it became the philosophy behind everything I shoot.
The moments worth remembering aren’t always the ones you planned for. They sneak up on you — in the greenroom before the show, in the quiet between songs, in the look two people share that nobody else catches. My job is to be present enough to notice them, and skilled enough to do them justice.
Portland was home for over thirty years. I know this city the way you only can when you’ve watched it change — for better and worse. These days I’m based in Westbrook, but the Greater Portland area is still the center of what I do.
Traveling changed how I see. California, Florida, New Mexico, South Carolina, all over New England — and six cities on tour with Moments Of. Different scenes, different energy, different ways people build something worth documenting. It opened up an appetite for going wherever the work is interesting. Portland is where I started. It’s not where I’m limited.
What it’s like to work with me
I show up on time, ready to go, and genuinely excited about the work. Once I’m there I’m quiet and present — in the room with you, not hovering over you. I’m focused on catching what’s real, not directing something that isn’t.
Your gallery arrives when I say it will. I follow up, and I don’t disappear after the shoot.
I’ll be straight with you about what fits and what doesn’t. And if we’re a good match — I’ll give it everything.
The Gear
I shoot on the Sony A7RV — a professional full-frame mirrorless body — with a complete set of G and G Master glass. Dark venues, fast action, available light — the gear is never the limitation. For creative sessions I also work with multicolor artificial light, video lighting, adapted vintage glass, and a tilt-shift lens when the look calls for something different.