Lisa Pierpont Lisa Pierpont | January 27, 2020 | People,
Michael Blanchard at the White House
If Michael Blanchard had come of age during the ’70s, he would have been smack in the middle of Andy Warhol, Bianca Jagger and anyone else soaking up the Studio 54 society limelight. He wouldn’t have been partying, mind you, but clicking a camera—crystalizing the mood, the moment and, above all, the movers and shakers.
But Blanchard wasn’t born then. The Newton native was born in 1987, making him 32 now. He’s been photographing Boston’s scene and star wattage since he was 20. “My first big event was at Saks Fifth Avenue,” he says. “Victoria Beckham was there launching her denim line.” Not bad for a kid who was still in photography school. “My teacher said to me, ‘You know this isn’t normal, right?’” Blanchard chuckles. Before long, he and his Canon camera were regularly shooting the city’s most premier events, including the Boston Ballet Ball, BCRF Hot Pink Party, Governor Charlie Baker’s inauguration and—a big highlight—traveling with the Red Sox for a visit to the White House. “It’s my job to figure out what my clients need and to make it happen,” he says. Blanchard attributes his success to a professional attitude (“The minute I am hired, I consider myself part of the client’s team”), appearance (“I almost always wear a navy suit from Alan Bilzerian,” he says with a laugh) and approach (“I interact with hundreds of people at a party—half I know by name. I feel loyal to them”). “I have been lucky enough to have gotten the call for some incredibly cool things,” he says. “It’s an honor to document people’s lives.”
Photography by: Courtesy of Michael Blanchard Photography