Diana Levine, Photographer [DianaLevine.com]

Alicia Keys [ Photos by DianaLevine.com ]

These photos are from a documentary shoot I did with Alicia Keys back on June 30th 2011, leading up to her big performance “Piano and I: A One Night Only Event with Alicia Keys” at the Beacon in New York City, performing songs off her debut album “Songs in A Minor”. This was my second time photographing her, and It’s always a pleasure — she’s such an inspiration, and her incredible talent and beauty is truly matched by her inner beauty and generosity. You can watch the whole performance from that night, and view the full gallery of photos online here. [ Photos by http://www.dianalevine.com [

Spinner’s “2010 in Pictures and Words”

Spinner put together a great round up of photos from 2010 — “2010 in Pictures and Words: Throughout 2010, Spinner’s staff and freelance photographers have captured images of many of the year’s most influential stars in music. We proudly show off our top pictures of the year in the following photo gallery, with the photographers describing in their own words the experience of pointing their lens at these artists.”

It was fun looking through the gallery and remembering all of these amazing experiences from 2010. I’ve had such a blast shooting for Aol Music and many of their sites (Spinner, TheBoombox, PopEater, TheBoot and more). I can’t tell you how incredible the staff at Aol is — they are a group of amazingly talented, funny, and warm people, who were an awesome part of my 2010. Aol love!!

Alicia Keys: Photos by DianaLevine.com

In December, I photographed Alicia Keys - someone I’ve been a fan of since high school. It was just a great day. Before the portrait session, I took some stills of her soundcheck. Some bands soundcheck one or two songs, but Alicia soundchecked the entire set, which basically meant I got a private concert from Alicia Keys (me and some crew members). It was incredible to hear her sing and play piano up-close. There’s just nothing that compares to true talent. No studio production, no post work - just her voice, and a piano, and it was unbelievable. While she was playing my high school favorite “Fallin’” - I had such a hard time not singing along. I may have danced a bit. She has the most incredible energy, constantly laughing with her band, and so kind to everyone she encounters. We shot the portrait session after her performance, and she was absolutely wonderful to photograph. It was really infectious to see someone like Alicia being so dedicated to her music, so kind and full of energy and positivity. She really is an incredible role model.

Behind the Scenes: Diana’s photo shoots

As part of my blog, I want to start posting a lot more behind-the-scenes photos and video of my shoots. Here are a few from the last couple of months, from shoots with Alicia Keys, Kim Kardashian, Raphael Saadiq, and Vampire Weekend.