Music
What are the best routes into a career as a music photographer? Those who have made it and remain at the top of their profession share their tips
Words by Gavin Stoker
Does music photography strike a chord with you? Do you long for the roar of the crowd, the throb of the bass speaker, the trickle of someone else's lager down the back of your neck? If so, to help you on your quest, we've solicited expert advice from those on the frontline - dare we say, cutting edge - of music photography in the UK.
The market for music pictures in the UK breaks down into editorial - which might mean national newspapers, music papers, websites, regional press, student magazines and fanzines - plus commercial shoots for record companies, who might want pictures to accompany a press release or for album artwork. Then there are the picture libraries and syndication agencies that are looking to take on both current and archive imagery, not to mention dedicated galleries selling prints.
"But there's also the fun aspect," notes Dean Chalkley, a chief photographer for New Musical Express and last year's recipient of Portrait Photographer of the Year. "I guess that's how we all got into music photography, going to gigs and capturing something of our idols." It's a sentiment echoed by the other music photographers we spoke to. "The work I do is driven by the music and the people that make it," enthuses William Ellis, who has built up an impressive library of shots of the jazz scene, both here and abroad. "It's a passion, and for anyone shooting music it's got to be."
I started something
Just as there are a number of markets from which music photographers can derive an income, there are also a variety of routes into the business. NME Picture editor Marian Patterson outlines one tried and tested way the long-running weekly brings aboard new talent.
"Some photographers will have started off by going on the road with an unknown band and will have proven themselves to be committed," she says. "And by getting to know a band they've got fantastic shots. Being passionate about a band is a really good way into music photography, and if you're lucky the band will hit the big time and people will come to you for pictures." Patterson adds that they recently took on one such young talent, Andrew Kendall, who had sent in images of The Libertines on spec, partly because he had closer access to the band than anyone else at the time.
Similarly Manchester-based music photographer Karen McBride struck up an early relationship with the now mega-selling Scissor Sisters. "I saw them play live to just 150 other people and was immediately hooked," she recalls. "I got in touch with them via their website and ended up sending them pictures which went on the site and let me strike up a relationship with their manager. Through that, I got to know the band quite well." And it seems the route works across differing musical genres, with jazz fan William Ellis having a similar story to tell. "I began by shooting at small venues in the Manchester area to build up my portfolio and would give the venue and the musicians some pictures," he recalls. "They were knocked out when they saw my images. Building on those relationships allows you to get more shots and posed portraits."
Photographer Hayley Madden - who has shot for most of the music mags and currently works for Sony BMG - started off by getting on the guest list at out-of-town venues. This led to her becoming official photographer of north London rock venue The Forum. "You really have to learn the music scene and a good way to do that is just to shoot at one venue," she advises. "If you get to know them they'll put an exhibition of your stuff up and you become credible in shooting for that venue.
"Another good way is to start a fanzine with a record company or label that you like and really flatter them, because if they do get some bigger artists they will use you." It's obviously worked, as Madden's most recent subjects include big names such as Beyoncé and Shakira. Highly rated pro Steve Gullick, a former NME snapper best known for taking some of the earliest - and then some of the last - photos of grunge gods Nirvana, also has the DIY route to thank for kick-starting his career.
"I took some pictures of the Levellers for a fanzine and their manager said ‘can you get some of these pictures to Sounds [the now defunct weekly], because somebody might be interested in doing a review?'" he recalls. "Sounds weren't interested in the Levellers, but they were interested in seeing my work. I got in there just at the right time."
Though it's undoubtedly worked for some pros, Hayley Madden does sound a note of caution about cosying up too closely to musicians on the rise. "You can get in with a band at the start, but usually when they get taken on by their PR machine you get pushed out, they start to use their own bigger photographers and the band don't usually have a say," she relates. "It's a double-edged sword."
Leaders of the pack
Like many genres of photography, this one is notoriously competitive - so developing a style that makes your images stand out, working those contacts and consistently delivering the goods are all equally important. "Music photography is not just about music, but having a broad set of influences that will enable you to develop your viewpoint and progress," claims Dean Chalkley. "Keep your eyes open and suck up all that's around you: I'm inspired by films, fashion and even motorsport."
Steve Gullick takes an equally esoteric view of his art form. "Once I'd studied the likes of Bill Brandt, Robert Frank and Henri Cartier-Bresson, and found a way that I like to work, I've tried not to be influenced by other photography,"
The reveals. "I've always liked Anton Corbin's stuff, but he's obviously heavily into Brandt too."
Influences aside, Karen McBride believes a large dose of self-belief is needed: "It's long hours, it's hard work, there's a lot of people out there doing it; so competition is massive."
The statistics presented by NME's Marian Patterson seem to confirm this. "We get hundreds of phone calls a week, so we've set up a specific email system where we ask people to provide links to their websites or send through images they've taken. We then go through that once or twice a week," she explains. "If you're looking to get into music photography and are sending pictures to us, or Kerrang or Q, do bear in mind that each magazine is looking for something slightly different. Try and understand what the style of the magazine is before you go ahead."
Patterson says that she'll ask more established photographers to first send in portfolios so she can ascertain whether their style of photography suits. "They may be fantastic beauty photographers, but that may not translate to what we do. Attitude is also important: they may have done a five-hour studio session with models, but are they going to be able to handle grumpy musicians when they've only got five minutes out the back of a venue?"
Chalkley, who Patterson rates highly as a capable performer, offers some encouragement for those plucky enough to brave the selection process. "It's not as competitive as you might think," he believes. "You have to break it down. Out of the thousands of photographers in London, maybe half of them ain't much cop, and others have different motivations. Realistically there are probably 10 or 15 people, at whatever level you're at, who are your direct competition. "I view it as a happy family more than competition - we've all got our idiosyncrasies and that's why one person will be right for a job and the other one won't," he says, sportingly. "It also comes down to trust - if you fall down on your duty when someone commissions you to do a job, not only does it make you look bad, it makes everyone look bad. So you've got to be able to prove yourself and consistently keep doing it, even if you're juggling five projects at once. "Sometimes situations can be difficult. I once went over to New York to photograph Kelly Osbourne for an NME cover. When I arrived I spoke to the PA they said ‘Oh, didn't they tell you? The shoot's been called off. But if you come straight over we can do something.' My reaction was ‘oh my God.' But I jumped in a taxi to Trump Towers and by the end of the shoot was physically shaking because I'd been up for 28 hours."
And, as to the thorny question of whether gender plays any role in making it in music photography, Hayley Madden believes not. "It's different when you work with a band closely, but I've never found any sexism in the industry at all for live work," she says. "You're distanced from it in the photographers' pit and security are great with you as long as you're polite. The thing I think puts women off is that the equipment's heavy, so you've got to be fit. It's also an advantage to be small sometimes, because then you can wheedle your way to the front of a crowd, when there's no press pit, and you're seen as less threatening. "I have noticed more women coming through and I think that's because digital equipment has got lighter and easier to use. It makes for a nicer atmosphere in the pit when there's more women."
