A passion for music photography

Graham Smith.

Sitting in a University lecture thinking of how his life would be, Graham Smith stood-up and left mid-lecture never to return again. After leaving he tried his hand at a few jobs finally settling for music journalism, something he found he was terrible at but he has this to thank for creating his interest in music. One of the small publications Graham was writing for asked him to send in some photographs to accompany his gig reviews so he purchased a point-and-shoot and began to take random photographs at several gigs.

"Over the course of a few months it started to become increasingly clear to me that I was spending more time trying to get good photos than worrying about the actual review, as well as enjoying the photography side a lot more," explained Graham.

He eventually ditched his notepad and pen for a better camera and an increased interest in capturing the music world. Slowly, through trial and error his photographs improved and he became more confident both as a photographer and as someone dealing with the people in the music industry.

His first paid job was about nine years ago for a small local unsigned band and unfortunately the photographs were terrible but he did become friends with two members of the band and he still shoots for them today.

"Music photography became my full-time job in early 2003, although I also did a small part-time job until 2005 which brought in a little income. It was a scary prospect going full-time at photography and the first 2 or 3 years were a mammoth financial struggle."

There were many days when Graham couldn't afford to eat and faced bills and unpaid rent on several occasions but his love for music and the prospect of a new life and new friends kept him going. 

Copyright Graham Smith.

"No matter how difficult certain aspects of your life can be, finding something you actually love doing can get you through the bad times. I now make music films too, tour documentaries, short films etc. which I find I can work seamlessly with my still photography."

Graham has no interest in general photography, it's his passion for music which drives him, in fact when people ask him what he does for a living he says he works in the music industry not as a photographer. He sees a camera as a tool to document his passion not the other way around. His career has taken him to many places, even to the edge of his sanity but this has not put him off following the music he loves.

I have many many good memories from the past few years and have been to many amazing places and situations, but I cannot think of one which sticks out more than any other one. Even if I do not realise it at the time, every week something will happen to me which I know I will remember for a very long time, good or bad.

"Each and every photograph means something a little different to me and my favourite photograph changes all the time, but I guess one which is very important would be the shot of Andrew Ferris from the band Jetplane Landing."

Copyright Graham Smith.

The actual shot is nothing special but it means a lot to me as this was the day I first realised you do not have to be the clichéd loud flamboyant photographer (which is not really my personality) and by just being yourself and being honest, sincere and respectful, musicians will open up and accept you more and trust you to have complete access." 

You have to be very, very patient until you get to the stage where your name is well known, once you're at this point life gets a little bit easier but until then you have to work hard and hope the commissions from the band, record companies or magazines come in. If the commission comes from a magazine then Graham is usually given very rough guidelines of what they want to see. So in these cases he makes very basic plans, but generally he prefers to be spontaneous and let situations happen.

"I'm not very fond of planning shoots or setting things up unless absolutely essential."

When it comes to equipment Graham doesn't use top of the range kit or jumps on every new lens and body that comes out. Apart from his Macbook and mobile, equipment isn't something he worries about too much, instead he has a very simple but effective light weight mobile kit.

Copyright Graham Smith.

"I think some photographers get far too caught up on it all. I shoot on different cameras but mainly Canon. For a lot of my work I shoot on a Canon 400D which I realise is far from top of the range, but the size and weight of it allows me to be quite mobile. I shoot with a variety of lenses but my two favourite would probably be the Canon 50mm f/1.4 and Sigma 14mm f/2.8 (non-fisheye). I have a couple of 580 EX II speedlites and occasionally I will use a basic lamp, taken from my video equipment. I don't think I have ever used a tripod or anything like that and as for clothing, it has to be baggy jeans/ cords and converse!"

Shooting portraits and reportage shots is his favourite way to work and he does this successfully by forming connections with his subjects, which may sound very clichéd but it's true. He never lies to them and he never pretends to be something he's not, even if this means disagreeing with people about music tastes or any other topic.

"I think this helps them to see me as genuine and not just another member of the media there to kiss their ass. I work very very hard to build up trust with my subjects and this is something I am very careful to protect."

Graham has taken many images he could have sold to the tabloids for rather large sums of money but instead he chooses to gain the musicians trust and only use photographs he deems to be of a high quality. From a technical point of view, he looks for nice pockets of light (natural or artificial), simple backgrounds and anticipates the band/singers movement rather well.

"If you see the image in your viewfinder then it has already gone and you have missed it, you have to see it a second before and know it is coming. This is something I find incredibly difficult to explain, but I guess it is just about knowing music and musicians and trying to always be there in the moment with them. I try to be honest with my work, I do not like to set up shots unless it is very spontaneous. I see what I do as a more reportage style, so I am just trying to show the musicians as they actually are and hopefully show the passion they (and I) have for their music."

Copyright Graham Smith.

With such a passion for music and the bands that perform it you would think that a music festival would be Mecca for a music photographer but not Graham. He likes going to them but not if he's shooting, unless of course he has special access such as shooting on the stage. They're fast moving places which are often cold, wet and full of 100 other photographers who all have the same shot.

"I actually turned down several festivals this year for that reason."

For every one good photographer Graham feels you get 100 bad ones who are doing photography for all the wrong reasons. Since digital became widely available, Graham feels music photography is now completely saturated with mediocre photos, impatient and often untrustworthy photographers and people working for free, all of which have helped to drag it down. 

"I sometimes watch photographers at concerts, they don't seem to put any work into it all - just snap a few hundred shots and then try to fix them in Photoshop. Maybe I sound bitter and old (even though I am only 28!) but there just seems to be so little passion or thought put into it these days. There are some amazing new photographers out there with the correct attitude but for every one good photographer there seems to be 100 bad ones which is a great shame."

Copyright Graham Smith.

Graham receives many emails from new, young photographers asking for advice and knowledge of why they haven't broke into the music scene yet and to those he would say: "When it comes to music photography I think it is vital you know music, you are passionate about music and that this is your driving force rather than any, often false impressions of what you think happens in the music world. 

Also, be patient! Do not bug people over and over again by spamming them or being too in your face. Take your time, shoot only what you love, do not give your work away for free (no matter what reasons some people will give you) but most importantly, don't treat digital photography as a reason to take 100 photographs a minute. Think about your shot, compose it, try to get into the moment and shoot carefully and with respect to the artist. Be honest and did I mention that you really need to have a passion and love for music!"

Visit Graham Smith for more information about his work and passion for music.