Shooting the band: how to make a career as a rock’n’roll photographer

Persistent, focused, dedicated, resourceful, stubborn and talented are all words that apply to the photography career of Ruth Medjber. Surrounded by camera equipment since she was small (her father was a supplier of photography gear), Medjber never really considered another career.

Hanging around as “a gross teenager” outside the Central Bank in Dublin and going to the Blastbeat gigs helped turn her interest into some experience, and it was some taunting from an older surly photographer at a gig that spurred her on.

“I was 14 years old and said to him, ‘I’m gonna do what you do one day’. He turned and said ‘Yeah, well where’s your f***ing camera then?’ It was the greatest kick up the arse I ever got.”

Medjber found a new confidence at these early gigs.

“Four or five bands would play in the afternoon to a room full of wasted teenagers with terrible haircuts, myself included. I’d make a point of introducing myself to any new bands as ‘the photographer’ and then proceed to line them up against the wall to have their promo photos taken. I was quite a shy kid but when I assumed the role of photographer I was this new, confident person.”

Capturing the bug
"The photographer" remembers a Muse gig at the Olympia Theatre as one where she caught "the shot" at the age of 15.

“I snuck my camera in and somehow managed to make my way up to a box and shot from there for the whole gig. I got one shot of Matt Bellamy that had lasers and lights and everything else you could wish for in a music photo. It’s probably Muse’s fault that I fell so in love with live music photography.”

Medjber says her best live music work features the crowd as well as the musicians, after all what happens in front of the stage is half the story.

“A live shot should be about the whole experience, not just a perfectly composed picture of a dude and his guitar,” says Medjber.

Making a living on music photography alone is a difficult proposition. Most people at gigs shooting the bands are doing it for experience and very little pay. Medjber suggests variety as one way of making it work.

“Not only do I shoot live on stage for a band, I’ll also shoot backstage and behind the scenes tour shots which is great for their Instagram and social media, I’d do a band’s promo images in the studio or on location and then I also shoot their album covers too.”

Medjber has shown she will take other work when required. During the recession, she took a summer job photographing the front of Dublin suburban pubs for InDublin’s directory.

“I did over 100 of them and this was before I knew how to drive. My poor mam used to chauffeur me around to the hard-to-reach places not on bus routes.”

Rock'n'roll weddings
Wedding photography is another avenue Ruth has pursued lately. After vowing never to shoot weddings, she was asked by musicians and media friends if they would shoot their day and she couldn't say no. LoveFool photography was born. Medjber adores it.

“The Bride’s house in the morning is like backstage,” she says. “The ceremony is the gig, you capture it ninja style without interruption. The couple’s portraits are like a band promo shoot - just without the egos - and the parties are way more rock’n’roll than any backstage after party I’ve been at.”

Women Of Notes
Medjber and journalist Louise Bruton are working on a new instalment of their Women Of Notes series, which highlights women in Irish music. The existing exhibition will displayed during Hard Working Class Heroes' convention from October 6th-8th at the Chocolate Factory on Dublin's North King Street. The exhibition will now be an annual event on International Women's Day.

“Loads of young girls have been in touch saying they saw the show and were now considering a career as a musician,” says Medjber. “That was my main aim, so I was delighted. We’ll feature women from every genre and every stage of their career. There’s so many talented female musicians in Ireland that I don’t foresee us running out of women to photograph any time soon.”

Capturing the festival
These days Medjber's photography career encompasses music, wedding, events and PR shoots with subjects including All Tvvins, Stone Roses, Beyoncé, Metallica, Booka Brass, Stephen Fry, Another Love Story, Masterchef Ireland, Castlepalooza and Bloomsday.

She worked as a staff photographer for Hot Press before going freelance a couple of years ago. Most recently, after 11 years shooting the festival, Medjber was the official photograper for Electric Picnic.

“This was a game-changer for me as it allowed me access all areas to all stages, something I’ve only gotten at smaller festivals It’s the golden ticket for music photographers. The biggest challenge is trying to capture the festival in a new way and the only way for me to do that is by using the people: the crowd, the bands. It’s usually the expressions and interactions which makes a photo for me. That means anticipating and waiting for something to happen, then climbing scaffolds and rigs to get new vantage points.”

Access All Areas
That level of access is unusual in a world where a photographer is normally given three songs in the pit and in some cases, as seen with the likes of Taylor Swift, the artist (or their management) claims the copyright.

“I’m sure Taylor Swift might rethink her copyright demands when people stop turning up to take her photo,” says Medjber.

Online too, fueled by Google’s Image search database, thousands of photographer images are used without permission. Medjber used to get angry about it but is more resigned to the reality these days.

“Someone once made a whole calendar out of my Green Day shots. They were distributing it in an unofficial fan club for download and print. No money was changing hands, but I freaked. When I actually thought about it, my locker in school was plastered in Placebo photos that I had printed out and torn from magazines. I loved the band and I was grateful to the photographers for shooting them. How could I be mad at people for doing the same with my shots now?”

That said, Medjber won’t let unauthorised commercial use of her work go unnoticed.

“If a magazine puts one of my images on the cover and doesn’t pay, they’ll be getting a nice little invoice in the post.”

Cover to cover
To those looking to get into music photography, Medjber advises asking peers for feedback and expect "a lot of late nights for very little money while having the time of your life"' More importantly, know how to use your equipment and read the manual, from cover to cover.

“It might sound boring but the camera needs to be an extension of your hand, things happen so quickly in the pit that your body should be on auto mode and your camera on manual!”

As for artists and bands, in an online age where musicians are often seen before they are heard, consideration of a visual stage is helpful.

“They need to find a photographer who listens to their music and shoots to their style,” says Medjber. It’s about mutual respect for each other’s art. If a band is having difficulty with shoot ideas, I’ll usually sit down with them and go through my big scrap book of ideas. Together, we’ll cover everything from location of shoot to colour palettes, clothing, props and poses. I’ll always try to replicate their sound in their imagery. That’s paramount.”

- Hard Working Class Heroes takes place across multiple venues in Dublin from October 6th-8th. For more, see hwch.net