STEVE GERRARD'S BLOG

THIS BLOG HAS MOVED.....

2008-10-11T23:34:00.001+01:00

You can now find the blog here >>> NEW BLOG

NEW WEBSITE!!!!

2008-10-06T14:34:00.002+01:00

After months of discussions, thoughts and testing, I'm excited to have now launched the brand new Steve Gerrard Photography website. And the new blog is now a major part of it. For that reason I will (I promise!) be updating the blog more often than ever. You can now find the blog here >>> NEW BLOG

Evelyne and I are really pleased with the new site and would like to thank Chris Garrett for all his work designing it for us.

Please have a good look around when you have a few minutes. There's plenty to see. If anyone has any problems viewing any part of the site please let us know.

CLICK HERE FOR THE WEBSITE

In Flames & Gojira in Manchester

2008-10-01T13:09:00.006+01:00

On Monday night I was up in Manchester to shoot metal bands In Flames and Gojira. I'm a massive Gojira fan so it was a pleasure to meet the guys from the band and I'm pleased to report they're super-nice. Guitarist Christian even gave me a free Gojira shirt. The band took a few minutes for me to take some portraits of them. Here are some of my favourites...

I'm not such a big fan of In Flames but they were also great guys to hang out with and sorted me out with some beers. We also got some great photos of them before the gig..

This afternoon I'm off to Nottingham to meet with underground Legends, The Melvins. I'll post photos here asap..

Becky & Paul - Superstar Couple!

2008-09-19T17:46:00.003+01:00

I know, I know!! My blogging has slacked again. Things have been so busy, blah blah blah...
But here's the thing... Next week sees the launch of the brand new, super-slick, all singing, all dancing Chris Garrett-designed, funkadelic Steve Gerrard Photography website. The blog will be a major part of the new design so I am going to be updating it all the time. I promise! No, really!
Just check back next week and see the new-look site for yourself.

In the meantime, I've been meaning to blog Becky & Paul's wedding for a while. They were married last month and had their reception at The Belfry. Their wedding was fantastic for several reasons... It was relaxed, great fun, the weather was glorious, had super-friendly guests, the staff at The Belfry could not be any better, but mostly because Becky & Paul are like our dream couple. We got on with them so well and they went out of their way to help us get great images for them. I believe we succeeded...

The night before the wedding Becky managed to cut her hand on a glass and didn't leave hospital until 4am. Here's the damage...

Paul sees his bride for the first time...

A few shots outside the church before heading to The Belfry...

Work it!

Becky & Paul know I'm always trying to do something different with my ring shots so when we borrowed the rings Becky said, "I can't wait to see what you do". No pressure then...!!

Errr... that's dripping water...

Did I mention the weather?

After dinner it was time to escape with the couple...

Yowser!

We love rule-breakers ;)

Becky you superstar!

First dance... and a shared moment with Dad...

And later we escaped again and used the inside of the venue, along with our video light...

Seriously guys, Evelyne and I had such a good day with you both. Thanks for having us there and we wish you every happiness for the future.

After the wedding I got a lovely email from Paul's mother saying "A big thankyou Steve for all your time and patience throughout the day you are a true professional at what you do, I cannot wait to see the photos the day was perfect, thankyou once again Pauls mum x"

...followed shortly after from an email from the couple saying

"Just a quick email before we fly off to say thank you for all your hard work and effort on our special day. We are so grateful to you both and we have had so many people come to us saying how good you were, not just with your photography but also how you interacted with the guests. We are so impressed with the amount of time that you spent with us and cant wait to see the outcome, we know its going to be amazing. Numerous couples who get married withing the next few years have asked for your details, I hope you dont mind but I have passed them on!! Becky from the Belfry was also very impressed and informed Becky that she would be unofficially recommending you !!! result !! "

Result indeed. Thanks guys.

Baby No.2 - The countdown begins...

2008-09-05T19:40:00.004+01:00

There are some images which, even with my most amazing lens, I could never capture. Below are the first pictures of Elliott's future brother/sister who is doing well and expected to arrive into the world around 24th February 2009.

There's only one word for images like this - Amazing!

We cant wait to meet the new addition to the family. And when he or she arrives you can guarantee we'll be making a big noise about it right here on the blog :)

Pre-wed Shoots & Fast Cars

2008-09-01T17:11:00.007+01:00

What's with this weather?! I'm supposed to have a pre-wed shoot with Emma & Dan in 2 hours but with the rain coming down like this it looks like we'll have to reschedule. Grrrr....

Luckily we had no such problems for Claire & Andy's pre-wed shoot and we headed out into the Digbeth backstreets where we almost spent more time chatting than we did shooting. They're a great couple and I'm really looking forward to their wedding this weekend. Let's hope the weather improves!

This weekend we had 2 weddings including Ory & Karim's in London, which was great fun. Ory looked amazing and I can't wait to start going through their images. Friday's wedding was closer to home at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens with Simon & Olga. Another really great wedding and such a cool venue for photographs. Both these weddings will be blogged here asap but here are a few images from Olga & Simon's pre-wed shoot. They brought along Simon's daughter, Rachel who celebrated her 10th birthday on their wedding day..

Ok... I love this shot so much I just ordered it for the studio wall. Some people can't work out what's in the background. Can you?

Usually I find corporate jobs can be extremely dull. I don't do too many for that very reason. Occasionally though they can be extremely undull (I doubt that's a word!). Recently I was asked by the MD of Jaguar Cars to come to one of their track days in Gaydon to cover the event for them. It was a gloriously sunny day and I not only got to shoot some beautiful cars but I also got taken around the track in a brand new Jaguar XK at 150mph! Officially the fastest I have ever travelled on land. If anyone's wondering what to get me for Christmas...

I recently set up a Facebook Page for Steve Gerrard Photography and we already have almost 200 people who have joined so thanks everyone. It's a pretty cool way of keeping in touch with people. If you'd like to have a look CLICK HERE

Emma & Pete

2008-08-26T18:27:00.005+01:00

More and more we're booking weddings further afield than the Midlands, which is great. As much as we love living in Birmingham, it's always good to have an excuse to escape. This year we've had weddings in London, Devon and in December we have a wedding in New York. Emma and Pete got in touch with us after quite a thorough search for a photographer and, as they live a couple of hours away in Newark, it was another excuse to escape and visit an area I've not visited much before.

They're happy to spend time to make sure we get great photos for them and their pre-wed shoot was one of the most fun pre-wed shoots I've done. We started off exploring the streets of Newark while trying to dodge the rain...

We were on our way back to their house when I spotted this field with that great sky. Favourite!

Their wedding also took place in Newark and this time the sun was shining. Emma looked amazing. I mean, just look at that dress!! Pete scrubbed up pretty well too ;)

On to the church...

Then we headed off on our own to get some portraits of the new Mr & Mrs Dowse..

Unfortunately this gorgeous building is also the cheesiest nightclub in Newark according to Pete. What a waste!

Check out the table plan - hand-made by our blushing bride...

And what an amazing venue for the reception...

Later in the day we decided to grab a few more photos of the couple...

Great couple, great venue, great weather.... Thanks for a GREAT day guys. The album will be stunning.

V Festival 2008

2008-08-19T14:51:00.010+01:00

This weekend has been fantastic and depressing in almost equal amounts.

I spent the weekend at the V Festival where I was photographing on behalf of the festival promoters. The first day I was there by myself, running around in the rain trying to catch as many bands as possible. Nobody was allowed to photograph Girls Aloud apart from their own photographer, which was a shame. I wonder what they have to hide?!

Here are some of my favourite images from Saturday...

Amy Winehouse, One Republic and Lenny Kravitz.

I'm used to shooting girls in white dresses but this was a little different..

Kings Of Leon (one of my fave bands of the weekend) and The Zutons.

And headliners, The Verve.

The low point on Saturday was having to walk for an hour in heavy rain to get back to my car. Thoroughly depressing! And then after I parked my car on our driveway it was broken into and my iPod and SatNav were stolen. Not good at all!

Luckily Sunday was a major improvement as the weather improved and I was joined by Evelyne and Elliott for the day. It was Elliott's first ever concert so I made sure the first band we saw was a good one - The Hold Steady. Here he is getting into the festival spirit.

The Hold Steady, Estelle, The Kooks and Lostprophets.

As you can see, by Sunday the bad weather had left its mark...

The Script played on the day their album went to Number 1 in the charts.

And here's the lovely Duffy on stage...

And here she is getting fondled by my son!

Elliott also hung out with Maximo Park backstage.

The Pigeon Detectives and the ladies' favourite, Stereophonics.

Here's a good story.... When I was still enjoying my previous life as an international DJ I played in Chamonix in France at a club called Deluded. I was in Chamonix for two days and while I was there I met a girl called Evelyne. I'm now married to her and we have a son and another baby due next year. The two guys who booked me to play the club, Livesey and Graham, were at the festival this weekend and here they are with the "fruit of Deluded" :)

Thanks guys. My life would be very different if you hadn't invited me to play your club!

And finally.... mega-headliners Muse closed the festival in fine style.

Letter Of The Week

2008-08-15T17:30:00.006+01:00

I just got a message from Kerrang! magazine telling me they're giving me Letter Of the Week after I sent them the following little message on MySpace...

"Occasionally, Kerrang!, you really do give me hope.

Firstly, you sacrifice potential sales of your magazine in order to put a band you truly believe in on the cover (The Gaslight Anthem) and at the very same time you introduce me to a band who make me feel like taking on the world.

The Gaslight Anthem's new album is an album that will live with me for life and never sound tired. It's empowering stuff and every song on the album already feels like a close friend. I can't wait to catch them live.

I've bought K! since Issue 1 (I still have it too) and I'll continue to buy it for as long as you keep proving you still love the music you feature. Respect."

Letter Of The Week also bagged me £50 worth of CDs from Play.com which was a nice surprise. Result.

That's put me in a good mood ready for the weekend ahead where I'll be shooting the V Festival which is just 25 minutes from our house. The weather's not looking great but I'll be photographing Muse, The Verve, Kings Of Leon, Lenny Kravitz, Alanis Morrisette, Amy Whinehouse, Stereophonics... and not forgetting Girls Aloud! If the weather's not too severe Evelyne and Elliott will be joining me on Sunday so it'll be Elliott's first ever concert. He even has a VIP pass!

Last night I met up with local metalheads Benediction who needed new photos doing for a 2-page feature in Terrorizer Magazine. We went out into the backstreets of Digbeth and got some typically mean n' moody images for them. Terrorizer loved the results!

This week I also photographed a great Canadian band called Birds Of Wales. It was a shame that hardly anyone showed up to see them but I really enjoyed the gig which is reviewed HERE. After the gig we took the band to Island Bar for a few drinks before sending them off into the Birmingham night. Here's a clip for their song, Cinderella.

And here are a couple of photos from the gig.

Tonight I have a pre-wed shoot with Dean & Helen whose wedding I'm covering next month. Luckily the weather is great but it all looks set to change just in time for tomorrow's festival. Typical!

I'll post photos from the V Festival here asap...

A London Wedding

2008-08-14T17:45:00.005+01:00

I had been looking forward to Paul & Simone's wedding ever since they booked us last year. It's our first London wedding and the couple had already suggested jumping in the white London cab they'd booked for the day and getting photos out and about around the city... My kinda thinkin'!

The wedding was at the RSA and the day ended up being a particularly fun wedding as they're such a laid-back, friendly couple and I came home with some of my favourite wedding images ever!

Definitely one of my fave groom portraits yet..

And Simone looked amazing in that dress...

After the ceremony it was out into the London streets...

This one is already a huge wooden print for their wall...

I wasn't gonna miss the opportunity to use the Street Art exhibition at Tate Modern... :)

"Frank" even sang the song "Simone" just for the bride :)

Paul and his best man..

Thanks for having me there on the big day guys. It was a pleasure. I wish you both every happiness for the future..

The Big Picture Interview

2008-08-08T20:22:00.004+01:00

The supercool people who look after The Big Picture website recently asked me to answer a few questions about my music photography and the interview is now up on their site. CLICK HERE to read the full interview.

Trash The Dress on TV

2008-08-02T08:41:00.003+01:00

Attention all brides!!

You may have heard of the mostly-American phenomenon called Trash The Dress where brides book a post-wedding photo shoot with the intention of creating some stunning images which may or may not damage the wedding dress (usually the dress just needs cleaning afterwards). "What a waste" people say, "to put a beautiful dress in the cupboard never to be seen again".

Now a UK television company is looking for girls who have married in 2008 and want to trash the dress live on TV. If you'd like to get involved in the show please email anoushka.chengadoo@itvplc.com including a photo from your wedding, the date you got married, a contact number and any ideas you have for the Trash The Dress photo session.

If you'd rather do a session without the eyes of the world on you, feel free to email me to chat about your ideas.

Wendy Dawn Thompson and Paul & Becky's pre-wed

2008-08-01T18:19:00.005+01:00

It's a long way from shooting rock bands when photographing somebody like Wendy Dawn Thompson. Wendy is a mezzo soprano opera singer from New Zealand and was looking for some new press shots, so we headed out on a sunny Tuesday afternoon and came back with some great, relaxed portraits. We got on really well and I even learned a little more about the world of opera!

Here are a few of my favourites...

This weekend is the wedding of Paul and Becky at The Belfry and I'm really looking forward to covering their day for them. They're such a cool couple and Becky is sure to make a gorgeous bride. Here are some photos from their pre-wed shoot...

See you tomorrow guys.... :)

Steve on the Telly... and the Download Festival

2008-08-01T12:18:00.007+01:00

Last night I was invited onto a TV show called Ditto Music to talk about my photography. The show is on the Red Channel and is looked after by an enthusiastic team of people who are out to promote new music and educate people on the music business. It's a chaotic and somewhat shambolic environment but that's very much part of its charm.

They asked me about the bands I've shot previously and why good images should be important to bands trying to make it in the tough world of the music biz. We also held a competition for one band to win a shoot with yours truly. It was good fun and I'd like to thank Matt, Lee and the team for inviting me onto the show.

A few weeks ago I covered three days at the Download Festival and got to shoot a couple of legendary bands, including KISS. Below are a few of my favourite shots from the weekend..

KISS -

Kiss fans attempt to break the world record for face paint...

Motorhead & Judas Priest -

Rise Against, Comeback Kid & The Black Dahlia Murder -

The AMAZING Dillinger Escape Plan -

Bleeding Through & 36 Crazyfists -

Biffy Clyro, Job For A Cowboy and Bullet For My Valentine -

Incubus & Amon Amarth -

Apocalyptica and Coheed & Cambria (can you spot a theme here?!) -

Airbourne scale dizzy heights and The Offspring go for the bloke-next-door look -

The Cavalera Conspiracy and the mighty Testament -

Jimmy Eat World & In Flames -

Romance is alive and well...

Gerrard Rocks!

Time for something a little more artistic..

A great festival yet again. Roll on 2009...

Slaves To Gravity

2008-07-30T01:25:00.004+01:00

I just returned from photographing a gig for Rock Sound magazine featuring a great new band from London called Slaves To Gravity. After the gig I asked the band if I could take a few photos of them in the car park behind the venue and they were good enough to oblige. Here's just one photo from the shoot..

Slaves To Gravity are all set to tour Japan and the US next and look set for big things. Check out their MySpace page for more.

Today has been a great day. Elliott was back in nursery so Evelyne spent the day in the studio helping me get some stuff organised (she's more organised than me by far!). We also met Steve & Steph about shooting their wedding in New York in December. I look forward to every wedding but that's gonna be something special. Can't wait! We also FINALLY got a fridge and kettle in the studio so now I can make myself (and anyone else who visits) a cup of tea whenever I like. Bliss!

Today we also had another wedding confirmation for 2009 when James called to say he and Lorraine would like us to cover their wedding at Cotswold House in Gloucestershire. It looks like a great venue. James emailed to say "After seeing your work and meeting with you it really was the easiest decision we've had to make in all of the planning." I have a feeling we're gonna get on just fine :)

Liz & Simon - The Main Event

2008-07-26T00:18:00.004+01:00

You may remember my Devon Knows post from May featuring photos of Evelyne, Elliott and I enjoying some rare English sunshine over my birthday weekend. We were down there for Liz & Simon's wedding which took place on my 40th birthday. They even got me a cake!

It was a really great wedding with a lovely bunch of people and Liz & Simon are the kind of people we could easily be good friends with. The weather was glorious and in the evening the light was just perfect. Here are a few images from their day...

Simon did himself proud with a little gift left for Liz as she got ready... from Tiffany's no less!

After the ceremony we headed down to the pier in Torquay for some more unusual shots. I love doing shoots like this!

Enjoy!

The reception venue was 45 minutes drive away nearer to Plymouth..

OK kids, strike a pose!

In October Liz and Simon are off traveling the globe for 12 whole months. I'm SO jealous!! They'll have such a good time. Thanks for having me at your wedding guys and for making my birthday fun even though I was working :)

Big Little News!

2008-07-25T11:55:00.004+01:00

I know I know.... I'm SOOOO behind on blogging again! Bad Steve! To those people asking if I've fallen off the planet I apologize and promise to be a better blogger in future. Things are crazy busy at this time of year and if I'm not shooting a wedding or a pre-wed shoot, I'm photographing a rock festival or catching up with all the post-production which naturally occurs from having so many shoots. It's hectic but great to be so busy.

I have a ton of shoots to blog and will attempt to catch up next week so keep checking back.

In the meantime...

Evelyne and Elliott have been in Montreal visiting family and friends for a month and had a fantastic time enjoying the typically glorious Canadian summertime weather while we dodged showers in jolly old England. They returned last week with some news for me so I just wanted to share the photo below (not taken by me) with you all...

Yes indeed, Elliott is gonna have a brother or sister early next year and Evelyne and I are super-chuffed! As my friend Steph commented, "You're practlically a Gerrard brood!"

Dio Kick's!

2008-07-09T02:12:00.003+01:00

My friends know I have a true hatred for rogue apostrophes and this photo from my friend Louise pretty much sums up how bad it can get. I had to share it with you..

Sarah & Matt - MARRIED!

2008-07-06T18:00:00.007+01:00

Sarah & Matt's wedding was my first at Highbury Hall in Moseley, Birmingham - a very grand venue with a magnificent dining room and dramatic decor. They had such an easy-going, fun day and were great sports when it came to getting photos.

We started at the church with some photos of Matt and his boys..

"Go on! Give her a kiss!"

Their grandparents were married in the exact same church over 50 years ago!

The weather at Highbury hall could not have been better...

God is in the details..

Errr... don't ask!

One for the wall...

Another great wedding and a lovely couple who were so laid-back on their big day. They even took time to email me on their honeymoon to say thanks! Right back atcha guys, I had a great day. Thanks for having me there. Hope the shoes are ok!

Poppy & The Jezebels

2008-07-05T12:53:00.005+01:00

Oh, my job is so tough!
This week I had the pleasure of spending time in the company of Poppy & The Jezebels who needed new photos for the release of their new single "UFO" which comes out in August. The weather was against us a little but we managed to brave the elements as much as possible and came back with some super-cool pics.

I also popped along to the Glee Club on Wednesday night to catch one of my favourite bands, Idlewild. Last time I saw them they were opening for U2 but this week they played a really intimate set of acoustic numbers and rare b-sides and album tracks. Amazing gig which is reviewed on Birmingham Live along with my photos.

Jodie & Oliver @ Packington Moor Farm

2008-07-04T12:13:00.002+01:00

It's been another busy few weeks. Evelyne and Elliott are over in Montreal for a month visiting Evelyne's family and friends. Sounds like they're having a fantastic time too and, from the photos they've posted on Facebook, Elliott has grown quite a bit just in the past couple of weeks. Can't wait to have them both back but in the meantime I'm keeping myself occupied with the photography. Some nights I've been in the studio past midnight but that's fine. I love it!

Jodie and Oliver came in to see their wedding photos last week (on our new bigger monitor) and set about choosing their faves for the album. They're going to have a GraphiStudio album and I know the images they've chosen will make for a great storybook album. They had a few problems on the run up to the big day thanks to the original venue deciding they no longer wanted to have weddings there, so they had to change both the venue and date of their wedding. Being the stars they are they took it all in their stride and ended up with a gorgeous venue at Packington Moor Farm.

Then, a couple of days before the wedding, their lovely little dog (who featured in their pre-wedding shoot photos) added to their troubles by EATING THE WEDDING CAKE!! They ended up replacing it in time... Twice! Yes, the first wedding I've shot where they had two cakes.

So, here are a few of my favourite images from Jodie and Oliver's big day...

Believe it or not, this is a cake...

... and so is this.

Spot Lee, my second shooter...

Smokin'!

Jodie's favourite..

Guys, despite any problems in the run up, your wedding was perfect on the day and Lee and I thank you for having us be a part of it with you. I'll keep the story of the barn to myself ;) Have a great future together.

June is Rockin!

2008-06-30T23:49:00.002+01:00

This month has been a month of photographing some of the biggest bands in the world which is quite an honour. Since shooting Liza Minelli and The Sex Pistols I've also photographed Kiss, Bon Jovi and yesterday I got to shoot Linkin Park and Jay Z at Milton Keynes. Here are a few pics...

I have ordered a big version of this one for the studio wall :)

I also got to shoot my favourite singer/songwriter, Kathleen Edwards. She may not be as popular as the bands above but I urge you to check her stuff out. I reviewed the gig on the Fused Magazine site. Here are some photos of my second favourite Canadian girl...

After the show I got to chat to Kathleen for a while and her merch guy was kind enough to take a photo of us. Unfortunately, he managed to get the focus COMPLETELY WRONG!!! Gutted!

Fiona & Mike - MARRIED!

2008-06-27T20:25:00.004+01:00

I've been away for a while and haven't found time to update the blog until now. I have tons of stuff to post but for now I just wanna share some images from Fiona & Mike's wedding at Ettington Park Hotel, a fantastic venue with so many great locations to shoot. I was in my element!

On top of that Fiona came out with the immortal phrase, "A dress is for a day, photos are forever" before lying beneath a huge tree for some photos. What a star! It also helped that she's gorgeous of course.

Here's some of my faves from their wedding...

The venue itself. One of my favourites..

Fiona had one of the most beautiful dresses I've seen. And the cutest bridesmaids...

It's the world-famous Steve Gerrard "Skip Shot"!

Love this shot with the reflections..

The rings..

Love this cake shot too. And what a cool cake!

Here's another Fiona. I shot her wedding back in December..

Thanks guys for having me along for the day. It was a fantastic wedding and I wish you both all the best for the future...

Anarchy in Birmingham

2008-06-13T00:23:00.004+01:00

In one week I have gone from photographing Liza Minelli to shooting the Sex Pistols!! In fact I was the only photographer that got to get photos from last night's gig at Birmingham Academy. I had to shoot from the balcony but I had a great spot because.... are you ready for this??!!.... I was the warm-up DJ at the gig!

Ok, let's backtrack 31 years here. When I was at school the first single I ever bought was The Sex Pistols' "Silly Thing". I sent my mom into town to buy it cos I was too young. I'm not sure how appropriate my mom thought it was for a little boy to be listening to the Sex Pistols but anyway... I even managed to have my mom deliver me on Sid Vicious' 10th birthday! That's commitment!

And here we are in 2008, all somewhat older, and, as there was no support band for the gig, I was asked to DJ before the band. I even managed to get a few singalongs from the crowd when I played The Clash and Sham 69 :) It wasn't all old punk stuff though, I managed to drop in some Cancer Bats, The Bronx, Gallows and a little Jane's Addiction too. Oh, and Frank Turner.

You can see my review of the gig on BrumLive.com but here are my fave pics from the gig...

This weekend I get to photograph another musical legend when I shoot KISS on Friday night. I'm hoping for a classic Paul Stanley or Gene Simmons image for the studio wall. Wish me luck...

Laura & Anthony's Pre-wed shoot.

2008-06-07T13:51:00.003+01:00

Laura & Anthony get married next month and for their pre-wed shoot they asked if they could bring their two kids down with them. Of course I agreed. I'm glad I did too. Together they make a great family and we went out and had a bit of fun with them and got some cool photos in the process.

Laura's going to make a great bride and it sounds like it's going to be a fun wedding. Hope you enjoyed your picnic guys! :)

Liza Minelli - Live!

2008-06-05T12:18:00.002+01:00

Who would have thought it, but this week I was honoured to shoot the living legend that is Liza Minelli!

Liza was performing at Birmingham's Symphony Hall and I not only photographed her for Birmingham Live but also got to stay for the whole show, which I have to say was pretty spectacular. Not my kind of music at all really but nobody can deny the talent and star quality that Liza has, and she knows how to put on a real show.

You can see my review on Birmingham Live but here are just a few of my favourite photos... They were taken with a long lens as I wasn't allowed close to the stage on the night due to there being a seated audience.

As if shooting Liza wasn't unusual enough, while I was there Adam Woodyatt who plays Ian Beale in Eastenders came over to me asking where he could buy my photos. Random!

Restyle Me

2008-05-27T16:16:00.006+01:00

The new issue of Live 24-Seven magazine is out this week, featuring a shoot I did with Rachele who won a full makeover including shopping spree, nails, make-up and hair. She didn't want anything too over-the-top as she works in A&E at the hospital and wants to be able to get ready quickly in the mornings. She still had quite a transformation though and was so easy to photograph.

Here's the spread from the magazine. The only image that's not mine is her "before" shot which she sent in for the competition...

This is my favourite..

This Bank Holiday weekend was great fun despite a severe case of miserable weather. Saturday's wedding with Matt & Sarah was a really nice easy-going day and they were lucky enough to have the only good weather of the weekend. Highbury Hall in Mosely, Birmingham is a dramatic and grand venue and the couple were up for escaping to get some great images of them on their own. (PHOTOS HERE SOON)

The rest of the weekend was a wash-out due to the weather so we used the time to chill out, catch up on some TV ("Dexter" mainly) and try to teach Elliott how to walk. He's getting good too! He also tried a little pizza for the first time and seemed to enjoy the experience...

Facebook Page

2008-05-25T10:39:00.002+01:00

Somebody suggested I set up a Facebook page for Steve Gerrard Photography so that's what I've done. Happy to say quite a few people have joined already which is jolly nice of them :)

You can find it HERE if you're signed up to Facebook.

Steve

Devon knows...

2008-05-23T14:15:00.007+01:00

Hey, am I blog-update king this week or what?! I wonder if it'll last...

A couple of weeks ago I got to shoot Liz & Simon's wedding in Devon and we decided to make a weekend of it with Evelyne and Elliott joining me for the trip down south. The weather was glorious all weekend and Liz & Simon could not have had a more perfect setting for their big day. (photos here soon)

The day of the wedding was also my 40th birthday. During Simon's speech he called me up in front of everyone before presenting me with a bottle of champagne and getting all the guests to sing happy Birthday to me! How nice is that?! On their wedding day!
They even got me cake..

The next day Evelyne, Elliott and I headed out into the Paignton sunshine for a great day. We played with my 50mm macro lens and came home with some super-funky pics for the family album.

Don't I have the cutest family... ???!!

The great British seaside...

Too much seaweed for ya? Just say "No!"

Elliott can't decide from today's menu..

Watch out Emily! I can do flowers too ;) (Ok, not as good as you!)

Stella owe me some free beer in return for this one.

The sun in my sky.. :)

Evelyne gets all arty on us..

After a fantastic weekend away, Evelyne surprised me with breakfast...

Amy & Imran - MARRIED!

2008-05-22T20:45:00.008+01:00

One of the great things about photographing weddings is getting to witness one of the happiest and most emotional days of a couple's life. To be responsible for capturing that day with our cameras is quite a responsibility but also an immense privilege. And when the couple happen to be friends of ours that privilege is even greater.

I've known Imran since my DJ days and have got to know Amy quite well too. Amy said she'd been looking for someone to photograph their wedding for a while and "had just about given up" when she found out I had started to shoot weddings. We met up for a drink, showed them some more photos and eventually ended up shooting their big day.

On Tuesday, Amy & Imran came over to the studio to see the results and I hope they won't mind me saying it got quite emotional. In a good way :)

It was a fantastic wedding and Amy looked amazing.

She arrived in style in a VW camper van at Swinfen Hall near Lichfield.

Look around the secluded sides of a fancy venue and you might just find a cool background to shoot the groom and his ushers..

The rings on a chess board...

Imran sees his bride for the first time..

Awwww....

Errr... tall groom alert!

"Jazz Hands"!

Blue skies, sunshine and a nice bit of flare :)

Evelyne helped me out at this wedding which was great. This is one of Evelyne's and the couple are considering it for their wall..

Imran's speech was one of the most emotional I've witnessed, and all the better for it.

Imran's a teacher so his best man decided to interview his pupils for a little video presentation... To this question most answered "Tall"!

Amy has the best smile! :)

fave groom portrait ever! (by me at least!)

Yet another fantastic wedding and great fun. Evelyne and I want to thank Amy & Imran for having us be a part of their day. The album's gonna be great!

Cheers.

Canon 5D MkII - Want One!

2008-05-21T12:08:00.005+01:00

Oh no! Something else to steal Steve's hard-earned cash from him! The new Canon 5D MkII.

Although still a rumour it looks likely this baby will be available this summer with some sexy new features to get yours truly raiding his piggy bank. My main camera is still the Canon 1DS MkII but I've been looking to upgrade my 20D which I currently use as a second camera on most shoots. The new 5D is set to be priced between £1750 and £2k but looks worth every penny.

As if that weren't enough I've been eyeing up the Canon 85mm 1.2 lens too. Looks like I'd better get some work done to get some cashola in the bank...

As y'all know I shoot a lot of bands but occasionally I get to photograph gigs which take things to the next level as far as entertainment, crowd involvement and real passion is concerned. And so it was with Canada's Cancer Bats when they descended on the Birmingham Barfly last week. Singer Liam Cormier spent the whole gig in amongst the crowd, making for an energetic performance as well as some tricky photo situations but I came out unharmed with some great shots. You don't get images like this with many bands. Check out a full review of the gig at Birmingham Live!

Simon & Lyndsey - MARRIED!

2008-05-19T17:41:00.005+01:00

Simon & Lyndsey's wedding at Hogarth'sin Solihull was a fantastic wedding with a great bunch of people, including my lovely friend, Hannah, who actually recommended me to the couple (thanks Han!).

As always I stayed for the duration, only deciding it was perhaps time to leave when the DJ finished playing!

Simon & Lyndsey are a great couple and were happy to take time to get some great pictures during the day. Here's just a few of my faves...

Look at the light in this one. Gorgeous! Possibly my fave flowers shot yet.

How cute is the flower-girl?!

You may remember Lyndsey from their pre-wed shoot. She made for a beautiful bride as you can see...

And the boys don't scrub up too badly either..

The weather on the day was all over the place. Sun one minute, dark black clouds the next. Makes for dramatic photos though :)

Here's the couple minutes after tying the knot..

Lovin' the ring shot!

The evening reception featured a mini casino set-up which went down a storm...

First dance..

Lyndsey looked just as great at the end of the day as she did walking down the aisle..

And then it all started to get a little messy (as it should!)

Go Hannah!!

Cigars all round...

After all that cake, some people were seeing some worrying signs with their teeth! (ps. they're not real!)

I'm really pleased I got to witness such a great wedding and I wish Lyndsey & Simon a fantastic future together. Cheers for having me guys..

St-St- Studio Live!

2008-05-12T14:03:00.006+01:00

And so it was... Last weekend saw the official launch of the new studio for Steve Gerrard Photography and we invited friends & family and clients past & potentially future down for a glass of champers, a look-see and a friendly chinwag. Thanks to everyone who came down to help us celebrate, especially my mom & dad who surprised me by turning up when I thought they were home in Spain! The lengths they'll go to for a free drink never ceases to amaze me...

So here it is... The new studio! Still some tweaks to add but it's looking pretty good already I think..

Evelyne has obviously been a MASSIVE help making the studio look so good. I don't know what I'd do without her. She really is the BEST!

This man helped a lot too.. Thanks Lee.

The legend that is Chris Unitt..

This is where I'm sat right now...

Following the launch we headed out to celebrate my 40th (!) birthday. My birthday was actually May 10th but, as I had a wedding that day, we decided to have a double celebration on the 4th. First we went for an amazing dinner at Cielo. Seriously, if you live anywhere near Birmingham and you like Italian food, make a point of trying it out. The staff there looked after all 22 of us brilliantly and even went to the effort of making a great cake!

Good food, good company and more champagne.. What else d'ya need?

I'll be shooting Steve & Steph's wedding in NEW YORK in December...

Lisa & Roland master the cheesy linked-arms drinking pose..

Tony in rare "Devil Horns" pose...

My nephew Miles gets my brother Paul with the "rabbit ears"!

Rosie drove up from London just to be there. What a star!

Thanks again to everyone who made it out to help us celebrate. We had a great day. Thanks also to Emily & Stef for looking after Elliott for us.

Cheers!

Phew!

2008-05-09T13:47:00.003+01:00

What a week!
We finished and launched the studio (photos here soon I promise), celebrated my 40th (!) birthday (it's actually this Saturday but I'm shooting a wedding) and now I'm ready for the long drive to Devon where we'll be spending the weekend.
Tomorrow is Liz & Simon's wedding (and my birthday!) which sounds like it's going to a be a great day. Evelyne, Elliott and I plan to make the most of our trip and enjoy escaping Birmingham for a couple of days.
I promise to do a big catch up for all you blog-stalkers when I return. Have a great weekend...
Steve

Here's a photo of the inside of our new finished studio...

It must be a sign!

2008-05-01T09:39:00.006+01:00

I'm sat on the floor typing this entry to my blog. My desk has gone to the studio but my computer, for now, remains at the home office!

Yes folks, it's a full-on, all-action, slightly panicky week here at Steve Gerrard Photography as we put the finishing touches to the studio ready for the launch on Sunday. We've done more shopping than we can afford, got pictures on walls (a few more to go yet) and taken a van full of stuff down to the space with the help of our uber-cool friend, Lee.

And yesterday the guys finally turned up to fix the sign to the front and it looks pretty damn fine I think..

Every kid dreams of having their name in lights. I decided vinyl was much more 2008! :)

Please excuse the mess on the other side of the windows. I promise that's my next job!

Not too much else on this week, as all our time and effort goes into studio preparations. On Monday I did manage the 90 minute drive to see Pete & Emma regarding their wedding in July and I'm happy to say they've chosen us for the job. Sounds like it's gonna be a fun day too. On the way back, by complete contrast, I stopped off at Nottingham Rock City to shoot death metal band, Vader. Great band to photograph!

Anyway, I have work to do... :)

Go and check out American Photo magazine's Top 10 Wedding Photographers 2008. There are plenty of glaring omissions such as Jeff Ascough (who just launched his brand new website) and Jerry Ghionis (who I'll be spending 5 days with next month!) but there are still some fantastic people on the list. Bit odd that they're all from America though!?

Images On Walls

2008-04-26T11:00:00.003+01:00

11pm on a Saturday night and while the rest of the world is out getting up to all kinds of no good, I'm home updating the blog! What's going on?!

Well, I decided my favourite girl, Evelyne, deserved a bit of a treat so I surprised her with a trip to Madrid where she'll meet up with one of her best friends from Montreal for a couple of days. She left this evening and I'm sure she'll have a great time. Meanwhile, that means I get to play Dad with Elliott, which is just fine by me! He's asleep now so I'm sat here with a beer and updating the blog.

Earlier today I was back at the studio with my good friends Nikki & Dave who helped me with some new skirting. I also dropped off some of the new pictures for the walls which, I have to say, look fantastic! We still have more to come later this week. Here are a few of the images we've chosen to grace the walls of the new space...

Some nice bright colours with an image taken in nearby Sutton Park..

A couple of black & whites with the "Aaahhh" factor...

Some dramatic wedding images...

Gotta have the family lifestyle shots...

And a great one of Dave and the boys...

My award-winning shot of Poppy & The Jezebels..

Two more of my favourites...

And of course I have to have some live band shots on the walls. So here's WiL Francis from Aiden and the legend that is Slash...

I'm happy we got a great and varied selection of images which represents all sides of my work. Can't wait to see it all finished and ready to open to the world. Only a week to go!

I added a nice new feature which you'll see on the left-hand side called "SAY HELLO". Please take few seconds to leave me a message.

Studio Update... :)

2008-04-24T17:46:00.008+01:00

Ten days to go til the studio launch and it's far from finished but you can see some of the new colours here with our beautiful model, Evelyne.

We're also strangely excited by our new Open/Closed sign designed by the wonderful Neil Woodward...

Our pictures for the walls are set to arrive this weekend. But first I have Fiona & Mike's wedding which looks like it's going to be a great day...

Steve Gerrard Photography - Studio Launch

2008-04-23T18:00:00.006+01:00

Ooh, it's all very exciting!

The official launch of our new studio for Steve Gerrard Photography happens on Sunday 4th May and we've just emailed out the invites, which you can see below.

We've finished painting now and our lovely leather couch has been delivered. We've ordered a ton of great images for the walls which should arrive any day now.

All that's left is a sign for the front window, a bit more furniture and, most importantly, a kettle and a fridge!

If you're reading this and you can join us on the 4th you'll be more than welcome...

Peter The Apprentice

2008-04-22T09:34:00.004+01:00

A few days ago I did a shoot for a great guy called Peter Kent from Atlanta, Georgia who was looking for some portraits with a difference to pitch himself to potential employers. Over a couple of hours I set out to get him a great variety of shots, some quite formal, some more edgy.

Peter almost made it to the US version of The Apprentice. He may not end up working for Donald Trump but I'm sure he'll do well in his chosen field.

And my favourite from the day..

I wish Peter all the best for his future in business.
I just had to take a photo of this sign which is on one of the most heavily graffitied walls in the city!

Twitter To Who?

2008-04-19T21:49:00.004+01:00

You may not yet be aware of Twitter but the same people who say that MySpace is "so 2005" seem to be Twittering to their heart's content. So, what is it and is it the future baby!? Well, I'm not really sure on both counts...

I've just started using Twitter and I'm still not quite sure how useful it is, or indeed whether it's even meant to be useful. It works in a similar way to the status update feature on Facebook so you can keep friends, family, stalkers etc updated on what you're up to, how you're feeling or anything else. The big difference really is that you can update it using your mobile meaning if I bump into Kate Moss while out shopping, I can instantly tell everyone about it. But only if they're checking what I'm up to.

Hmmm.... The blurb on their site says "Twitter is a service for friends, family, and co–workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing?" The answer may be "I am Twittering".

So.....I know you're wondering... what am I doing?

follow me on Twitter

Charlotte & Steve's Rock & Roll Wedding

2008-04-18T05:54:00.006+01:00

I've mentioned on here before about the uber-cool wedding we shot with our most rockingest couple yet - Charlotte & Steve.

Turning up at the venue and being greeted by Steve's band, The Batemans, soundchecking with the Foo Fighters' "Everlong" immediately suggested this was going to be a fun day and that's exactly what it was...

The whole wedding was held at Homme House in Herefordshire - a lovely venue looked after by a very posh but very down-to-earth couple who are justifiably proud of the place. And with the daffs in bloom it looks even better.

I was assisted on the day by my good friend Lisa Gault and as usual, shot the day from start to finish...

and Charlotte looked stunning...

Charlotte and her family are French and, despite the fact that I'm married to a French-speaker, my French n'est pas bon. This didn't stop Charlotte's grandparents chatting to me though. I wonder what they said!

As usual, we escaped for a while with the couple for some relaxed portraits. Not too long though as it was a little on the chilly side.

At the wedding breakfast each table was named after a different band, including Queen, Motley Crue, Bon jovi and Metallica

And here's why we stay until the very end. You don't want to miss pictures like these:

Oh yeah, it's the classic bride shot with the guitar and the devil horns.. :)

and finally...

Some of these photos were featured in a 2-page spread in Live 24-Seven magazine. A great keepsake for the couple! Thanks to Charlotte & Steve for having me along to shoot their day for them. They rock!

Off To Sunny Spain..

2008-04-14T11:20:00.004+01:00

At the beginning of this month we treated ourselves to a short mid-week break to Barcelona, a city Evelyne and I have been wanting to visit for ages. It was our first ever foreign trip as a family of 3 and we had such a great time. It's certainly different trying to get about places when you have a 9 month old with you but Elliott seemed happy to just go with the flow...

The city itself is beautiful. Travel writers recently voted it the Number 1 city to visit in the world and it's easy to see why. Here are a few images from our trip:

Some of Gaudi's architecture and design...

The sun shone pretty much the whole time I'm happy to say and Evelyne and I took a lot of photos..

Cheer up Elliott!

The incredible climbing baby..

I'd highly recommend Barcelona if you haven't been and we're sure to return when we have chance.

The Keys To The Future

2008-03-28T08:28:00.004Z

It's an exciting time at the moment for Steve Gerrard Photography as we have just been given the keys to our new studio in the Custard Factory in the Digbeth area of Birmingham. We plan to use the space not to take photos (I always work on location) but as an office, a gallery and a comfortable place to meet clients. Up until now our office has been based at our home in Great Barr but it's time for us to move onto bigger and better things, as well as separating home and work life a little more. As you can see below the space has some work to be done before it looks how we envision it but we're looking forward to making it our own over the next few weeks. I'll be updating this blog as we go... We're looking for paint today.

This weekend I'm gonna be on the telly again which is always equally exciting and worrying. Luckily I've already seen the programme and it's nothing too embarrassing. It's called Mobile Act Unsigned and is on Channel 4 at 9:30 Sunday morning. The show follows the band Envy & Other Sins as they go through the process of recording their first album, along with promo videos, interviews and, of course, a photo shoot. Set your Sky+!

Here are some photos that I took a few days ago for a hairdressers in Walsall...

Rock & Royalty

2008-03-25T23:01:00.002Z

Easter weekend is often a time for taking it easy and sitting in front of the TV with the family while deliberating on how best to eat a Cadbury's Creme Egg. The past few days, for me at least, have been quite the opposite. From photographing Velvet Revolver on Saturday to spending all day Easter Sunday shooting Amy & Imran's wedding. Then on to a family lifestyle shoot on Monday morning followed by Amy & Nigel coming to view their wedding pictures later that day. And then today I got to meet up with Niki Evans from X-Factor to do some photographs at her home in Tamworth. All in all it's been another hectic but extremely fun few days, and it looks set to continue...

Photographing a band like Velvet Revolver can be a surreal experience. Standing two or three feet in front of a rock icon like Slash is a real buzz and I feel privileged to have pictures of him in my portfolio. The band played superbly on Saturday too and it was great to hear "Patience" make it into the set. The venue was bustling with rock royalty that night too. From the ex-members of Guns N Roses and Stone Temple Pilots to the support acts which featured Meat Loaf's daughter, Pearl, Anthrax guitarist, Scott Ian and Robert Plant's son drumming for the first band of the night. Robert was even there to show some fatherly support. You can see a review of the gig and more photos on the Birmingham Live! site.

Sunday's wedding was one we'd been looking forward to for a while as it was the wedding of our friends Amy & Imran. The whole day was fantastic and great fun and the couple were easy to work with, helping us to capture some fantastic pictures for them. When we asked to borrow them for a few minutes in the evening they were well up for it and seemed to enjoy being photographed in a slightly more creative way. The video light came out and we went for a bit of drama to contrast with the smiles and laid-back vibe throughout the rest of the day. I'm sure they'll love the results. It was amazing to have Evelyne working a wedding with me again too. She'd missed the last few to look after Elliott but this week my parents were back from Spain and happy to have him for the day.

I didn't know what to expect when I met Niki Evans. I've never seen X-Factor so I never knew anything about her but we got on great and discovered we had a lot in common. She'd even been a regular at Edwards No.8 where I began my DJ career back in the 90's. We got some nice relaxed shots of her with her two dogs and it looks like I'll be doing more shots for her portfolio in the future.

Days off are hard to come by at the moment but we did manage to squeeze in a day to visit the Cotswolds with our good friends Emily & Stef and their little girl Imogen. It was truly fantastic to escape, even if it was only for a short time. While we were there we took some pictures of the three of them. Emily's a photographer but wanted to be on the other side of the lens for a change. Hopefully she'll like the pictures. We stopped in the small town of Tetbury for lunch, only to find out that Prince Charles and Camilla were there to open a shop. I had my long lens with me and managed to grab a shot of them. You just never know who you'll bump into while you're out with a camera...

I have to admit that keeping this blog up-to-date on a regular basis has been tricky due to lack of time but I'm determined to update it more regularly now. If I don't, please feel free to contact me by phone, text, email, Facebook, Myspace, Last.fm, Linked In or any of the countless other ways that people stay in touch these days! When's the last time you wrote a friend a letter?!

Weddings Rock!

2008-03-12T16:48:00.004Z

Tuesday evenings aren't meant to be this manic! In the past 6 hours I have met Steve & Debbie at Weston Park (home of the V Festival and the site of their upcoming wedding), photographed a fancy French restaurant for Live 24-Seven magazine, shot 3 bands including the Futureheads at the Barfly and finally DJ'd a set of 90s alternative music. Talk about multi-tasking! Add to that working as roadie for the bands (well I lifted an amp to their car) and I'd say it's been a pretty full evening. Most of it was fun...

The gig tonight was pretty good actually. Futureheads don't normally play such intimate venues and, with their new material sounding better than anything they've done before, I'm looking forward to the new album. They were supported by a band who make a photographer's work somewhat more enjoyable thanks to half the band being extremely easy on the eye. Gundogs also have some great songs to back it up and I wouldn't be surprised if they went to the next level fairly soon. There's a review of the gig on Birmingham Live! where you can also find some photos of the Envy & Other Sins gig I shot on Friday night.

Saturday was Charlotte & Steve's wedding at Homme House in Herefordshire and it was a fantastic day and definitely the most rock & roll wedding I've covered yet. The groom played a 40 minute set with his band The Batemans which featured songs by Motorhead, Foo Fighters and even System Of A Down. The bride looked stunning in a gorgeous dress and I came home with loads of great pictures for the couple. Charlotte even brought a present for Elliott. She runs a company called Traces Of Rock which sells cool kids' clothes with a rock edge. Have a look at the website. Here's Elliott in one of her baby-grows...

After getting back from the wedding at 1am you'd think maybe I'd get a lie in on Sunday morning but oh no! Instead I was over the other side of Birmingham to photograph an event for Aston Martin with probably my favourite cars on the planet. The same model currently driven by a certain Mr James Bond was just one of the cars I got to admire through the lens of my camera. Probably the closest I'll ever get to one too! The lovely Daniela from Aston Martin looked after us and it wasn't a bad way to spend a Sunday morning after all.

From there I went to meet Lyndsey and Simon whose wedding we're covering next month. We did their pre-wed shoot over near Brindley Place in Birmingham which was great fun despite the lack of really great locations. They're a very laid back, lovely couple and I'm looking forward to the big day in a few weeks time.

When I got home Elliott was wide awake and practicing his newly acquired kissing technique. He's also started pushing himself up on his arms. I had my camera out anyway so...

It's always nice when we meet a couple who are looking for a wedding photographer and there's an instant rapport. It was like that with Alex and Richard on Monday evening and I really hope they book us for their wedding next June. We got on so well I was with them for almost 2 hours chatting about everything from weddings to Peter Kay to Steven Gerrard (the footballer)'s wedding photos. Richard will even be at the Velvet Revolver gig I'm shooting in a couple of weeks.

Evelyne has been busy this week too. She's been redesigning our company branding, using new colours and trying to improve the look of our stationery. I have to admit she's done a great job and the new look will help re-launch the business when we finally move into the new studio.

Album of the week for me is the new one from Kathleen Edwards, Asking For Flowers. I've been listening to it repeatedly. I've yet to see her play live so I'm keeping my ear to the ground for UK dates.

Out In The Cold

2008-03-05T09:39:00.011Z

I'm writing this blog from a freezing cold Barfly in Birmingham where I've been asked to DJ on Tuesday nights. It's a 90s night and gets full of students every week, most of whom come for the cheesy rubbish in the main room. Supposedly the most intelligent people of their generation who see nothing wrong with dancing to Backstreet Boys and Spice Girls. Luckily in the back room I get to reminisce to when I first started DJing alternative clubs and can play anything from Blur to Pearl Jam and Rage Against The Machine to PJ Harvey. Only trouble is it's SO cold in here. I'm not used to having to wrap up in hat and jacket to DJ!

I came here tonight straight from the Korn gig in Wolverhampton. I was there to photograph the gig but a mix-up with the guest list left me without a photo pass and therefore unable to shoot anything. It happens occasionally and it's very very frustrating. And there's nothing really I can do about it by the time I'm at the gig. I met up with Helen who was there to review the gig for Birmingham Live! Looks like it'll be the first gig on the site without any photos to accompany it!

There's been plenty of gigs in the past couple of weeks. Quite a variety too, from Sam Amidon playing a tiny bar in Coventry to Editors headlining their biggest show ever; Mayhem delivering a dramatic death metal set complete with pigs heads on stage to Megadeth going through the motions before a sea of hardcore fans. And I enjoyed every one. The new issues of Rock Sound and Terrorizer hit the streets with my photos of Prong and Bullet For My Valentine inside. Rock Sound even featured my review of the gig, although they did make a few changes this time. That's fine though. I don't pretend to be a reviewer.

At the other end of the photographic spectrum, last Monday I got to spend a few hours in the company of my favourite wedding photographer, Mr Jeff Ascough. Over 3 seminars we got to see a bit more of Jeff's approach to photography as well as how he uses Photoshop in his workflow and how he deals with celebrity clients. He's a big Radiohead fan and recently shot guitarist Ed O'Brien's wedding. As a music photographer, and Radiohead fan, that's the stuff of dreams. One day perhaps..

Jeff Ascough has just taken his first £15,000 booking for a wedding and we're also thinking about increasing our prices. Not
that much though! Not yet! 2007 is getting booked up fast and we've confirmed a few weddings for 2009 now. When we move into the studio (soon!) we can hopefully justify slightly higher fees as well as having a great space to welcome clients. I'm looking forward to it.

We have just shown Claire & Dave the photos from their wedding and, happily, they were made up with the results. Here are a few from their day...

Our next wedding is Charlotte & Steve's this weekend and I have a feeling it' going to be a really fun day.

Saturday morning I was awoken by messages from people saying they'd just seen me on TV. It was the programme following Envy & Other Sins after they won the Mobile Act Unsigned competition. The photo shoot we did featured in the programme with a quick interview with yours truly which wasn't too embarrassing. They even called me "top music photographer Steve Gerrard". If only that were true...

I have started getting a few enquiries recently from models looking for new portfolio images. It's not something I've done
much of yet but for those that are happy to go with my way of working it can be great fun and hopefully we come back with a
bunch of pictures which are different from the norm. Yesterday I spent a couple of hours with the stunning Anna-Maria. Here's a few photos from the shoot...

I want to wish all my friends who are headed for SxSW this week a safe and eventful trip. I'm sure they'll be bringing plenty of
stories back from Texas next week.

Lastly, there are some fantastic new albums around at the moment so I just want to recommend everyone check out the new releases from the Gutter Twins, Kathleen Edwards, Cat Power, Feist, Elbow, The Kills and, for those who like things a little more extreme, The Red Death and The Cavalera Conspiracy.

Exile on Sesame Street

2008-02-22T10:46:00.002Z

Here's a YouTube video that just HAS to be shared with the world..

Speaking of extreme music, my wednesday evening was spent in the company of the immense Dillinger Escape Plan down at birmingham's Academy 2. You can see my review on BIRMINGHAM LIVE! but I can honestly say it was one of the best gigs I've ever witnessed. And after seeing several hundred gigs over the years, that's quite a statement. Here's a few photos from the night...

Last night Evelyne and I enjoyed a rare night off and plonked ourselves down on the couch with a glass of wine and some Mistresses. Not quite as sordid as it sounds but it was a treat to have some down-time after being out every night.

Jimmy Eat World

2008-02-20T14:16:00.005Z

It's great being out every night photographing bands but I do miss having a night in front of the telly occasionally. This week I only have Thursday night free and Terrorizer wanted me to go down to London to shoot Mayhem despite the fact they're playing Birmingham next week! I declined and will be photographing them in Birmingham instead! :)

Last night I went to the Academy where Jimmy Eat World were playing a sold out show before 3000 people. Surprisingly I was the only photographer there. Also surprisingly I enjoyed the gig far more than I expected to after listening to their new album. I've reviewed it for Birmingham Live! HERE

I've done a few pre-wed shoots recently and it's good fun getting pictures of couples as they normally are before photographing them all dressed up on their wedding day. Many couples have never had a professional photograph taken and it's a great way to show them that it's not the awkward, scary thing they may have imagined. All couples enjoy the shoot and we get some great images from it. Here are a few of my recent favourites..

Also this week I made the effort to meet up with a group of fellow bloggers from the Midlands. I know how nerdy that sounds and that's exactly why I nearly never went. I'm happy to report however that it wasn't nerdy or geeky at all and I got to meet some genuinely nice and interesting people who are all out there making things happen rather than hiding in their bedrooms behind their monitors. A few people were genuinely interested in the Birmingham Live! idea which was great and others had their own forward-thinking projects in the pipeline. Watch this... and their... space!

Rock Photographers

2008-02-18T09:29:00.005Z

I know a lot of people read this blog for the band photos so i thought you might like to know about Rock-Photographers.com where you can find interviews with some of the most successful music photographers out there as well as links to dozens of other rock photographers sites.

<<<<< - By the way, for those that want to, you can now subscribe to this blog in the box to the left.

Shooting The Chiefs

2008-02-17T10:40:00.004Z

Friday night Evelyne and I managed to blag our way into an invite-only gig at the Barfly where Kaiser Chiefs were playing to around 500 people. It's always good to see huge bands play in intimate venues and, although I'm not a big fan, the Kaisers put on a great performance, with Ricky Wilson obviously loving playing to such a small crowd. I've reviewed the gig for BIRMINGHAM LIVE! and here's some of my fave photos from the gig..

On Saturday it was off to Somerford Hall near Stafford to shoot the wedding of Susan & Neil, a lovely couple who had a very relaxed, fun day with a great group of friends and family. My good friend Lisa Gault helped me out on photographic duties as Evelyne was looking after Elliott, and between us we got a fantastic selection of images for the couple. I had so many nice comments from people about how we worked at the wedding too which is always good. No weddings now til March 8th but plenty of gigs to shoot, including Jimmy Eat World, Megadeth and one of my favourite bands, the Dillinger Escape Plan all coming up this week.

Irena

2008-02-14T11:53:00.002Z

Lithuanian pop singer, Irena, contacted me about having some photos done and, although she originally wanted to do them all inside, it was such a lovely day I convinced her to have some outdoors as well and we got her a great variety of images all in the space of about an hour.

Icons and Anniversaries

2008-02-13T11:08:00.007Z

My "to-do" list has been steadily getting more and more out of control of late. It's a good thing really. Work is busier than ever and we're getting regular bookings for the year ahead, with wedding bookings confirmed up to August next year already.

On the music photography side I have a few projects on the go as well as regular gigs for mags like Rock Sound and Terrorizer. Shooting Despised Icon in Nottingham last week was a particular highlight for me. A fantastic small venue and a rowdy crowd for some extreme metal shenanigans. Despised Icon were amazing live - one of those bands that you have to witness on stage to truly appreciate. They're from Montreal like Evelyne and we had a quick chat about the scene over there. Who knows.. I may even end up moving there some day.. Here's a few pics from the gig:

Another gig last week was Bullet For My Valentine in Wolverhampton which I was reviewing and shooting for Rock Sound. Not my favourite band by any means but they had 2 good supports in the form of Skindred and Still Remains. My friend Lee Allen and I were the only photographers there and had plenty of opportunity for good shots.

I've spent some time this week setting up a new blog especially for reviewing local gigs. I've named it BIRMINGHAM LIVE! and added a few recent gigs just to flesh it out for now but I'm trying to encourage photographers and writers in the Midlands to get involved. A lot of people ask me how they can get into shooting gigs and it can be tricky getting photo passes for gigs unless you can show that the pictures will be out there for people to see. Hopefully this site will help people get their work seen, help them get passes for gigs, support local music and let people see images and reviews from gigs they may have been to. You can see the work-in-progress site at www.brumlive.com. There's also a FACEBOOK GROUP

Being so busy with everything means I need to make a proper effort to schedule in some days off. Sunday was Evelyne and my first wedding anniversary (from the first registry office wedding for those that are keeping up!) so the computer was switched off and we headed out to Wales on what was a gorgeous sunny day with my newly dark-haired wife, our boy Elliott, our 2 dogs and, of course, my camera. We stopped off for a picnic by the canal and made it to Aberystwyth beach just in time for sunset...

Steve on 4

2008-01-29T10:07:00.001Z

This week I was asked to photograph the winning band from Channel 4's Mobile Act Unsigned show. Envy & Other Sins won a million pound record contract and needed some images to use for promotional purposes. We spent a few hours with the band and tried to get a really good variety of shots for them. The whole thing was filmed for an upcoming programme on Channel 4 which looks at what's happening with the band since winning the show. Here are a few of my faves from the day...

A Wet Weekend

2008-01-23T11:16:00.001Z

Billy Connolly once said "There's no such thing as bad weather, there's just the wrong clothing". That may be somewhat true but unfortunately, when it comes to photo shoots, the people in front of my camera don't necessarily want to be wearing overcoats and wellies. Especially when you're the bride!

This weekend was very wet and that meant certain challenges as I undertook a fashion shoot in the woods, two band shoots and a wedding but in the end we just got out there and had fun, trying to avoid the worst of the weather whenever we could. Here are some of the results...

Claire & Dave's wedding in Warwick was great fun with a fantastic bunch of people. The bad weather wasn't allowed to dampen people's spirits one bit and we got some great pictures for them. They're in Canada for their honeymoon now and we'll show them a slideshow of their day when they return. After that I'll be able to post my favourites here.

Movin' on up..

2008-01-18T17:47:00.001Z

The new issue of Live 24-Seven magazine came out and, apart from featuring some of my photography, also features a 2 page spread on our wedding! It's quite amusing but also a really nice momento of an amazing day...

Back behind the camera things have been busy again after New Year and my first job for Terrorizer Magazine saw me down in London to meet with industrial metal band, Prong. A great band who I last saw live at the beginning of the 90s and I'm glad to say they're still a fantastic live act.

The shoot was at Camden's Underworld venue where I met with vocalist, Tommy for a quick portrait before sticking around to shoot the main gig.

While I was in London I popped over to the Rock Sound offices to meet everyone there and came out with a handful of great albums for my trouble, including Biffy Clyro, Bloc Party and Converge. It's good to put a face to the people who I'm working for.

The big news for us this week though is that, since viewing the space in the Birmingham Jewelery Quarter for a potential studio for Steve Gerrard Photography, our friend Claire Evans contacted us to say she's leaving her studio in the Custard Factory in Birmingham and would we like to take it over when she leaves? The Custard Factory is a great little area (originally the home of Bird's Custard) with a very creative and funky vibe to it. Claire's studio is already decorated nicely and pretty much ready for us to move straight in. We've met with the people concerned with the space and it's all looking good for us to launch our first studio space just before Easter.

It's an exciting time and Evelyne and I are already throwing lots of ideas around. It'll be so much better to invite clients to the studio rather than meeting them at home or the local pub. And it'll mean we can separate work and home a lot more which can only lead to a better quality of life for the family. Hopefully things will go smoothly and we'll be in there by mid-March. Then we need to have a little launch party!

Life in the Underworld

2008-01-08T20:32:00.001Z

I always know I'm earning my money when I get home and my arms and legs ache!

This weekend was one such time with a wedding on the Saturday followed by a pre-wed shoot and a band shoot on Sunday around the Mailbox in Birmingham. I say "band"... Insectoid are more of an experimental electronic art project where the members dress in insect heads, gas masks and boiler suits. It certainly made for some great photos and we did attract some attention as we walked the streets in search of locations. But perhaps more surprisingly, quite often people seemed somewhat unfazed by these freakish people in front of them!

The wedding on Saturday was hard work but a lot of fun too. The ceremony was quite late in the day so the light was fading fast and the couple didn't really want to do many posed portraits at all. I managed to coax them outside for about 3 minutes but then they were off back to the party. It was a shame as the bride was gorgeous but obviously not comfortable having her photo taken. Most of the images from the day were much more documentary style pictures and I got plenty of great shots so I'm sure they'll be more than happy.

This week also saw me looking at a vacant shop space in the Jewelery Quarter. We're considering it as a potential space for a studio where we can display our work, meet clients and generally make things more professional and well-presented. It's a fantastic space and we could use it so well but it is a little pricey for us at the moment. So the big question is.. do we take the leap and do our best to make it work or do we play it safe and continue working from our office at home? We're still very much undecided and it's a conversation Evelyne and I need to have when she returns from Montreal on Thursday. Only 2 days now. I've missed her and Elliott loads and cant wait to see them both!

Tomorrow I'm in London all day doing my first shoot for Terrorizer magazine. I'm meeting the band Prong in Camden tomorrow afternoon for a quick photo shoot and then I'll be shooting their gig at the Underworld tomorrow night. I'm gonna take the time to visit my friends at Rock Sound while I'm in the big smoke too. It's a while since I was in London actually so I'm going to make a day of it.

We updated the Steve Gerrard Photography site this weekend too and I've added a new Photoblog so that clients (and potential clients) can see what I've been up to lately. I think it's important to keep updating the site and making sure it's fresh and relevant..

Looking back and forth...

2008-01-02T13:09:00.002Z

A new year and a new look to my blog. Hope you like it.

2007 has been an amazing year here with me getting married to Evelyne (twice!) and the arrival of our boy Elliott on July 17th. He and Evelyne are currently having fun in the Montreal snow.

New Years Eve for me was pretty relaxed compared to most years. I spent it in the Jug Of Ale pub with lots of friends and that's not a bad way to start 2008.

2007 saw the business really start to gather momentum. I'm now working for more music mags than ever and the other side of the business has seen us photograph 13 weddings in 2007 and we already have almost 30 weddings confirmed for 2008. I never thought wedding photography would be something I’d enjoy but I’m loving every minute of it and get excited about each wedding I photograph. The next is this Saturday.

So, as 2008 begins, I’m feeling optimistic and excited about what’s coming up. I’m not great with resolutions but I really do need to stop being late all the time and I need to get myself a bit more organised too!

At the end of each year I try to choose my favourite albums from the last 12 months. There are more heavy bands in this year's list. I'm not sure what that says about my current state of mind but it's balanced out with a few Kates - Tunstall, Walsh and Nash! You'll find the list below but in the mean time I just want to say Happy New Year to everyone and I hope it's 366 days of fun, happiness and prosperity for you all.

All the best
Steve

Steve’s Albums Of 2007

Nine Inch Nails – Year Zero
Architect – All Is Not Lost
Machine Head – The Blackening
Hacride - Amoeba
The Dillinger Escape Plan – Ire Works
Eddie Vedder – Into The Wild
Interpol – Our Love To Admire
Idlewild – Make Another World
Glen Hansard & Markéta Irglová– Once Soundtrack
The Red Chord – Prey For Eyes
Editors – An End Has A Start
Job For A Cowboy – Genesis
Soulsavers – It’s Not How Far You Fall, It’s The Way You Land
Biffy Clyro – Puzzle
Since The Flood – No Compromise
KT Tunstall – Drastic Fantastic
Kate Walsh – Tim’s House
Ministry – The Last Sucker
Powderfinger – Dream Days At The Hotel Existence
Kate Nash – Made Of Bricks
The Ghost Of A Thousand – This Is Where The Fight Begins
Puscifer – V Is For Vagina
Radiohead – In Rainbows
Architects - Ruin
The Shins – Wincing The Night Away
Cold War Kids – Robbers and Cowards

Christmas Wrap-Up

2007-12-30T21:15:00.002Z

"I'm dreaming of a white Christmas, just like the ones we used to know.."
Bing Crosby may not have been the first to recognise the effects of global warming but I bet he was the first to sing a song about it!

Well, it may not have been a white Christmas here in jolly old England but Evelyne and Elliott are now in Montreal and, as you can see, it's pretty damn white there now..

They flew over to Canada on Boxing Day to visit her family and friends. It was Elliott's first plane trip and it went well from what I'm told. It has to be said that our travel genes seem to have been passed on to Elliott cos he looks very at home on a plane...

It's been strange having the house to myself (I had to stay in England to shoot 3 weddings in 8 days) and I've been suffering from a little man flu since Christmas Day too, but I'm trying to keep myself occupied with work, magazines and Sky+. Before they left we had a great Christmas. Sunday saw lots of friends come over to the house for a little house party. Plenty of good food and drink was had by all and some people even took the trouble to bring a present for Elliott which was really nice. He loved all his presents too, even if he probably wasn't sure quite what he was playing with most of the time! For some reason, everybody left the party really early (maybe our entertaining skills aren't as good as we thought!) but it gave us the evening and all day Christmas Eve to chill out and enjoy our first proper family Christmas.

Unfortunately, late on Christmas Eve Elliott got quite a nasty fever and by Christmas morning we were considering having to take him to hospital but thankfully he started to improve again in time for his big trip. My parents and my brother changed their plans and came to visit us in Birmingham because he wasn't well and, in the end, we had a fantastic Christmas Day.

The weddings this weekend were challenging again due to the fading light and some rain but I had a great time at both events and came home with plenty of great images for both couples. At the Saturday wedding I took some inspiration from my Yervant and Jerry Ghionis DVDs and used my video light for several of the portraits. I have to say I'm over the moon with the results and I think I may well be a video light convert. It's so much more flattering than flash. As Evelyne was away, my good friend Bianca assisted me on both weddings and she was a star, even stepping in to help the brides with their hair as she's an ex-hairdresser. She's also a great photographer and it's good to get coverage of the day from slightly different angles.

At the Saturday wedding one of the guests told me I'd inspired him to get back into photography again. I'm not quite sure how I inspired him but I'm more than pleased to have had an effect.

After being unwell and then having two weddings in two days, both of which saw me getting home after midnight, I'm still feeling less than 100% so I'm doubting a hardcore New Years Eve party is on the cards. It's my first NYE off in over a decade though so I'm looking forward to just going with the flow and seeing where things take me. First though, I have to go over to see Alex & Steven to show them their wedding photos. Here are a few from their day...

I hope everybody had a great Christmas and I want to wish everyone a happy, fun, adventurous and prosperous New Year.
Cheers
Steve

ps. I almost forgot to mention... Envy & Other Sins won T4's Mobile Act Unsigned competition! Congrats to Mark and all the boys.

March of the Pigs

2007-12-18T13:06:00.001Z

It's amazing how much stuff is out there on YouTube now. I met Trent Reznor from Nine Inch Nails recently and he told me that he now has no need for channels like MTV as he can put almost anything he likes on YouTube. Yesterday I found one of my favourite scenes from one of the best TV shows of recent years, The West Wing. I think everybody should memorize this speech for the next time anybody brings up the subject of the Bible...

Reuters have announced their pictures of the year for 2007 and there's some incredible images in there. Check it out HERE

The family shoot at the weekend went well and I convinced the kids to get out in the fresh air to get some photos at nearby Moor Hall. They enjoyed it too and despite the fading light we came away with some great pictures..

On Sunday we took some time out with our friends Emily and Stef who brought their little girl Imogen over to visit a local farm which was holding a Christmas Fayre. There were animals for the kids to see as well as carol singers, stalls and that bloke in the red suit again. It was cold but nice & christmassy and Elliott got to meet his first piglet..

After shopping for our Christmas Party (and spending far too much!) I was out last night to see one of the best gigs of the year featuring Job For A Cowboy, The Black Dahlia Murder and The Red Chord. All 3 bands were amazing and I got some great pictures. You can see my review of the gig HERE.
Here's some photos from the gig..

The Black Dahlia Murder

The Red Chord

Job For A Cowboy

Mobile Act Unsigned

2007-12-17T13:17:00.001Z

My friend's band ENVY & OTHER SINS have been on a rollercoaster ride with Channel 4's "Mobile Act Unsigned" programme but have now made it to the final where they stand the chance of winning a million pound recording contract.

Please check them out and lend your support by voting for them to win the competition. Unless you prefer their competitors, Revenue, of course!

Click Here to vote for them to win!

You can vote every day if you really want to. Votes close Thursday night.

Santa Baby!

2007-12-15T08:18:00.001Z

Due to the footballer Steven Gerrard having his house burgled (and subsequently being all over the news), hits to this blog have taken an upturn as people Google his name and somehow end up here. So, for those people, hello and sorry to disappoint you all! :)

Back in the world of the other Steve Gerrard things have been kinda relaxed and non-work related allowing time for a little distraction on Facebook . For those not familiar with Facebook, it's a social networking site allowing you to interact and keep up with friends as well as personalizing your profile page with applications, personal info, photos and more. There are plenty of useless and somewhat annoying applications on there (but these can be removed or ignored) and many are extremely useful too, so yesterday I took time to add a few more applications of my own as well as deleting around a hundred so-called "friends". These were people that had asked to be my "friend", often due to my DJ career, when in actual fact I hardly knew them and in some cases had no idea who they were. So I decided a cyber-cull was required so that my "friends" really are friends.

As well as Facebook, there are various other networking sites that I'm a part of. These include Last FM, Linked In and of course MySpace. Each is different and useful in its own way but these days it seems that Facebook has become by far the most popular. I have to be careful not to spend too much time on these sites. They are demons for time sappage and I like to be more productive with my time these days.

Friday saw Elliott's first meeting with Santa and, unlike some other kids in attendance, he remained cool and collected and somewhat unimpressed by the man in the red suit. The party was a fancy dress event for kids held at the local primary school. Elliott dug out his smurf costume (Evelyne wore her Smurfette costume too) and we guaranteed some photos to embarrass him with when he's older..

Last night the three of us met up with Kerry & Dave from Fused Mag for a great Thai meal at the Bartons Arms in Birmingham. It's a great old pub which has played host to Charlie Chaplin, Laurel & Hardy as well as Ozzy Osbourne. Not at the same time of course!

Today I'm off to shoot a family who won a competition for a free family portrait session and a framed print. It's pretty cold out so it'll be interesting to see if I can coax them outdoors for the photos. Then tonight I'm DJing for the first time in a while at Island Bar in Birmingham.

Looking for the light

2007-12-13T10:35:00.001Z

It's been an ambition of mine since I started taking photos of bands to have an image in Kerrang! Magazine. Last week saw that ambition finally realized with a full page picture of Architects. I'm pretty chuffed but I still aim to work with them on a regular basis if I can. They do have some fantastic photographers working for them already (Paul Harries, James Sharrock, Chris Casey, etc) but I like having a goal to work towards.

December saw Alex and Steven's wedding and I have to admit it was hard work dealing with the low light levels. Winter weddings are great but when the ceremony happens at 4pm it does mean that natural light is going to be hard to come by. Many photographers refuse to do weddings after October which is a bit drastic but it does mean thinking differently and often having to resort to additional lighting to guarantee the shot. I'm sure Jeff Ascough would argue with me on that one though!
I've got two weddings at the end of December and two more in January so I'd better get used to fighting to find the light for now. I do enjoy the challenge though and winter weddings do have a certain romance about them that you don't find in the summer.

Leila's parents loved the photos I took and are ordering some large canvases etc for the walls. This was their favourite image..

It's been a busy time with bands recently too, with some great gigs happening in Birmingham this month. One of my favourite bands, Powderfinger, played at the Academy, plus 3 of our friends have started a band called The Dark Hearts and they played their first ever gig to a bunch of invited friends on the same night. The drummer was the best man at our wedding.

Here are some photos...

Powderfinger

The Dark Hearts

Divine Heresy

Hacride

Holy Ghost Revival

I've started to review more gigs, including Holy ghost Revival, Divine Heresy and Machine Head, for the Fused Magazine website. You can check them out HERE. I also got myself added to the books at Terrorizer Magazine which is great news. I haven't done anything for them yet but, as they cover the more extreme side of rock music, I'm sure it'll be fun working with them.

Thanks to my friend, and fellow photographer, Claire Evans, we have discovered a great place to purchase bespoke hand-made greetings cards so I have finally ordered our Christmas cards. I took the image below especially for the cards and look forward to them arriving next week. Late as always, I know!

Evelyne and Elliott are off to Montreal on Boxing day for 2 weeks but at least I get to spend Christmas Day with them both. I'm looking forward to Christmas too. We have our (real) tree up in the living room and are having a Christmas party on the 23rd for our friends and family. The beauty of Facebook has made inviting everyone so easy.

Here's a quick photo of Elliott we took this month. It's already framed and on his bedroom wall.

The Jeckyl & Hyde of Photography

2007-11-29T10:09:00.001Z

Professional Photographer recently called me the "Jekyll & Hyde of photography" due to the variety of work I do; one day photographing cute kids, weddings or corporate events, the next day shooting dirty tattooed rockstars. It's a tag I'm more than happy to have as I love the mixture of jobs that I find myself undertaking. And this week has seen me living up to that name-tag as much as ever. In the past week I've done a job for Jaguar cars, a lifestyle shoot with 6-month old Layla, a makeover for Live 24-Seven mag and an array of great bands. Here are a few of my favourites..

Aiden @ Birmingham Academy

Bring Me The Horizon @ Birmingham Academy

Gallows @ Birmingham Academy

Layla

Machine Head @ Birmingham NEC

Rise Against @ Birmingham Academy

Trivium @ Birmingham NEC

Makeover - Before and After

The Used @ Birmingham Academy

Arch Enemy @ Birmingham NEC

Jaguar Cars

The Hives @ Birmingham Academy

It has to be said that I feel like a lot of gigs I've shot recently have had terrible lighting for photography - lots of backlight and dark faces. The Hives changed all that though! All the gigs were great in their own way with Machine Head being a highlight for me.

This week saw Elliott getting his first taste of solid food. I think the picture says it all!

Evelyne and I also found time to sort through all our wedding photos and select our faves to put online for our friends & family. We're really pleased with the pictures and are going to be able to create a great album when we have a bit more spare cash. Here's another image from the day..

Sadly, one of the guests at our wedding, my Auntie Linda, passed away this weekend. It was a complete shock as she hadn't been ill and, at the wedding, seemed very much her usual self. We'll all miss her and I feel particularly sad for my Dad, my nan and Linda's husband, Maurice and their 3 kids.

Check out the work of fellow Rock Sound photographer, Steve Brown. His work involves massive amounts of Photoshop artistry but the end results are stunning. I'd love to have a go at learning similar techniques some time.

Mid-Week Chaos

2007-11-21T10:08:00.001Z

A Swedish company contacted me about photographing somebody they have interviewed for a magazine out there. He's a young, successful businessman and yesterday I met him in Coventry for a very brief portrait shoot. It was all very easy really and a couple of hours later they had the images in Sweden and had emailed back saying "they are just what we're looking for". Job done!

Had a chilled evening last night watching "The Secret Millionaire", which always leaves me inspired and strangely emotional (I know, I'm a wuss), and drinking red wine. Not many nights in this week so we made the most of it.

Today promises to be a much more hectic day as I'm covering a full makeover for Live 24-Seven magazine. It includes a shopping spree, make-up, nails, hair and teeth whitening. Not a very rock & roll job but these things help pay the bills. And I more than make up for the rock & roll element this evening as I'm shooting the Taste Of Chaos gig at the Academy featuring Gallows, Aiden, Rise Against and The Used. I've been waiting ages to catch Gallows live so it'll be interesting to see how they measure up after all the hype.

Here's a photo I took of my cousin's little girl..

Heaven, Hell, Fire and Ice..

2007-11-19T08:42:00.000Z

So we've had our first snowfall and it's only November! Being from Canada, Evelyne loves the snow so she's been smiling ever since the first flake fell last night. Personally, I think it's nice for about an hour and then I'm happy when it's gone again. Unless I'm planning on staying indoors that is.

It's been a good few days with 2 more gigs including Heaven and Hell (aka Black Sabbath) who were supported by the appalling Iced Earth and the mighty Lamb Of God. Both supports were loud as hell but the light was terrible for photos. Managed to get a few good ones of Lamb Of God though..

It was an honour to be shooting Heaven and Hell. I've been a Black Sabbath fan since I was about 12 years old and they put on an impressive show in their home town. The gig was nowhere near sold out which was a shame. Here's some photos..

On Friday I was back at the Academy to shoot Alexisonfire, Saosin and The Ghost Of A Thousand. Both supports played in white light, which was weird, and then Alexisonfire played in virtual darkness save for a little back lighting, meaning great shots were hard to come by. The bands were good except Saosin who really were shockingly bad with their whiney emo mush.

Alexisonfire

Saosin

The Ghost Of A Thousand

After the gig a bunch of us went to the opening of our mates' new club night, Off The Hook meets Cold Rice, where our friends Copter played another wicked set. The club itself wasn't too busy, which was a shame as it's a great little venue. It didn't help that it was very cold in there but a good night was had by all and it was good meeting up with a few familiar faces, including my ex-girlfriend who spoke to me for the first time since we broke up over 5 years ago!

Set up a new page advertising my services to local bands. I do promo shoots at a reduced rate and have already had new enquiries since setting up the new page. Click Here for more..

Architects' manager called asking to use my picture of the band for a Kerrang! magazine poster. It's been an ambiton of mine to get published in Kerrang! (I've bought the mag since Issue 1!) so having a poster is pretty damn cool. Here's the picture..

On a sadder note, showed Lou & Brad the images from their wedding from last month. It was an emotional viewing as Lou's mother passed away last week, so the photos of her from the wedding predictably caused a few tears. I got some lovely photos of the bride and her mom together and it's nice to know how much they'll mean to her.

Here's an image from Rosie & Matt's pre-wed shoot. They get married December 29th..

Shooting with The Enemy

2007-11-12T23:33:00.001Z

Spent a big part of the weekend working through Scott Kelby's great new book The 7-Point System for Adobe Photoshop CS3. It's such a great idea for a book and I've learned more from it than any other Photoshop book so far. And I haven't even read half of it yet! As well as working on the images that come as part of the lessons in the book, I've tried some of the techniques on my own images and got some great results. His ideas for addng some punch to the colours in images work brilliantly.

After reading part of the book I went through my shots of The Arcadian Kicks from a recent shoot. Here's a couple of my favourites..

I also finished another of my images from Brett Harkness' Winter weddings seminar..

With a few new techniques from Mr Kelby, together with my lovely new Mac Pro, I'm enjoying working in Photoshop more than ever and Evelyne has to drag me away from the computer when she needs me! It's about time we had a full day off actually so i'm thinking of fun things we can be doing with Elliott that won't be affected by this cold weather. He has a bit of a cold at the moment so we need to stay in the warm really. Plus, I'm a wuss when it comes to the cold! :)

Last night I did brave the cold to head back over to the Birmingham NEC to shoot Stereophonics and The Enemy, both of which were pretty good. It's weird seeing The Enemy on such a big stage considering it's less than a year since I shot them in a working men's club in Coventry for the NME. They had a few mates there but otherwise it was just blokes drinking on a Sunday afternoon. They sat through the band's set politely, but seemed pleased when it was all over. Since then The Enemy have had a number 1 album and have sold over 6000 tickets for a gig next april in Coventry's Ricoh Arena. Fair play boys!

Here's a picture of Kelly from Stereophonics last night..

You can see my review of the gig HERE

Been listening to the new Dilinger Escape Plan album "Ire Works" and it's immense. I've never paid much attention to them before but I'm a convert.

I'm also listening to a lot of Lamb Of God before photographing them tomorrow opening for Heaven & Hell aka Black Sabbath with Ronnie James Dio. It's a weird choice for support so I'll be interested to see how they go down with that audience.

Here's a photo of Evelyne and Elliott when they dressed up as smurfs for Hallowen a couple of weeks back. Super cute!

Return Of The Mac

2007-11-09T09:04:00.000Z

So, after months of badgering from Mr Tony Hackett, together with constant reminders from my PC that it couldn't keep up with my workflow, I finally bit the bullet and invested 3 grand in a Mac Pro with 23" monitor. And I have to say it's fanbloodytastic! Since installing it a week ago I have not once sat for more than a second or two waiting for something to happen. Images in Lightroom open instantly (as opposed to something like 20 seconds on the PC) and using 2 screens is great too. Having had an Apple laptop for a few years now, the transition has been a particularly smooth one and I can't see me moving back to PC ever.

Having such a fast workflow now (7GB of RAM helps!) means I've managed to catch up on lots of work and even went back to my photos from the V Festival and found I had some great images that I almost forgot about. Here's just a few..

Damien Rice

Iggy Pop

Lily Allen

Rilo Kiley

Stumbled across a website featuring some of Jerry Ghionis' work from a Paris wedding. These photos just prove yet again what an artist that man is and I can't wait to spend 5 days in his company in London next June.

If we were rich I'm sure we would have flown Jerry over for our own wedding.

Speaking of Cornish weddings, all the pictures from Nicky & John's wedding in Newquay are ready to go and I'm really pleased with the results. I was only the second shooter on this wedding, assisting Karen Newall who was heavily pregnant. She just had a baby boy so congrats to her. Here's my fave image from that wedding..

As the nights draw in it becomes trickier and trickier capturing weddings in great light so on Monday, Evelyne and I spent the day with Brett and Kristie Harkness who dispensed some great advice on how to deal with winter weddings. In the afternoon we visited the Lowry in Manchester and got to photograph some brides and grooms using flash, video light and any other light we could find. Here are my fave pictures that I got on the day...

It was interesting to visit Brett & Kristie's studio up in Milnrow too. It's a converted barn at the end of a quiet street and they've done it up brilliantly with tons of great images around the walls. It's reinforced mine and Evelyne's desire to have something similar for ourselves and we're starting to look for potential places in Birmingham. We're not in any rush so we'll wait til we find somewhere perfect that we can really make it our own.

Tony and I popped over to the NEC Tuesday to catch the Foo Fighters gig. I was meant to shoot it but was let down by the record company rep at the last minute. It's partly my own fault as I did leave it til this week to apply for the pass. Must be better organised in future. Anyway, the gig was enjoyable enough but for me there's something missing from Foo Fighters' music that would make them truly special. Dave Grohl's a great frontman but their songs are just a little on the predictable side for me. It would have been good to photograph the gig but a friend of mine is trying to arrange for me to shoot their Nottingham gig next week so we'll see.

Wednesday was the Ben Sherman party in Birmingham and Fused Mag asked me to cover the event for them. Free drinks always guarantees people turn up to these things and ex-Specials frontman Terry Hall played a DJ set too. He looked thoroughly bored by the whole event. Here's some pics..

Evelyne and Elliott are off to Montreal on Boxing Day for 2 weeks. So we had to get a passport for a 3 month old. It's tough getting a suitable photo that will satisfy the authorities these days but Elliott was a star and posed for the camera beautifully.

While we were there we got one of the whole family for my wallet..

The Early Bird..

2007-10-24T07:02:00.002+01:00

Woke up at 4:15am to feed Elliott and, unable to get back to sleep, decided to make a big mug of tea and get on with some work. I actually feel strangely productive at the most unsociable hours. I still have a bit of a backlog of images to work through but I'm also excited to start editing the photos from Louise & Brad's wedding this past weekend. It was a fairly religious wedding, with the church service being the main part of their day. Luckily Evelyne and I had plenty of access within the church during the ceremony and we came home with a fantastic variety of shots from all angles in the church. There was a balcony which ran down both sides of the church allowing us to shoot from above. Amazingly, the vicar told me that no photographer had ever asked if they could photograph from up there before!
Here's a portrait of Louise just before she left for the church...

Sunday was anything but a day of rest this week, beginning with a photo shoot with local band, The Arcadian Kicks whose gig I reviewed a few weeks ago. Together with make-up artists, clothes borrowed from Top Shop and their manager (who also drums for The Charlatans) we spent a couple of hours wandering around parks, hotels and industrial estates getting a good variety of shots for them to choose from. Hopefully they'll be pleased with the results and maybe John will let me do some pics for The Charlatans some time..

From there I had 2 viewings with potential wedding clients, both of which have now confirmed us as their wedding photographers. One wedding is at the beautiful Eastnor Castle which looks like a dream venue for photographs. The second is for Charlotte & Steve who are the kind of couple I could imagine becoming good friends with. Both were at the Metallica gig I covered for Rock Sound at Wembley so I'm sending them a print from the show as a thank you for the booking. Charlotte is also French speaking, as is her family, so it'll be good to have Evelyne there on the day (her first language is French) to help out. Charlotte runs a company called Traces Of Rock which sells kids clothes with a rock style to them. Check out the website HERE.

Sunday night saw my friend Toni and I heading over to Nottingham to see Warrior Soul at a tiny club called Junktion. It was a bit of a blast from the past for me as it must be a decade since I even listened to them. It was a good gig though and great to see them in such a tiny venue as I'd previously seen them opening for Metallica at the NEC Arena.

Since Sunday things have been somewhat more relaxed and Evelyne and I have taken time to reorganise the office, watch The Departed, which was fantastic, and go for lunch with fellow photographer, Emily Quinton, her boyfriend Stef and their little girl, Imogen.

I had to get home for 3pm to register for a place on the 5 day seminar with Jerry Ghionis, which, although not til next June, I'm extremely excited about. There were only 20 places but it looks like I got in. I'm awaiting my confirmation..

Off to Chester today to introduce Elliott to his great grandma. While we're there we have an appointment to see the events co-ordinator at Chester Zoo, as they now do weddings there. I love the idea of having wedding images with the animals in the background. I'm not really a massive fan of zoos but Chester Zoo is certainly one of the best, with a good reputation.

Some more photos from our own wedding, courtesy of Bianca..