top 5 songs for music photography with nicole osrin
how did you get into music photography? what’s your origin story (sans villain)?
My origin story! I grew up around music, so there’s always been an influence from an early age. And I had a lot of artistic influence growing up too, so the two came hand in hand. I studied photography, media, and fine art during my college (high school equivalent) years, and during my studies I started working at a little independent venue called The Boileroom in Guildford. It began as just bar work and occasionally shadowing our sound engineer at the time who was Beth Denton (she has worked with NYC favorites like Bodega, recently). Later, it progressed into live photography and experimenting more with it whilst I was studying photography. I met a lot of the bands that I still know and love from working at that venue, such as Folly Group, who were the first band to ever give me a photo pass! From then on, I just continued the hobby until it progressed into more than just a hobby.
At University I did a BA in Production Design (so set design and art direction) and that let me experiment more with design styles. Along those three years of studying, I was just freelancing in music photography, and I continue to do so. The photography work is ever evolving!
what do you shoot on? what’s usually in your bag for a show?
The go-to is my scuffed-up Canon 800D, which I've been shooting on for at least 5 years at this point along with a few lenses. Depending on the size of the venue, sometimes I’ll have a zoom lens, a wide lens, and then a normal 35mm-80mm, which is what I tend to use the most.
I’ll also have packed in my bag a little Polaroid camera (if I’m doing backstage photos), and my film camera, which was my grandad’s trusty Canon 500n. Most recently, for fun as I have found bands tend to like the novelty of a moving image, I’ll also have a small Reto 3D film camera, which i've found has been super fun to use on silly bts moments.
it can get pretty rowdy up front at shows—how do you manage that while also trying to shoot?
It can definitely get a bit chaotic, but I love it when there’s a bit of chaos! Usually, people within the crowd (if there’s no photo pit to shoot from) are courteous and will sort of shield me and let me do my thing, which is always lovely. I’m only 5’4, so I feel like they sympathize with the struggle of being vertically challenged and doing this type of work.
When I have a photo pit to shoot from it’s great, but sometimes there are a lot of photographers depending on the show. Then it’s a matter of just not stepping over each other and getting in the way.
AND SHE PLAYS BASS! do you think being a musician has affected the way you see the stage? does it play into your style as a photographer at all?
I think being a musician and having had my photo taken too I am quite mindful of what goes on in the musician’s head when taking pics. You always need to shoot with empathy and grace. You can imagine so many of these musicians do these long tour runs, getting photographed every night, and the last thing they probably want to see is themselves looking like they are worn out/tired and not looking their best. With that being said, I always make sure that I’m capturing them in a good light and at an angle that suits them best. I always tell bands I work with that if I haven't made them look cool then I have done a sh*t job. We are all so self-critical of our appearances, some more than others, and I think you have to seriously bare that in mind. Then, when it comes to portraits and all things press and BTS, just making sure your artists are comfortable with you is something I cannot stress enough. You can see photos of bands where members are clearly not enjoying themselves–it just shows so easily.
Regarding if it influences my style…maybe in a way? I love my pictures to have some movement, character, and an overall atmosphere. I want to be able to document what the music industry is really like, which is, a little bit gritty, rough around the edges at times, not all glam, etc. But it really varies on who I'm shooting because I want the vibe of the image to suit the band’s aesthetic as well. Sometimes it can be a little more clean and ‘glam’ looking, but most of the time it’s grungy with some grain and that bit of edge.
what london bands should be on everyone’s radar rn?
Gosh, there are a few popping up at the moment. This one isnt quite London based, but I have recently been working with a Manchester-based artist who goes by TTSSFU (Tasmin Stephens - vox and guitar, accompanied by her talented band who are; Reuben Haycocks - bassist, Matthew Deakin - drums, and Paddy Murphy - Guitar) recently signed to Partisan records as well. She’s bringing these huge shoegaze sounds back and it’s just really cool, big things to come from this talented bunch!Paddy and Reuben from the band are also in another band called West Side Cowboy. They recently released a single via Nice Swan Records called ‘I’ve Never Met Anyone I Thought I Could Really Love (Unitil I Met You)’ which has really taken off as well. They're definitely a band that should be on everyone's radar right now.
A London band that everyone should have on their radar, and if they’re not already then I’m not sure why?! A band called Lip Filler (members include; Jude Scholefield, George Tucker, Nathan Castillo, Theo Pasmore, and Verity Hughes). They ooze cool and are bringing back this gritty indie/rock sound with additional alternative influences. They have released a new single called ‘Tricky,’ which I had the pleasure of doing the single cover work for, and its utterly brilliant, so incredibly proud of them for releasing this one, they put a whole lot into it.
There are honestly so many bands but those would be my top three bands that stand out and should be on the radar for everyone!