The ability to wander backstage at gigs with a press pass may seem like a golden ticket for music lovers, but gig photography can be gruelling work and rarely offers stable employment.
When we asked some of Ireland’s top music snappers to share their experiences of life on the road with touring artists, what did they have in common? Determination, a love of the craft and a willingness to network, certainly, but mostly it boiled down to their way of allowing their subjects to relax in their presence. You won’t be roaming backstage if you can’t blend in. You can’t get close enough to capture an unseen side of an artist if they don’t trust you.
The word that came up frequently was empathy. It may seem impossible to relate to rock stars or global pop sensations, but photographers do that and more, often forging long-lasting friendships with their subjects.
Ruth Medjber: ‘Being a photographer is all about empathy, trust and intimacy’
Dublin-born Ruth Medjber is a veteran of the Irish music photography scene. Her portfolio includes portraits of Grace Jones, Metallica and Foo Fighters. She loves the touring life. “Day 26 of waking up at home. The nomad in me wants to move,” she posted on Instagram last week.
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Last year was the first full festival year since the pandemic, and a busy one for Medjber, who headed a team of 10 photographers as photography co-ordinator for Body & Soul. She also documented Arcade Fire on their tour of the UK and Europe, as well as covering Glastonbury Festival for the BBC, before hopping back on the road with Hozier, an artist she has collaborated with on numerous occasions.
“I started touring in ‘sprinter vans’ when I was about 16,” she says. “The bands were in their late teens as well. I didn’t get my first international tour until I was about 30 when I joined Arcade Fire on the road. I never slept in the big sleeper buses before then.”
She feels lucky for the opportunities her work has granted her, but emphasises how “you have to be flexible ... It can’t always be about money.”
“I’ve had some mind-blowing experiences as a photographer,” she continues. “Arcade Fire did three nights in Wembley [in 2018] and brought out Boy George, Chrissie Hynde and Florence Welsh. On the last Hozier run, we did some phenomenal venues: Madison Square Garden, The Hollywood Bowl, Red Rocks.
“A huge milestone in my career was being assigned the Pyramid Stage by the BBC [in 2022],” she says. “I’ve been going to Glastonbury since I was 16. Shooting that stage was my 10th time at the festival, and I still lost my mind!”
“Being a photographer of any kind is all about empathy, trust and intimacy,” she says. “I’m very grateful that the musicians I work with are willing to let me into their world and let me capture it in a sensitive and artistic way. I’m not there to expose them or with any agenda other than to make them look and feel good.
“At the end of the day, they’re my boss, but also my friend and ally. We’re living on the road together. I want them to feel comfortable in my presence. I’m never going to spoil that by publishing a photograph where they don’t look their best. If there’s an image where the subject is vulnerable, I will always consult with them. The fans also need a level of protection. I’m there to collaborate and make art. I don’t want to cause hurt or pain with my photos.”
Despite the many highs, life on the road can take its toll at times, she says. “Touring is extremely difficult, and such a challenge for your physical and mental health. It always has been, pre and post Covid. I’d love nothing more than to sit by the fire, eat stew and sleep for weeks! We are getting better at addressing the mental wellbeing element. I’m touring at a level where there’s extra padding: tour managers, artist assistants, production managers.
“Younger bands and newer artists might not have that. They’re doing it on a skeleton crew and handling the tour management themselves. In Ireland we have Minding Creative Minds who I can place a call to. Those supports weren’t there when I started in the business. It’s lovely to see.”
Hozier’s followers are relentlessly dedicated, and as his photographer, Medjber gets asked a lot of questions by fans. “I get about 100 DMs a day. Some are personal questions about Andrew but I’m never going to answer them. He trusts me to take photos of him, and he also trusts me not to go around telling people things about him. My general line is that he’s nicer than you could ever imagine.”
Glen Bollard: ‘Ninety per cent of music photographers in Ireland are doing it for free’
After starting as a roadie and stage tech with Fangclub, in 2018 Glen Bollard made the switch to photography. Since then, he’s photographed Metallica, Elton John, Bon Jovi, The Coronas, Twenty One Pilots, All Time Low, Post Malone, Noel Gallagher and every Irish festival you can name.
He spent much of last year with You Me At Six. “I’ve toured with them over the last few years after we met in Ireland. We did an arena run in the UK and then finished to a sold-out crowd at Alexandra Palace. I was the primary photographer, and shot the cover of the live album. I did a lot of Dublin shows before going to the UK again with Sprints to support Suede. I took on the role of tour manager and guitar tech as well. Anything I’ve done with Sprints has been incredible. They treat me as one of the family. I also got the chance to tour with Biffy Clyro [in 2022] in arenas. Sadly, there were still some Covid protocols in place, so I had to travel separately to the guys, but it was still pretty special.”
Much like music journalism, earning an income as a gig photographer often means supplementing photography work by wearing many hats, as the work can be very poorly paid. Bollard is touring with the Sprints full time at the moment, doing tour management as well as photography and videography work.
“Ninety per cent of music photographers in Ireland are doing it for free,” says Bollard. “Some artists don’t see the need to pay photographers because they don’t see us as necessary. People in the front row with decent phone cameras can do a lot. I’ve been on the other side where I’ve seen how much an artist gets paid for doing Whelan’s. A photographer asking for 90 per cent of what [the artist is] getting paid themselves obviously wouldn’t work, so the financial element stands for the entire business.”
Photographers from wealthy backgrounds or with other income sources are at an advantage, he says. “I worked my ass off and didn’t come from that type of background, and everything I earned I threw back into photography. I’ve shot some of the biggest artists in the world – Green Day, Paramore, My Chemical Romance – and didn’t get paid a cent. Opening more barriers for entry and encouraging people from all walks of life to get in the pit would be great. In-house staff get pit priority, but the business can still be a boys’ club.”
The balance of capturing vulnerable moments and offering privacy to their subjects is also a key concern.
“It’s all about common sense and decency,” says Bollard. “I like to have a good relationship with the artist and do a couple of shows with them before I go backstage to shoot. There are periods of time where I don’t take the camera out. I’ve seen that famous Kurt Cobain photo where he’s emotional after the gig, and I’m not sure I would have taken that image. I might have pulled back.”
Nicholas O’Donnell: ‘I’d love to work with Harry Styles. To photograph someone with that stage presence would be a dream’
London-based photographer Nicholas O’Donnell, a native of Bantry, has toured with UK pop star Tom Grennan and his portfolio features Junior Brother, Holly Humberstone, Lucy McWilliams and more.
“My first big concert was with Kodaline in Cork at Live at the Marquee back in 2018, which led to working with The Coronas,” says O’Donnell on a call before a show in Groningen in the Netherlands. “I’m currently touring with Michael Blackwell, who plays in a band with Louis Tomlinson from One Direction. He gets the trickle down of One Direction followers. I tend to have interactions with the superfans – they’d know me from past shows.”
The most memorable tour he has worked on was with English artist Tom Grennan.
“He’s now my favourite artist to photograph. He’s got such an incredible work ethic. He did a triathlon recently, he’s training for the Paris marathon and yet he’s still performing whilst making his fourth album.”
His dream subject? “I’d love to work with Harry Styles. Being a fan of the music, when you’re touring with an artist or shooting one of their shows, really helps. Harry’s stage presence is at such a high level now. To be able to photograph someone with that kind of stage presence and energy would be a dream.”
He thinks it is important to feel on an equal footing with his subjects.
“The way I look at it is like you’re touring with mates, but I’m taking pictures,” he says. “I spend a lot of time with the artist so I can capture what’s going on rather than only seeing them when they go on stage. The whole point of being on tour is to capture everything; from days off to soundcheck to performances. Those quiet moments and even times after the stage where it might not have gone too well. I’m lucky that I get to hang out with the artist and build a relationship.
“Letting a photographer into the camp as an artist can be a scary thing. If that person had negative intentions, like taking images where the artist can be seen in a bad light, it could potentially ruin a career. Artists are a lot more mindful now. It’s not an easy job, being a performer. There’s a lot of pressure on them. Artists burn out, like Lewis Capaldi. It’s incredibly tough.”
