Christie Goodwin
Meet the photographer who has rock and pop royalty in her portfolio
It took Christie Goodwin until she was in her 40s to find her true vocation: photographing musicians. Although she had already been a photographer for over 20 years, a chance commission from the manager of the rock band Status Quo took her career in a whole new path. Since then, Christie’s growing reputation in the field of music photography has led to her shooting major stars from both sides of the Atlantic. She has been photographing Ed Sheeran since he was an unknown 17-year-old playing in pubs, and regularly shoots the tours of legendary musicians.
How did you get into photography?
I’ve always been fascinated by pictures. When I was little, to keep me quiet, my parents would put me on the settee with a big photo book, and I would be ‘gone’ for hours. I just loved pictures. I would look at a picture and have this whole story in my head about that picture… What happened before that picture, and what happened after. I’ve always been fascinated with that.
My dad had a camera, which I wasn’t allowed to touch. I knew that there was a connection, that the camera made pictures, so I was obsessed with this camera. I ran off with it a couple of times and got told off. In the end he gave up, and bought me my first analogue camera for my 14th birthday. From then on, it was just me and my camera.
Did any photographers inspire you?
To me, it was the pictures. I wasn’t interested in the photographers. That only came when I studied photography, because then you have to study various photographers and their styles.
I had a keen interest in Linda McCartney when she was still Linda Eastman. She was an excellent photographer, and I loved the way she always brought a sense of humour to her pictures. She did a lot of work for Rolling Stone, and that whole period before she was with Paul McCartney, she had this funny side to her pictures and I thought that was very good. I liked Baron Wolman, who was the first Rolling
Stone chief photographer. For him it was how he had this connection that peeked behind the scenes, and this connection with his subjects, that I really admired.
Didn’t you study the fine art side of photography?
Yeah. I went totally wrong there. You’re 18 and you’re foolish, and I knew that I always wanted to do something with photography. Back then it was very much either you become a
photographer and you have a store, and you do photography that way; or you become more artistic. I didn’t want to stand in a shop, so I went the artistic way and I studied fine art photography.
A big part of what I studied was art forms, the disciplines and the meaning of things. It still helps me now, because there’s so much in the work of Leonardo Da Vinci or whoever… their basics, you still use them today.
Is that in terms of composition?
Mostly. It’s also what certain things translate to your brain. I think that’s very important, because photography is a communication tool. You want to tell a story and you want to express something, but how do you translate that into an image and for people who look at it… How does it translate to their brains?
How did you achieve your big break into music photography?
I used to be a really big music fan, and I’d go to gigs, sneak my camera in and take pictures for myself. But, for some reason, I never thought that could be a career. I started out in fashion photography, but after a couple of years, I really got bored with it because you don’t have a lot of say. You have all these people – art directors and whoever – who say what is being shot and how, so I didn’t like that too much.
So I went into editorial photography and did that for a couple of years, then got bored of that as well. Then, by accident really, I shot a friend of my partner – a couple of pictures of his band – and he sent it through to the management of Status Quo, saying, “If you want a fresh feel for your band, here’s a photographer you could use.” They called me and gave me an assignment, and I thought, “Oh my God, I can go to a gig and get paid for it! Wow!” The decision was quickly made.
After the Status Quo commission, how did things progress?
“It’s knocking on a thousand doors and maybe getting one ‘yes’ ”
It was very difficult. I basically just jumped into it with my eyes closed and poked around. It’s a tough world out there, especially in the music industry. Soon after Status Quo, I got a commission from Joe Satriani, who hired me to shoot for him and I thought, “Oh,
I’m on a roll.” Then you realise that this is the real world and now you have to start knocking on doors and presenting yourself.
It’s basically knocking on a thousand doors and maybe getting one “yes”. It’s a hard struggle to make a name for yourself.
“I see photographers looking at what they’ve shot, and they miss half of the show”
Was it record companies or the artist’s management that you approached?
In the beginning I tried magazines and record labels, but I soon found out that was a dead end. Because my first contact was with the manager of Status Quo, which worked, I then started aiming at management of the artists. Sometimes it pays off!
With your live work, do you cover a whole tour or just part of it?
It depends. On bigger artists, like Katy Perry, she will hire me at the beginning of the tour for two weeks or so, to have enough material for the rest of the tour to make their tour programme, and all that stuff.
Sometimes it’s a particular gig that they’re interested in, because they’re filming it. It might be a couple of gigs because they need new material to promote it in another continent.
Do you plan your gig photography beforehand?
I try to stay away from what has been done before, so I usually don’t research the artists. I want to go in with a fresh look. It’s just the way I work best: if you have preconceived ideas, you’re just going to follow those and sometimes miss really good moments.
I always feel like I’m an innocent child and I just absorb what’s given to me because that’s why I’m there. I’m the communication between the artists and the fans, and I have to tell what the show’s been like for those who haven’t seen it – that’s my mission.
It must help if you’re on tour and you’ve seen one or two of the shows…
Yeah. For me, the most important thing is learning the light show, because that determines your pictures. Every show has its own sequence and that’s a very good thing that I can learn on the first night… This is what’s happening with the lights and this is the sequence. These are my ‘light moments’ – when the light goes into the crowd, where the spotlight will go... I pay attention to all of that.
What are the biggest challenges when you’re photographing musicians?
It’s the unpredictable nature of a performance, so it’s about always being ready and tuned in. It’s very important that you watch everything that happens. In the pit I often see photographers who’ve shot a bit and are looking at what they’ve shot on their screens, and they miss half of the show. You can’t do that because sometimes the most beautiful moments between songs can be precious moments you can capture. You always have to be switched on.
How did you become an official photographer for the Royal Albert Hall?
I always liked shooting at the Albert Hall. A while back, I went there when I used to shoot for Getty as well. So, we knocked on that door quite a few times, and then they were in sort of a transition period when they had one staff photographer and they wanted another one. They took a shot with me, and I’m still there!
You’ve produced an Ed Sheeran photobook. How did your working relationship start?
At that time we were knocking on management doors, and he had just changed management.
The management came back and said, “We have this young artist we’ve just signed; we need pictures of him, there’s no budget” – which is often the case – “Are you willing to do that?”
Back then what I always found important is to see what kind of artist it was, so they sent us a couple of clips and I said, “Yeah, let’s try that.” We went along, and I shot the show. It could have been a very short show, because the power broke down after his first song. I’d shot maybe 10 or 15 frames, and it was pitch-dark, but he just took his guitar, pushed the microphone away and continued the show like that. That told me what kind of person he was, and how determined he was to entertain this crowd.
At that time he said, “We don’t have the money to pay now, but if I ever make it big, I’ll take you along with me,” and he did it. A couple of years later, he started becoming successful, and he kept working with me.
You must have spent a lot of time with him...
The good thing was that his parents were there the first night I met him. We started talking and we’ve remained friends. I’m not friends with Ed Sheeran. To me he’s a client: we respect each other and, of course, we’re friendly when we meet. But
I have more of a relationship with his parents.
What equipment do you currently shoot with?
I have two Canon 5D Mark IV bodies, and I have one 70-200mm lens and one 24-70mm lens, so I work with those. I also have a fisheye lens, which I rarely use. It’s only like for, for instance, when they’re shooting a DVD and it’s the whole band in the shot, so I will take the fisheye out. But I like to keep it simple.
What is your post-production modus operandi?
No-one else is allowed to touch my pictures. I do a very fast selection. It scares a lot of people when they see me doing that, but basically I put it in a sequence and I click very fast, and I delete, delete, delete, delete. It’s only when a picture stops me in an instant that
I will keep that picture – the rest I delete. So it’s a very harsh selection.
I put that selection in Lightroom and make some initial tweaks. Usually it’s like straightening, cropping, maybe taking out a bit of contrast or adding a little bit of light. I never use Photoshop just because I think you have to tell the true story, so I don’t alter anything like that in music photography. And that’s it.
That’s quite a light workflow… Is that important?
Yeah. Maybe I’m a bit old-school in that way, in that I used to develop my own pictures. You did a bit of
post-production there as well in the darkroom, and I sort of take that into what I do in Lightroom now – minor adjustments, but not big alterations.
Do you have favourite musicians?
No. I used to be a big music fan but, because of my profession, I wouldn’t go to a show for fun anymore. I am impartial.
It doesn’t matter how awful or good the band and the music is, I always try to find some enthusiasm somewhere – whether it’s from the fans or from the band. I have to be neutral, and just tell the story of what’s happening.
Is there a musician or singer you’d like to photograph that you haven’t yet?
I always would have loved to shoot Tina Turner. Of course, she’s not performing any more. I did get to shoot the one who plays her in the West End, so that’s as close as I got to it [laughs]. But that’s something I’m sorry I missed.
Do you enjoy what you do?
The moments that I am in the pits, the lights go out, the music begins and the adrenaline starts pumping in my body – that’s the moment I live for.
Something weird happens – I just completely tune out. Everything around me disappears and I get sucked in. It’s almost like a higher power makes me see things and move and press the shutter at the right moment.
I sometimes think, “Wow. Did I do that?” That’s the part I like. I don’t like the travelling, waiting, late hours, little sleep, having no social life – all of that is hard. But I do it all for the hour-and-a-half that I get sucked in. I just thrive on the unexpected, and try to capture what’s there.
What’s next for you?
I am running a masterclass in London in December. I do this every year, because
I have this thing where I want to give back.
I just don’t want to take, take, take.
Every year I invite people who are interested, and I try to instil a desire in them to take beautiful pictures; I give them tips, insight and knowledge.