‘The public should be treated with the same level as respect as celebrities’
Photographer Sam Scott-Hunter has taken pictures of all sorts of people in all sorts of places, including rock stars. Recently, however, he has been exploring what is going on around him locally.
By Julia Thorley
Sam Scott-Hunter’s photography studio is tucked away in a quiet corner of Burton Latimer. He began taking photos in his teens, but when he turned his passion into a career he spent many years working in the live music scene.
“I took photos of lots of bands, but was particularly keen on heavy metal. I did a long stint working for Metal Hammer magazine in London, and also travelled all over Europe and the USA. I was often sent abroad at very short notice to cover a gig. I also spent a lot of time taking pictures of lesser known bands closer to home.
“I’ve photographed some amazing rock stars, including Avril Lavigne, Ozzy Osborne and the late Gary Moore. That kind of work is quite hard to get into now, unless you drop lucky and end up on tour with a top-level band.”
What’s interesting is the incredible variety of his work, encompassing still life, people, portraits and moving images. Some of the commercial work he undertakes is quite niche; for example, past projects have included providing photos for quality illustrated books, such as Botany for the Artist and Knots Step by Step. On the other hand, he covered the Bedlam Breakout weekend Psychobilly Festival in Northampton, which shows how random and varied the work can be.
“The trade is changing now, not least because everyone carries a camera these days and people tend to think they can take whatever they need themselves. This can be good enough, of course, if all you want is a selfie or a quick photo of you doing something; but if it’s for commercial use – for instance, a picture of a product for a catalogue or website or a photo of a person for promotional use – there is a world of difference between a quick snap on your phone and a professional photo. I am sometimes asked to edit or retouch other people’s images because they’re not up to the required standard. I’m always happy to help people with the things they can’t do themselves.”
Another technical development is in cameras.
“It’s possible now to use the same camera for stills and videos, and I do both these days. I’m not a film-maker – that’s a completely different set of skills – though I have filmed music videos and can do video editing. Timelapse photography is the crossover from photography into video, as it’s a moving image made from thousands of still ones, and I’ve done several projects in this medium. Similarly, there’s stop-motion photography, where lots of still photos can be turned into an animation, which I’ve also done.”
Perhaps inevitably, Sam’s workload went down during Covid, so to kickstart it once things started to get back to normal he devised his project LOCAL, in which he took photographs of people from Northamptonshire.
“Each time I photographed someone, I asked if they could suggest someone else who might be a suitable subject and I let that randomness guide me.
“The nice thing about having a commercial studio tucked away in Burton Latimer is that it’s brought me back in touch with ‘real’ people. I feel strongly that so-called celebrity culture takes away the idea that we’re all equal. It’s become the norm to judge the images we see online and therefore to judge people on how they look. The LOCAL project was a conscious effort to get back to the idea that the public or those who are publicly active should be treated with the same level of respect as celebrities.”
People who feature in Local include Reverend Mark Welch, actor Robin Kirwan and Kettering Mayor Emily Fedorowycz. The portraits are black and white, and Sam explains that this is generally more flattering than a colour photograph.
“It takes hundreds of shots to get the perfect picture, and that’s true whether you’re a celebrity or not. This is easy with digital photography, of course. I get the person settled in the studio and take some test shots, then as we chat and they get comfortable in front of the camera I take as many pictures as necessary. It’s all very relaxed, I hope, even for those who are camera shy. Then we look together at the images on screen and immediately reject the pictures where they have their eyes shut or are pulling a weird face.
“I will do a little light editing or retouching, if necessary, but only to bring out the best in my ‘models’. You can do some incredible things with Photoshop, of course, but while I might remove a stray hair or cover up a pimple, I’m never going to change a person’s appearance beyond recognition!”
When asked what advice he would give to those who want a career in the industry he says:
“It’s best to find a niche, get into it and dominate it. In practice, many of us are ‘guns for hire’, working on whatever comes along. Be realistic. Ask yourself, ‘Who’s going to want to pay for this?’ I think this applies not just to photographers but also to most creatives. The ones who succeed are those you can’t imagine doing anything else, who are already taking pictures for themselves. To make a living, though, you have to be willing and able to work in different sectors.
“It can be a brutal industry, though, so you have to be resilient. Let your personality come through and be kind. It’s always easier to be nice.”
You can view Sam’s work on his website: www.samscotthunter.co.uk