On Portraiture with Elliot Hetherton
"Allow yourself to be inspired by anything, even if it doesn't initially feel like your sort of thing. There's no shortcut to figuring out your own style..."
To reword the age-old debate about a proverbial tree and the noise it makes (“if a tree falls, does it still make a sound if no one is around to hear it? which feels painfully obvious in a literal way, but disputable for the philosophers and scientists): did anything really happen if there is no photograph to prove it? Unlike trees—tangible, rough bark and leaves with weight and mass—once something, an event, has happened, it exists only in memory. A passing moment that falls away faster the more that you try to hold on, tearing you out of the moment and leaving you somewhere in-between, a purgatory for memory, recalling what occurred whilst you were absent in your own spiral.
It’s a recollection that is transient and fades with time.
Unless it’s photographed.
Despite music being an immortalising medium in itself (see: Nilsson’s voice crack in Don’t Forget Me; Bowie crooning ballads of stars and space; Freddie Mercury’s Live Aid performance, all of which outlived them but, consequently, managed to perpetuate their immense talent), it is only sound. An echo of something that you truly had to be there to experience. It's the foundation of a memory, not the flesh and blood of it.
Sight, however—being able to see something, without having to infer the tone or the implications—is a gift. It is the soul. And it’s evidenced in the photograph. What would Mick Jagger’s stage presence mean to adolescents when they can’t see it? How does the atmosphere change when you can’t see the lights, the palpable energy and the clear love and passion for performance?
Utilising this gift, perpetuating bands and their medium through photography, Elliot Hetherton, a portraiture and live music photographer from Glasgow, brings bands to the forefront—he cements the raw talent and effort of musicians and artists in such a way that they almost seem biblical; commanding light, harmonising modern hymns and turning energy and work into something beautiful.
Recently, we discussed the process by which he manages and harnesses talents of his own, and I feel that his responses transcended the need for my input, and that they deserved to have their own space without being interfered with, which is why I have chosen to list them rather than incorporate them into paragraphs of my own.
What can you tell me about yourself?
I've lived in Glasgow since I was born, and both music and photography have been significant fixtures my whole life. My work is predominantly rooted in live music, with some portraiture work mixed in there too. I've worked with a real range of people, from small, local bands to more established artists playing larger venues. (See his work with: Fontaines D.C., HotWax, Boygenius and DEADLETTER). All my work is shot on 35mm film, the restrictions of which has helped me to become more judicious in my choice of shots.
Elliot Hetherton / link here
What drew you to photography - the music scene, specifically?
Music has featured pretty heavily in my life for a long time, and even before I was shooting them I went to a lot of gigs anyway. I grew up taking photos, my dad being a keen hobbyist, so I wouldn't say it's something I made a conscious decision to get into as such. Live music photography wasn't something I had a particular desire to get into really.
The first time I shot a gig I just happened to have my camera with me and a decent spot in the crowd. I really liked the photos I shot that night, and following the gig both the band and venue used them, so it all kind of snowballed from there.
3. What camera(s) do you use and what's your favourite? Why?
I shoot everything on a Nikon F5, with a variety of different lenses for various settings. The F5 was among the last professional film cameras Nikon ever produced, so it straddles a bit of a funny point in time between the eras of film and digital. Every parameter of the camera is digitally controlled, so it does an incredible job of metering and focusing. In short, it does all the hard work for me really.
4. Who are your biggest influences?
Over the past couple years l've found myself much more inspired by painters than other photographers. My single biggest influence as a photographer would definitely be the work of David Hockney. Although better known as a painter, his approach to photography and incorporation of cubism into his "joiners" continue to fascinate me.
Similarly, I've been greatly inspired by the works of painters such as Pablo Picasso and Francis Picabia, and finding ways to interpret aspects of their work from a photographic point of view.
That said, I think the photographers who inspire me most are those who I know personally. Rosie Sco and Rory Barnes, both friends of mine, do some really incredible work that helps me to constantly reevaluate my own approach and judgement. Sinna Nasseri and Daniel Arnold are two more well known photographers whose work constantly surprises me. They each have very distinct styles, often looking at a scene from an unconventional perspective that has inspired me to look at things quite literally from a different angle.
5. If you could work with anyone, dead or alive, who would it be?
I think about this question a lot actually. The people I typically enjoy working with most are those whose music I'm a real fan of personally, so the answer here always comes down to either Nirvana or David Bowie. Although very different stage presences and people, both Bowie and Kurt Cobain were incredible performers with an energy that I would kill to have gotten to photograph, even just once.
6. What was your favourite project/ piece to create? What can you tell me about it?
In November of last year I shot the band Bar Italia, and the Hockney style collages I managed to make with those photos are certainly among my favourites of my own photographs. It hadn't been my intention to make those collages in the moment, so it was incredibly satisfying to be able to put all these different photos together and for them to work together so well and feel like a truly cubist approach to photography.
David Hockney - Joiner
Elliot Hetherton - Bar Italia
7. How would you describe your work to a new follower?
This is a tricky one. I often feel my own work is a bit all over the place, so l'm never sure how to pin it down succinctly. My earliest steps into taking photography seriously were with street portraiture, approaching strangers in the street and taking their photos. Although what I do now is very different to that, it's still fundamentally portraiture, so l suppose l'd go with that.
8. What's your favourite part of doing what you do?
I always love getting to work with artists whose music I'm a big fan of personally. Whether this may be local bands whose work l've grown to love, or getting to photograph bigger artists who l've been a fan of for a long time, it feels like an opportunity for me to give back in my own way and to get to be a part of the work these artists do.
9. Do you have a particular aim (or message to get across) when photographing?
I generally try to go into any photography situation with an open mind, so the honest answer here would probably have to be no. I find that I'm most content with my own work when I let myself be in the moment and observe what's happening, rather than trying to shoehorn the photographs into a particular notion or idea.
10. Do you have a specific creative process?
Similar to my response to [the previous question], I try not to restrict myself too much in this sense. When I'm actively taking photos I try as much as possible to be open to trying different approaches or styles, even if they aren't what l'd typically go for. Even if these photos aren't what l'd typically go for. Even if these photos end up not being great, I feel a sense of success for having tried something different regardless.
Elliot Hetherton
11. Are there any other areas of photography that interest you?
When I first began to feel that photography was something I wanted to take seriously and pursue as a career, it was fashion photography that I was most drawn to. This is still really what I hope to end up doing, and l've taken some steps recently more toward this direction, but it's a whole other world to the music stuff so a long way to go yet.
I'm also still really interested in street photography, particularly that which is more off the cuff and captures people as they are. The work of Daniel Arnold who I mentioned earlier is a good example of this, and the kind of stuff I always want to try more of.
12. Lastly, do you have any advice for young photographers?
My biggest piece of advice would be to shoot as much as you can, and to constantly be trying new things photographically. Allow yourself to be inspired by anything, even if it doesn't initially feel like your sort of thing. There's no shortcut to figuring out your own style, and I don't believe it's something you can aim towards or a destination to be arrived at. It can be hard, but be really honest with yourself about what you like (and perhaps more importantly what you don't like) about your own work and let that inform the direction you take.
Specifically within the realm of live music, my biggest piece of advice would be to just shoot as many gigs as you can. I've found this to be the best way to make contacts and to develop something approaching a personal style. Getting work and having passes approved is mostly a matter of who you know, so reach out to people and chat to other photographers at gigs. l've gotten to shoot a lot of stuff I never would've thought l'd get to do just by asking, so stick your neck out and chance it.
Articulate, thoughtful and authentic, Hetherton captures exactly what it means to be a photographer of passion. Find more of his work here.