In 2007 I shot my 10th, and final Reading Festival.
I really miss this part of being a press photographer…Which is possibly why I love the evening part of weddings!
The chaos, the dancefloor antics, the messiness of people just enjoying themselves and letting go. It makes such great photos, and is probably why after more than a decade of only shooting weddings I find it so hard to leave a wedding when the dacefloor is heaving!
Dealing with demanding celebs, and waiting outside court for “wrong’uns” to appear was never a side of being a press photographer that I particularly enjoyed, but snapping gigs and festivals always excited me and got my energy levels through the roof.
I shot my first Reading Festival in 1997 when I was just 19 years old. (I’ll talk more about that in my next blog post).
Over the course of the next 10 years I was extremely lucky to shoot this fantastic festival. It was on my doorstep, and I was blessed with an access all areas pass each time I was there. Every year got better and better, and every year I learned from my mistakes (mainly not to drink as much on the first night as the last night!). It was a blast… and I was very fortunate to be in the position I was to get as close as I did.
After shooting this last epic festival experience I went on to work for photography magazines for 3 years, before setting up my wedding photography business.
I can safely say that everything I learned from shooting these festivals definitely helped me to grow as a wedding photographer. From approaching complete strangers to ask if I could photograph them, to knowing how to handle the most difficult of lighting situations to get the best results, it was the perfect training ground for me.
