Interview: SonnyMe
Sonny McCartney a.k.a. SonnyMe, is a talented photographer from Liverpool giving his first exclusive interview with BTC, check it out what he has to say about his life as a photographer, his views, opinions and shows us some of his talented work!
How long have you been a photographer?
Well when people ask me this i always say three years because i can never really remember, but the other day i was looking back at old work and noticed that i really started off in 2005.
What or who got you started in photography?
I say to people that it was just me playing around with my camera and taking pictures of my friends mountain biking and going off to the odd gig with my camera (which is true), but i guess the person that got me really into photography was my brothers ex-girlfriend… See my brother was in a band and did alot of touring with cool bands and she would go along on tour with them (bit of a yoko ono, ha) and take pictures of the main acts and various shots of the countries they went to. My brother also made her first website so i would always get a sneak preview of what was going to go online and i really liked her work and ended up buying her camera off her for £100 (which was my first official camera), which was the Fujifilm FinePix S7000… I still have that camera but its now broken since sand got inside at a Seasick Steve gig on Newquay beach years ago.
What is your favorite photography accessory, other than your camera?
Hmm… i would like to say my car but ill keep it more photography related. I would say its my camera strap which is a recycled car seat belt (burgundy)… To be honest i hate the look of my main digital camera and the generic straps they come with, so i like to add little details to make it look more pimp.
How important is Photoshop in your final images?
Well photoshop has been the biggest part of my photography as i started off (even before photography) doing graphic design and playing around with images for hours. After looking at other photographers work when i was starting out i saw how much they edited their images and i told myself i would do the complete opposite, which i did, and hardly edited my images for about 2 years, but then when i started to step up my photography and gear, i found that my images looked alot better when edited. I have assisted photographers over the years and took tips off them and now edit all my images before they go into print or online for the simple fact of enhancing the image and getting rid of the odd hair or spot.
Do you plan on buying any new equipment and if so what do you have your eyes on?
Im always looking at new equipment but as we all know, photography is not cheap. I have always been with Nikon for the simple fact that it was my first camera i started off with (well second but shhh) but at the same time i do love the canon for its colour quality and range of lenses. I do have my eye on the Nikon D300s at the moment just to step up my gear, im also looking for a medium format film camera at the same time as i love the quality those cameras produce.
What has been your most memorable assignment and why?
That is not an easy question at all! I have so many memorable times from photographing really good bands live to assisting some of my favorite photographers. One that sticks out the most for me was crouching down shooting behind Dave Grohl while he was drumming alongside one of my favorite drummers Abe Laboriel Jr. I got a great shot of them leaning over from their kits to grab hands at the end of a song but im saving pictures like that for something special.
How do you make the bands/people etc… feel relaxed in front of your Nikon when doing a shoot?
Well bands are easy as i attended an all boys high school so getting a bunch of lads laughing and screaming at the camera is nothing… models and portraits are a different story… I dont have a natural charm so getting people to relax is not easy for me. I was assisting a photographer once and his middle name could have been charm, the way he spoke to models before and even after shoots was just unbelievable. I learnt alot off him though and use i some of his techniques when im talking to a model to make him/her feel more relaxed, but for the most part im just myself. One thing that i notice is when i come to selecting the final images to edit from a shoot, is that i usually select the last pictures from the whole set because the model would have relaxed from shooting which made all the difference.
How important is an awesome website for your business?
A good website is very important for any photographer or anyone displaying their work. I am very lucky as my brother is a top notch graphic designer and has made/designed all my websites. He knows everything when it comes to a good website as he knows what is best suited for me, take my current website he made that for me and told me to keep it simple because its the new thing, as flashy websites are not as popular because they are too complicated. I totally agreed with him and i now maintain my site to keep it simple but effective. The amount of photographers websites i click away from because i see a loading bar is a shame. But its good to see a large amount of photographers going for the plan and simple effect these days.
What do you think of the band/portrait photography industry at the moment and where do you see it in 5 years from now?
Well bands/portaits/models will always be around and so will i. Its not an easy industry and i have found it hard at times over the past years but i will always stick at it and aim to improve my work. I think with my line of work i really wont know where i will be in 5 years time. Im planning to be working in London later on this year so fingers crossed!
Check out more of Sonny’s work on his website…
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