Glastonbury backstage photographer ready for Raye and Rodrigo

BBC News

4 hours ago

As stars like Olivia Rodrigo, Raye and Rod Stewart head onto the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury this year, one photographer will have the perfect place to capture that moment.Tom Jackson from Bridgend has a small studio set up right next to the stage.As a photographer who loves music, it's his dream job."I'm photographing people I had posters of on my wall. It's a massive privilege," he said.
Tom is never sure if the stars will agree to have their picture taken. They are told about his studio and asked to have a photo for the Glastonbury archive. Tom says the process is quite "organic", with some stars agreeing, others not, and some changing their minds at the last minute. So he has to be ready, set to take the shot at a moment's notice if the opportunity comes.
"It's an electric place, it's nuts, everyone is on high tempo, the management, the artists."They come out of the VIP area, walk to me, have their picture taken, and the stairs are next to me going up to the stage."He remembered seizing the chance to capture one of his music heroes, when Dave Grohl and the Foo Fighters came in. "They came off stage quite suddenly so there was no management waiting, and I said 'Dave do you want to do it now?' "And he said 'boys, do you want to have a sweaty band picture' and they went 'Yeah'."
"Dave Grohl was the drummer of Nirvana, one of my favourite bands, I've got their album on the wall there. It's mental."Raye was also "cool" although she had Louis Theroux and a documentary team in tow, which Tom said was a bit out of his comfort zone."They filmed the whole thing, then Raye came over and she was chatting to me, so the cameras came in again.
"She was lovely, loved her pictures and posted them straight away. "The thing about Glasto is that it's such a big thing for the artists too, so to enjoy that moment with them is quite nice."
So how do you bag a dream job?
Tom's break came when he was photographing Emily Eavis at Glastonbury, the daughter of Michael Eavis who started the festival, for The Times Magazine. After the shoot, Tom decided to take a chance and send an email."I was quite frank and said, 'If you ever need anyone to do portraits on the Pyramid Stage, I'd just love to help'."In about half an hour, I got an email back saying 'We'd love you to'. "Then the first year it was crazy. "I photographed Kylie Minogue, The Killers, The Cure, Miley Cyrus, Lauren Hill, in three days."But then, he was no stranger to photographing celebrities. His work at The Times magazine led to him capturing all kinds of well known personalities, from a Spice Girl to Sir David Attenborough. Tom remembered out of everyone he's photographed, it was Sir David, who made him feel the most star-struck.
"When you're looking through a lens and you see that man... it's mad. He has to be one of my favourites."Tom had 40 minutes to get that shot in Sir David's home. That's a luxury compared to some of the other stars he's photographed.Tom said his time with England and Arsenal footballer Bukayo Saka was cut heavily, and he ended up doing the entire shoot in just seven minutes.One of Tom's favourite photos he's taken is of Lenny Kravitz.
The shoot took place in a Paris hotel overlooking the Eiffel Tour, and the rock star was up for playing the part."He had this huge leather case and I thought it's a guitar. He said 'look at this, man' and he opened it up and it was full of god knows how many vintage sunglasses. But he was game. I said do you mind sitting in the bath and he said 'Yeah, get me some champagne'."Tom has done the press photography in recent years for the Christmas special of Gavin and Stacey and also the Finale. He captured actors James Corden and Matthew Horne, Smithy and Gavin.
"I was photographing them as characters but then they just started having a laugh and fooling around and I just got a nice picture of them both."His shot of Jarvis Cocker, lead singer of Pulp, was taken in the rehearsal room for the bands' current tour."He helped edit them and it was cool."
"I was stood in a Camden studio watching them rehearse and it was like a live private gig with Pulp."Key to a good shoot for Tom is to be prepared, to be set up and ready to go, play some music to help relax people and ensure that everyone feels comfortable. That way Tom feels he'll get the best portrait."I like faces, character in faces. I want to capture 'them', the person."And now that most of us carry good quality cameras in our pockets, built into our phones, what's Tom's top tip for taking a good picture?"Use the flash. Every time."