A Level student Erin wins top music photography prize for first-ever pictures taken at a gig!

Erin, who is studying Photography, Film Studies and Modern History, won the Northern Music Photography Spotlight Rising Talent Under-18 Award for her atmospheric shot of Ned Swarbrick performing at The Wardrobe venue in Leeds.

The York singer-songwriter has been so impressed by the quality of Erin’s work that he has invited her to take more pictures for his website and the Stamford Bridge-based 17-year-old is now considering a career as a music photographer with the dream of perhaps one day working at a Harry Styles concert!

She said: “I didn’t expect to win the award at all. I entered it just to see how I could do.

“Then, I got shortlisted and that’s as far as I expected it to go. Just to have that level of recognition was really good but, when I got an email saying that I’d won it, it was really exciting.

“Starting out in photography, I focussed a lot on nature and architecture but, now I’ve moved into this, I’m thinking it is something I could actually do when I leave College, which is an exciting thought.”

For the competition, Erin had to submit three pictures taken in 2025 and, with the help of her mum, made her final selections from a shortlist of 10 she had taken from that first concert she photographed.  

“The three I chose were all quite similar – shadowy and dark,” she explained. “I couldn’t decide which I liked the most because, sometimes, with your own work, you need somebody who can look at it from a different perspective. 

"My mum helped me a lot with that and the winning picture was her favourite, so she was quite happy it got selected!”

That image is now being displayed at an exhibition in Liverpool this month, with Erin quick to recognise the role her college course has played in helping her creative talents flourish.

“I first experimented with photography at 15,” she explained. “I started in my back garden and around where I live, because it’s quite rural.

“Then, I went into York and started doing buildings like the Minster. I was just seeing what my camera could do and what I liked doing.

“It was all about figuring out what I wanted to do, but everything I do now in A Level Photography helps develop my skills. We do a lot of work with Photoshop, which has been really helpful with editing, because I’d never used it before the course.

“Learning the basics of camera handling, that we covered at the very beginning, was also really important, especially in terms of composition and lighting, because that’s a big aspect of music photography with it being so dark in a lot of venues.”

On her possible evolution from intimate venues to larger-scale arenas and stadia in the future and the bucket-list artists she would like to shoot, Erin added: “All the gigs I had been to before I started taking photographs were mostly at big stadiums.

“At the smaller, more local venues, it’s easier to walk around a bit and chat to people and I really like that. I’d also like to do bigger shows at some point, but it’s been nice starting small and, maybe, I can then work my way up.

“I’m a big fan of Harry Styles, so one of his gigs would be the best that I could do, but even Indie bands like the Foals would be great. They don’t play massive venues, but don’t play tiny venues either.

“A festival would be great, too. I went to the Deer Shed Festival for the first time last year, near Thirsk, and there were a lot of photographers there as well and it seemed lots of fun.

“My family are very music-orientated and, even when I was younger, when I was at gigs and live events, I’d always find myself focussing 50-50 on the music and the photographers. You’re meant to ignore them really, because they’re just doing their job, but I was always watching them walking about and doing what they do and would think that looks a really cool atmosphere to be in.”

Sensing an opportunity to scratch that itch, Erin spoke to Ned – a friend of a friend who she had seen play previously as a member of the audience.

He was more than happy for her to take pictures at his next show and that has led to further opportunities that are proving beneficial for both parties.

“When I did that first show with Ned, I realised I really enjoyed it and wanted to do it more, so I’ve continued and everything has built up from there,” Erin declared.

“Ned’s really good about it, because he’s starting up as well with his music, so it’s nice to work with someone at that stage, too. It’s working well, because I’m giving him stuff that he can promote his music with and it’s also nice for me to have it out there, so people can go to his website and see my pictures.”

On the skills she is picking up “on the job”, meanwhile, Erin revealed: “I’ve learned not to panic and not to think I’ve got to be running around everywhere. The gigs go so fast when you’re focussing on the job and I usually start at one side of the venue and, then, work my way around to do a full circle.”

She is also taking inspiration from the work and methods of her favourite photojournalist.

“I like the street photography that Martin Parr did,” Erin said. “He passed away in December and his work was very spontaneous, which is a kind of link to music photography.

“He was very inspirational with what he did and wasn’t afraid to go up to people and ask if he could take pictures of them. That’s something I need to work on, because I used to be quite quiet, but I am getting better through photography.”

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