Steven Heath and his friends live in Leeds, West Yorkshire.

Steven Heath gig, Belgrave music hall, Leeds

A couple of weeks ago, I headed to the Belgrave Music Hall in Leeds to photograph Steven Heath, and his friends live. I will be the first to admit that I have not shot many gigs, but this year I am trying to say yes to more things which take me outside of my comfort zone. What else am I going to do on a Saturday evening?

Arrive early

I arrived about thirty minutes before the gig started, which was perfect as I wanted to assess the scene, work out lighting, etc. I knew the music hall would be dark, so arriving early enabled me to sneak a couple of flashes on stage, which I was happy about. After a few test shots, I knew things would be OK, which is why you come early to test, although it took me thirty seconds to test.

Tell the story

I had received a brief from Steven, whose main concern was for me to photograph pictures from the back that showed the crowd. I also knew that I wanted to tell the story of the gig. I tried to capture the audience and shots of the acts, near and far. I also wanted to show pictures of behind-the-scenes people dancing and anything else which could illustrate the event.

Friends

Lil Poodle was the first to go on stage; he was a sixteen-year-old hip-hop dude who did a fantastic job as it was his first large gig. He certainly had a lot of enthusiasm, and it was great to see the crowd get involved and get behind him. 

Steven also had his friend Paddy Higginson on saxophone and his good friend Pat Mulligan as a DJ. I enjoyed Pat and Paddy’s set; it made my job particularly difficult when Paddy jumped into the crowd, but I love a good challenge.

The main event

I have known Steven for a good few years as he is a wedding guitar/singer dude, but he is now known as the indie wedding host. He has a fab Facebook page where he sometimes does a Sunday live show and takes requests from his audience, which I have tuned into many times. It was great to see Steven hit the stage and take it to the next level. He did a fantastic job of entertaining the crowd with classics such as Canter, pumped-up kicks, Still haven’t found what I’m looking for and even Jump around. The audience loved it, and I enjoyed capturing everything.

A huge success

The evening was a huge success; everyone who came to watch had a brilliant time. I stepped outside of my comfort zone and photographed something different. Steven loved the pictures, which is always the most important thing. If you can check Steven out, then get on his Facebook page or even see him at his next gig.

Here are a few pictures from the event; I’m sure it won’t be my last.