One of the more exciting shoots recently was with Ed Sheeran, who is shooting quickly to stardom in the US and currently touring with Taylor Swift on her Red Tour. I was not allowed a photography assistant to help with gear for the shoot, so I went alone. I parked in the Downtown Disney parking lot to make the long treck to House of Blues. In reality it's only a quarter mile, but it feels like a 5K when fighting the excited tourist crowd and hauling 100+ pounds of gear.
I phoned Ed's manager to let him know I was on the property. He quickly came outside to greet me and escort me inside. We walked through the main concert hall to the backstage door, through the backstage corridor which was lined with gigantic boxes of stage equipment labeled "Ed Sheeran" with tape strips and permanent marker. We made our way upstairs to the room where Ed was sunk comfortably into a giant antique sofa watching Breaking Bad on his iPad, apparently the show was a new obsession for him.
He stood to greet me with his wonderfully red hair, a fantastic smile, and a firm handshake. He asked what I needed as far as photos, and I explained that I just needed a few different portrait style images to go with the interview/article which was to be featured in BRINK Magazine. He immediately followed that by saying he was willing to do whatever I needed, but that he did not like to have his photograph taken. I made the immediate connection to why I was not able to find many images of him online when scouring the internet the night before trying to find information on the popular British artist. I also had a sudden realization that it might be quite difficult to get Ed to loosen up around me.
We photographed a handful of different scenarios around the room and backstage, trying to avoid the peering eyes of Ed Sheeran fans through the wide slatted fences. The House of Blues staff, along with Ed's manager, was very concerned that there would be a stampede of uncontrollable teenage girls into the back lot if Ed was seen. I was given the impression Ed had at some point lived through a stampede of fans by the level of concern on the manager's face, so I agreed 100% to keep Ed out of "harm's way".
We photographed for approximately 30 minutes, then it was time for Ed to have dinner before the show. It's always hard to not overstep your bounds with celebrities, but I still have to get the shots for my client. It's a steady dance where you are balancing both parties needs. We ended up with some amazing images, and the article brought tremendous feedback. Im looking forward to watching Ed climb the ladder of success, and I wish him and his crew nothing but the best.
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