Video

Jill Jackson, Yours Aye

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New album campaign for Jill Jackson

“Yours Aye” is the brand new album by Scottish singer-songwriter Jill Jackson. After several pandemic-related delays, it finally saw the light of day in early May (hitting #1 on iTunes Country Album Chart no less). I’ve written about working with Jill many, many times (you can read about our first decade together here for example) and what can I say? It’s always a pleasure and a really, really good laugh.

Jill approached me last year to do a photoshoot for the new album cover and after sending me some examples of the mood and style of images she was after (see below), I suggested shooting the whole thing on film. Since Jill loves all things analog there wasn’t any convincing needed. I have to admit though that before the session I started panicking a little - what if I mess up and we don’t get the cover shot we needed? I got back to shooting film in recent years but haven’t done many 100% analog projects for clients so to alleviate my paranoia and to cover my back I took my digital equipment along with my Nikon FM and ended up using both.

We shot in Basement49 Studio as well as outdoors in Glasgow’s Merchant City. Gulabi did a brilliant job developing and scanning the 5 rolls we went through on the day (2 color and 3 black and white) and you can see some of my favourite images from the session if you scroll below. Wonder if you can tell which ones were analog and which were digital?

My involvement in the project didn’t end there however. Earlier this year I filmed Jill’s live sessions at Gorbals Sound studios as well as an interview, all of which are being used to promote the album on various platforms. I was also recently at Cottiers where Jill officially launched the album with a brilliant live set. Have a look below to see all of that and more. Enjoy and do check out “Yours Aye”, it really is a masterclass in songwriting and production.

Jill's visual references

for the session

“Yours Aye” Album Cover:

“Yours Aye” album cover shoot.

Basement49 Studio and Merchant City in Glasgow, June 3rd 2021:

“Live Sessions”

Gorbals Sound, March 6th, 2021:

ALBUM LAUNCH

Cottiers, Soundcheck & Live Show, May 19, 2022

Behind the scenes:

GEAR

Digital:
Nikon D850 + Nikkor 85mm f1.4
Studio Lights (can’t remember what was used exactly)

Analog:
Nikon FM + Nikkor 100mm f1.8
Kodak TX 400
Kodak Portra 400
Studio Lights

Video:
Sony A7III x 2
Sony 35mm f1.8
Sony 85mm f1.8
Tiffen Black Pro-mist 1/4 Filters
Nikkor 14-24mm f2.8 + Metabones Nikon G to Sony E-mount Converter
Profoto B10 + Profoto OCF Softbox 3' Octa
Neewer CN-216 LED Light x 2
DJI RS 2
Edited in FCPX

Live:
Nikon D850 + Nikkor 85mm f1.4
Tiffen Black Pro-mist 1/4 Filter
Nikon D850 + Nikkor 14-24mm f2.8 / Nikkor 24-70mm f2.8

BTS:
FujiFilm x100v
iPhone 11 Pro

Behind The Scenes with Horse

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“Leaving” is the new single from Horse, it premiered earlier this month and I had the pleasure of working on the music video to accompany the song.

Autumn this year will mark 10 years since Horse and I started working together (yes, there will be a blog about that too down the line), we’ve done a variety of projects over the decade but this was the first time doing a music video together.

Loosely inspired by Joan of Arc and filmed at the National Theatre of Scotland last December, it was a very low-key affair largely due to Covid-19 restrictions. We got the absolutely phenomenal Michelle Watson to style the shoot and do the make up. She also created the custom crowns Horse is seen wearing throughout the clip, while the mesh and armour bits were kindly provided by the National Theatre of Scotland’s costume department (thank you Aileen!).

I can’t lie, Horse is a legend and I was really nervous about doing her and the new song justice. I also had the idea of doing something a little bit different for her and showing Horse in a way that she’s never been seen before. Luckily, over the years of working together we became very good friends, she trusted me and gave her all on the shoot. Neither the armour nor the sword was light, and I had her running about, swinging the damn thing and lip-syncing for hours on end.

I’m pleased to say we’re still friends and Horse thinks the effort was worth it. I hope you think so too - have a look at the final video below followed by a few behind the scenes snaps taken on the day:

GEAR / BTS PHOTOS
Nikon D850 + Nikkor 85mm f1.4
Tiffen Black Pro-mist 1/4 Filter
FujiFilm x100v

GEAR / VIDEO
Sony A7III
Sony 35mm f1.8
Sony 85mm f1.8
Tiffen Black Pro-mist 1/4 Filters
DJI RS 2 Gimbal
Profoto B10 + Profoto OCF Beauty Dish 2'
Neewer CN-216 LED Light x 2
Reflector
Tripod
Video edited in FCPX

Cristina Prelle

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Cristina Prelle specialises in high end textile restoration and I had the pleasure of working on promotional photography and video for her. Have a look below:

GEAR

Nikon D850 + Nikkor 85mm f1.4
Neewer 120cm Octabox
Profoto A1
Profoto Air Remote TTL-N for Nikon
Reflector

Video filmed with Sony A7III + Sony 35mm f1.8 and edited in FCPX
Neewer CN-216 LED Light

A Decade with Jill Jackson

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In August 2010 I had my first photoshoot with Jill Jackson. I was working as a graphic designer at The Print Box at the time, and Jill was one of our clients. I worked on various posters and an EP for her and struck an e-mail friendship with Jill’s assistant at the time. I noticed that they kept using the same images for promo so I thought “what the hell” and suggested taking new photos of Jill. If they like them - great; if not, it would still be a great experience for me. I’ve been taking pictures since I was a kid, it’s always been a hobby of mine, so I sent a few examples of my past work and awaited a response. Luckily, Jill liked what she saw and agreed to do a session with me.

The first time Jill and I met in person was at King Tut’s where she was playing a gig. I didn’t really know what to expect from Jill or her music, but as I stood there watching her perform I could feel myself getting increasingly excited at the prospect of photographing her - you can’t fake that kind of stage presence and charisma. And I loved the songs too. We had a brief chat after the show and a week later we were doing the shoot.

A good friend of mine had a beautiful old house with a garden in Mount Vernon and that’s where that first session took place. My partner was helping with the lights and the three of us quickly bonded over our love for music and Kath & Kim (“Look at moiye, look at mooooiye!”). It marked the beginning of a years-long friendship and numerous other collaborations followed. We shot everywhere and all sorts; from abandoned jails to being knee-deep in freezing Loch Lomond; from album and magazine covers to concerts and music videos. Unwittingly, that first session with Jill would also be the start of my photography career as my work with her lead to commissions from other artists. In four years I would leave The Print Box to become a full-time photographer.

Whether there’s still a photography career for me to come back to after this pandemic remains to be seen. In the meantime, however, I thought it would be nice to celebrate this 10-year landmark by posting an image from every session/collaboration I’ve done with Jill so far - there are live shots (hers was the very first concert I ever photographed), some behind the scenes photos as well as outtakes and images that haven’t been published anywhere till now.

I need to come clean here though - a few of the earlier photos have been re-edited. There was some bad retouching and heavy-handed colour treatments that I couldn’t look at now. You live, you learn!

Which image is your favourite? Perhaps you attended some of the gigs? Let me know and enjoy:

“My Baby” music video, May 2018.

“Goodbye” music video, January 2019.

Carolina Crespo

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Carolina Crespo is a designer and a dear friend of mine. Originally from Columbia, she’s lived in Glasgow for a few years now and is currently working on launching her luxury fashion brand. In aid of that, we took some photos and shot a video last autumn, results below:

GEAR:
Nikon D4
Nikkor 85mm f1.4
Profoto A1
Neewer 120cm Octabox


Video filmed with Sony A7III + Sony 35mm f1.8
and edited in FCPX