(Even her selfie game is amazing!! Although this is actually a self-portrait she took whilst bored.)

Jess started off by saying "I bought a camera after I finished high school because I wanted to do a film course at college." which she does "So I initially bought as I wanted to make short films, as it will be great for coursework. But instead started taking photos with friends because I have always liked taking photos, even just on a phone." She has had a real passion for photography for a long time but only recently started to pursue it.

She said "It wasn't until I saw a friend, her name is Gina [who was specifically given a shout out, so check out her Instagram: gina_may_photography] taking photos of gigs" which Jess had never thought despite her on going love of music. "I started off by complementing her, and then asked her how she got into it. She was really nice to invite me along to a gig (which Jess thought may never happen as she didn't hear from Gina for a while) which was Tilly Louise.

When I asked about what inspires her photography, Jess answered with "Aesthetically I would like to say Lily McLaughlin. I am also inspired by Corinne Cumming as well as Jawn Rocha who I think was the first concert photographer I followed. As I get most of my inspiration from looking at other photographers on Instagram and then I will save all those photos I like until I've got like a scrap book of inspiration." So really she has no one set inspiration but rather pick and mixes to suit her style, which she described as "Very colourful, but it is also quite dark, I like having deep blacks as well as colours." When it comes to gigs Jess said "Since I don't have control over the lighting, that is what shapes the pictures!!"

On the other hand though she did say "I like those 90s disposable camera style photos. Which can be hard to achieve with gig photos."

"By looking at other people's Instagrams you will find new things you want for your camera or new photography styles that you want to try out, for example I want to try out that glass prism craze." Here are some examples:

Whilst talking about editing, Jess mentioned "That there a lot of good phone apps, I have 11 apps that I use regularly on my phone. A good one is PicsArt!! It is a super good free app that I'd recommend as the closest thing to Photoshop on a phone."

"I often spend four or more hours editing on Photshop and aim to finish the photos within four days. I often like to give bands options of photos forty or fifty top, though I sometimes over do it. There is no reason for me to do all this extra work, but it then gives them extra photos to put on their personal accounts and helps to build relationships."

Jess' typical editing process is:

"The first photo is the raw file straight from the camera. Then with LightRoom I edit it to this and send it to the band."

"And then I may make some minor adjustments on my phone to put my own style on them, before I post. And that is the process!!"

Milo from Ambedo Blue asked "Who is her favourite band to photograph?", to which Jess responded "Obviously not them!! No I love working with both of the bands so much especially as the bands have their own styles. Ambedo Blue is grainy but colourful, whilst Clementine is retro, VHS style which is the name of their new EP"

(This is Jess' edit of This Time photo for Ambedo Blue's new song)

She would love to do a music video with the Ambedo Blue (or anyone actually), however there are no plans for it yet. "Although I did shoot the photo for their album This Time and by shoot I mean all I did was literally press the button. George set it up and positioned everyone, which blurs the lines of who is the photographer here." Jess added, "Which actually works out quite well as I lack the skills to pose people, if I had posed Ambedo Blue they would of looked like a clique boy band!! I prefer when they're just having a laugh it looks so natural, I have one of Paddy being pantsded and Tilly is great for this as she puts down her guitar, gets into the crowd and puts on some sunglasses."

You can find lots of photos taken by Jess on Ambedo Blue's Instagram ambedo_blue, she has also taken photos of Tilly and the beautiful boys tillylouisemusic

She actually mentioned that her funniest moment was at one of Tilly's gigs. "I was walking from one side to the other, whilst Tilly was speaking and there was this empty glass on the floor. Which I ended up kicking and sending flying!!"

Jess stated "In September I bought a 50mm lens, which goes down to an f/1.8 aperture (how much light is let into the camera, aka how big the diaphragm opening on the camera lens is) which lets me take better pictures in low light. However, it has a slow focus, compared to my old lens."

"So ideally I would like a lens that is a cross between the two, but obviously that will cost more. I could of bought a car but I prefer photography, and I think that is true with anything if you love it enough you will want to spend money."

Jess continued with "The main thing to capture is emotion!! That is the reason that anyone creates, and I have always found music as comforting and full of emotion. So it is great to share the moment, because gigs are just really emotional places."

When going to gigs Jess said she usually has a checklist of what photos she wants to capture; Close up photos, a band photo and a photo with the crowd in however, she said "I'm quite small so it is sometimes hard to see the band.", I also sometimes like to get a close-up of the instruments, for example a guitar being played. A checklist maybe useful if you are just starting out as it may help calm you're nerves knowing you have something you can refer back to.

Whilst talking about confidence, as that plays a crucial role in gig photography Jess said "I don't think there is anything stopping people pursuing photography, especially confidence as it shouldn't put you off. But I do think you have got to like people to do gigs, if not maybe you could do landscapes as there is no people. But you should just go for it!!"

Jess said "A good way to get start is to just message bands and ask if you can take some photos at their gig. How can they say no if you're offering to do it for free? Meeting new people is part of the job and I have met so many crazy talented people that I would of never met otherwise!!"

Despite saying "Every new picture I take becomes my favourite, as I feel I am always improving." Jess did send me these photos saying "Here are just some of my faves!!"

"A photo of Esme Birdie from Ambedo Blue's first headliner, which I’d say is not my favourite to date overall but maybe my best technically."

"A photo of Lucas from Ambedo Blue in the recording studio , which in retrospect I would say it is my favourite photo I've taken."

"And lastly Clementine, when I did summer photos for them."

Thank you so much for reading this blog post!! If you want to find out more about Ambedo Blue read my interview with them: profiles-of-phenomenal-people-ambedo-blue. And be sure to check out Jess' Instagram: seymour.snaps!!

Finally Jess added as a final note "If any bands want photos for anything to DM me for more information!!"

Any suggestions on who I should interview next?

Will Post Soon - Josh :)