Images courtesy of NathanGallagher.com

What initially triggered your interest in photography?
My Dad is a photographer, amateur but good – from a very early age I was helping out in the darkroom he would make out of the bathroom every month.

How long have you been in the industry?
People ask this a lot, I wish I could remember the date I first had work published, but it would have to be 11 or 12 years ago.

When did you sell your first ever photo and how did you sell it?
The first photo I sold was to the UK Snowboard magazine cleverly named Snowboard UK; I was living in America at the time, sending images back to the then editor who I’d met back in Blighty.

Do you have a particular style?
It’s said that the difference between an artist and a photographer is the ability to create your own style. I’m not there yet, I doubt I ever will be. One of the big draws of photography for me is the variety involved, which is counter-productive when it comes to having a single style – although anything is possible!

Which photographer do you admire most?
Tricky question, early on in my career I was a big fan of Justin Hostynek, back then he just took photos, he’s now as much a filmer as anything else – still amazing though.
From a more mainstream point of view I still love David LaChappelle, Richard Avedon and Jim Fiscus … so many more too.

What’s more important; your equipment or your knowledge?
Knowledge, easy. I’m sure everyone has taken a good photo in their lives, equipment makes that easier to say – the difference between that and being a photographer is that a photographer can get the shot anywhere they are on the planet in any situation (those words are going to come back to haunt me, I know it)

Is it easy to find work?
No. it’s easy then it’s probably not worth doing. The key is to build up on existing clients. Repeat work is easier to manage than new work.

What makes a great action shot and how do you capture it?
Action needs narrative, the shot has to reflect the gravity of the situation, the emotion, whatever you want to call it. Once you’ve got a handle on that then it’s the refinement of the shot, finding the style inside the substance.

How do you take a great portrait shot?
Look a person in the eyes and repeat the following words; ‘This is as good as you will look for the rest of your life. Now smile!’
Alternatively try to think about the shot from the point of view of a painting, how the light plays it’s part and how they’re body language defines their character. Talk to your subject but becareful of them talking back as you’re shooting.

Before an event what do you do to make sure you are prepared?
A photographers kit becomes so familiar to them, it’s usually a case of the batteries and accessories that need double checking.

How much earlier than the event do you arrive?
It’s always nice to be able to scout out the event before you have to shoot, if it’s possible to talk to the safety people on the ground to see if the access you’ve been promised is the access you’re going to get.

How do you get into the best spot for taking photos at events?
Events aren’t really the easiest places to get creative, somewhere like the X-Games or the Olympics, you’ll be told where to stand for each event – which is usually right next to a bunch of other photographers resulting in a load of similar photos, the trick is never to stop looking – there are always angles if you look hard enough, be sneaky but never rude.

How do you back up your work when on an event?
At an event I’ll be shooting to card, then at an interval I’ll try to offload to a laptop (leaving the images on the card too) then at the end I’ll back that up to an external harddrive so the photos are in three places by the time I get back to my office.

Do you need to have an understanding of the sport/event to take a good shot?
To an extent, yes. If you’re shooting a sport to sell the image to the hardcore fans (the niche) then you REALLY need to know the sport. If you’re shooting it for the mainstream, you won’t get the recognition from the niche but the shots are still sellable. No one can know everything about everything (aside from Stephen Fry) so don’t worry about it too much. Do your research and make sure the shots are good on an artistic level (your level) at least.

How many photos do you take on average at an all day event?
Impossible to say, all events are different, sequence photography obviously bumps the figure – but I come from a film background and we tend to hold back on the excessive shooting.

Do you select the best shots from the day or does the employer?
Both, I make a selection firstly to show the client, then they make a selection from that. Sometimes they ask ‘do you have anymore like that one?’ at which point I will do a re-edit. It’s a team effort.

Have you ever been crashed into?
Yes, not as badly as some, but I’ve had my fair share. I was knocked on my back when a snowboarder got caught on a tree rainbow and flipped forward, his board smashed my lens into two separate pieces – good chap though, he paid for it!

What’s the most exciting job you have ever done?
Jobs can be exciting for different reasons. I really enjoyed the Red Bull Tribal Quest, it was a photo competition, 3 days to come up with a certain amount of images which were judged by the other photographers a unique opportunity to pit wits. Great Fun.

What is the bare minimum equipment you could get away with?
With film it was all about the lens, the body just let the light in, the lens did the good stuff. Digital has added more onus on the body of the camera, both now need to be of a certain quality to be practically useful. So a good resolution body and a fast lens is the bare minimum, don’t worry about flashes.

What is a picture editor?

Being a Picture Editor involves a number of different things.  On a day to day basis I usually work on commissioning photo shoots for the front cover and main features for the magazine.  I start by discussing the story with our editors, then I choose a photographer who’s style is appropriate for both our magazine and the specific story. I then work with the photographer or their agent, to set up the shoot itself, booking a studio or location, hair and make-up etc. If it’s a cover story, either I, or one of our Art Directors, will got to the shoot itself, to make sure we are getting images that will work in our layouts.

As well as commissioning photography, we also use existing images from archives and image libraries such as Getty Images and Corbis. If we are doing a historical feature, I will search for really nice old pictures, which tell the story. I then negotiate a price for use in our magazine and sometimes also the website.

Another important image resource for us is Red Bull Photofiles. This is a huge archive of pictures of Red Bull athletes and action shots from Red Bull events. If we are profiling a Red Bull athlete, this would always be the first place to look as there are so many great photos of all the athletes and events from around the world.

Another aspect of my job is contributing ideas for the magazine and discussing which features we feel would work best at particular times throughout the year.

Why/How did you become a picture editor?

I studied photography at uni and when I graduated I was fortunate enough to get a job as a picture assistant at pop culture magazine ‘The Face’.  At that time I had planned on working as a photographer so I took the job part time, so I could still do some freelance photography, for The Face and other style magazines. I spent four years at The Face, working my way up from Picture Assistant to Deputy Picture Editor and Picture Editor until the face sadly folded in 2004.

After that I decided to focus on photography again and worked as a freelance photographer for a year and half, continuing my work for style magazines, including ‘Intersection’. In 2005 the Deputy Editor of Intersection got a job as the Editor of a new Red Bull F1 magazine and asked me to join her as Picture Editor. This was to be the start of The Red Bulletin magazine and I have been here ever since.

I always new from when I was really young that I wanted to work in the creative industry but it wasn’t until I took A-Level Photography that I really found my place.

Here’s a few notes on the photos above.

1. Climbing – David Lama:

This image is from the Red Bull Photofiles archive.  We actually rotated this photo 90 degrees, before we printed it. When we originally downloaded the image it was in portrait format but we wanted to use it across a double page spread. We tried it on its side and discovered it actually worked better that way. The action in the image and the direction David Lama is climbing in, travels from left to right across the page. This works well in a magazine because it follows the direction you read in, thus encouraging you to continue turning through the pages.

2. Red Bull Compound:

This sums up the perfect picture for a Red Bulletin double page spread.  It is an aggressive action shot but also a beautiful landscape. It is also subtly branded, which is important for us. When shooting action shots the best photos are taken when the athlete is at the ultimate point of their trick. It’s really good if you can get the kicker in so you can gage how far they have jumped and get a sense of the scale of the jump. Having the action to one side of the frame always makes it easier for us to layout in the magazine because you have to consider the ‘gutter’, where the two pages meet in the middle. You don’t ever want the focal point of an image to fall in the gutter.

3. Lyndsey Vonn:

This photo was commissioned answering a very tight brief for the front cover of the Red Bulletin as Lyndsey Vonn was previously on the cover of the Austrian Bulletin and we needed to show her in a different way.  We wanted to portray her as powerful, sexy and slightly aggressive, rather than her usual ‘girl next door’ image. At the same time it was also important to us that she felt comfortable with our suggestions. We settled for a modern take on the 70’s après ski theme. The fact that Lyndsey is very photogenic also helped make a great shoot.

4. Aaron Hadlow:

We commissioned this shoot and did it for a cover shot. We thought it was successful because we didn’t want to have just a photo of his face as people may not know who he is, neither did we want to have a shot of him in action at an event as people would have thought our magazine was a kitesurfing magazine. Therefore, by having a plane studio made the photo very graphic and simple that stands out on a front cover.

What was your first ever job?
Originally I did a load of free stuff and I started filming for various skate companies at the age of about 19-24.  The skateboarding world in those days didn’t really pay – that was probably my only flaw in my career plan!  Then I started getting paid and my first job was working for a TV program called Rad which was an extreme sports program.  At this time my only option was to go through a TV show.

What have you done for Red Bull and what are the events like?
I started off doing editing jobs for Red Bull.  The biggest filming job I have done for Red Bull though was Manny Mania in 2008.  It was an amazing job – organised by a great team who were awesome and new exactly what they were doing – Robbie, Chris, Kat and the guys who did King Ramps, ensured Manny was well organised, well executed, had a great atmosphere and was really inclusive of everyone of all ages.  Its actually one of the best skateboarding events I have been to in a while.  That kind of skating can be considered as quite boring but it was really technical and the guys that were competing were some of the best.  The video therefore wasn’t hard to make as there was such a good atmosphere, a lot going on and a lot to get a hook on.

What do you do when you find out you have got a particular job?
The key stages you have to go through are:
1. If you are conscientious do research into the event.  Think about who is going to be there, who to look for when you are there, general background of the event, get to know the course, have a look at previous events and keep in touch with your contact for the job so they can keep you updated with the organisation of it all – Red Bull are amazing because they organise everything!
2. Check your camera – making sure it’s all working.  Run tests – test the recording, test the microphone, check it is all clean and charged. Make sure you have spare bits of equipment, the worst thing in the world is turning up when things don’t work – it’s really embarrassing. 
3. Make sure you have a brief from the company employing you – some will have one, some wont!  The best scenario is an amalgamation of the two.  It’s really nice to have some freedom to use your creativity and freestyle a bit but also have some clear direction to make sure you get exactly what they want.   I tend to pick up on the right things that are really interesting to skaters and the public.  This comes purely from my enthusiasm and practicing over time.

What’s the first thing you do when you arrive at an event?
1. Try and arrive early to an event and literally have a scout around, get a good feel of the layout of the site, find out what’s where, where a good place to stand is and film things and just see who is about.
2. Research how the event is run.  E.g. a skate comp will usually have the qualifiers in the morning – at this point I might spend some time doing interviews as everyone is excited about the event and not too busy skating.  This is also a good time to capture shots of the venue to create a vibe for the viewers.  Be aware that it will get busy later on because that’s when all the action will be kicking off nearing the finals.
3. I usually spend the first 2/3 hours bullying people to talk to the camera.  You must make sure you are set up ready for people to talk about what the event is, what’s unique about the event etc.  Think about this before the event; consider what you want to ask people.  If, however, you are confident you don’t necessarily need to write the questions down but if you are not sure or think of a great question prior to the event write them down!
4. Get a feel for where the right action is going to be making sure you are in the right spots in the right places where good tricks can take place.  You must also make sure you are not in the way, if you are its really embarrassing and you look like you don’t have a clue about what’s going on.  Saying that I’ve been crashed into by skaters, as it’s such a sporadic sport, it’s hard to get out the way in time but I got better at it once I had done a few events.  People have broken my camera from crashing into me at events – its really important to get your kit insured!
5. At the end of an event, if necessary get an interview with the winner, but I  sometimes find its not so great as you don’t get much out of them just that they are ‘stoked’.  I now find it better to either not do an interview at the end or get a presenter to do one.  To round off the video though you do need an out link.

Editing
1. Go back and capture all of the footage onto your computer.
2. The more difficult bit which isn’t done as much these days is creating the narrative.  First I create narrative around the pictures – almost like creating the frame but this is a journalistic bit. Go to the interviews, pick out the good points , you know what everyone was talking about so make the frame like an explanation of the event e.g. who was there, what’s going to happen, what the event actually is, and maybe try and incorporate general random comments to illustrate the atmosphere. Get all speech on a timeline and then create the framework.  For example you might have a bit on the qualifiers then some chat about it, then some footage of the final followed by some narrative and comments on the action! 
3. Once you have the frame it’s quite easy to see what bits need to go where – it’s very formulaic after you have done it for a while and becomes second nature.  You then have to figure out what music tracks you are going to use to create the right mood – at the beginning you may want to start off slow and when the action comes get a faster paced track.  Red Bull Audiofiles is really easy to use and was a brilliant source.
4. Then go over it with the action and put the pictures in.  When you get to the end just go over it again in a technical way, sound checks, technical tweaking, lights, numerous shaped files etc.

What editing software do you have?
Avid express pro – one of the better PC programs that’s available.
I also have a dedicated computer I try to keep off the internet otherwise it slows his computer down with other software and viruses etc.

How do you look after your equipment?
You must clean your camera regularly – use a head cleaner, make sure every part works and service it according to what they tell you in manuals, don’t just throw your kit around willy nilly!  At Manny, Andy Willis actually picked my bag up with my camera in it and threw it on the floor without realising there was loads of stuff in there.  Yeah that’s a good point – Get a good padded bag to keep camera in to keep it safe, they are not v. expensive!

How do you shoot the best action shots?
The more I have done events the better I have got at finding good spots.  Find 2/3 locations during the final to find some advantage points where you can get in on the action, you can pick up other action shots in practice – set them up a bit more – rather do that in practice.  You must know the sport to read it well, figure out when to focus, when to zoom in etc.  You can’t always get in the best position but you’ve got to make the most of what you can!

How much footage do you shoot in a day?
If I shoot more than 3 hours I get worried I have overdone it.  Try not to shoot too much, be selective and efficient.  When I started filming I panicked and filmed everything – once you have done it, you know what formula you need – be efficient and effective.

How long does it take you to edit a 3min web clip?
Best part of a day.

What do you look for in your final cut?
Depends on the event – make sure you capture the essence of the event bringing it across well to the audience, make sure it’s truly reflective of the event – communicate that to the people.  Try and get a feel of the people as well as the action.  The more the human element you can put into it the more people can relate to it so it doesn’t look so distant from them.  I want people to realise they are idiots too – skating is full of brilliant idiots which makes it more interesting regardless of the physical endeavour.  This makes it feel more like a community, there is always an interesting atmosphere beyond the act.

What is your style?
Style of idiocy – I don’t want to make it too serious.  I have a light hearted approach – abstract some might say.  A lot of the people I am involved with in filming encourage me to do silly random things – making commentators shout out odd words at competitions and stuff, so I guess I also have quite a random style too.  It can be hard taking skateboarding seriously in England as there is an anti-glamour feel to it.

Apart from my camera, what piece of equipment should I definitely get?
A computer with an editing program is vital if you want to do anything with the footage. 
If shooting action shots it’s good to get a wide angle lens attachment for your camera as this creates a more dramatic feel to the shots.

What is your favourite shot?
I do like a good zoom, yeah zooming.

In the skate world, the one thing I can think of is there are a lot of people getting into it because kids think it will make them famous.  You should start it out from a genuine interest of making films and being interested in sport like I was with skating.  Do it for the love of it, not to get celebrity status!

How did you become involved in presenting?
I got into TV through MC’ing, which in turn I got involved with through journalism. I was the editor of White Lines snowboard magazine between 1998 and 2002 and under that guise I had been going to all the snowboard events. I turned up to Board X in Battersea park in 1998 and my very good friend and king of freesports TV at the time, Christian Stevenson had been double booked. The producer handed me a mic and told me to keep spouting rubbish. After what turned out to be a blink and you’ll miss it appearance on MTV Snowball I naively believed the offers would start rolling in. I didn’t get a sniff until the next Board X a year later when the organisers asked me to front a half hour TV show and do the MC’ing. From there it was another four years before I had generated enough guaranteed work to give up the day jobs and focus full time on TV work.

What was your first ever presenting job?
My first proper regular TV job after the Board X shows was for a new channel called CNX. A good friend of Christian and myself had watched us doing our by now very slick but none the less stupid MC’ing double act under the title Laughing Gear and decided that our immature humour would be perfect for the channels nightly ident show. Sadly it only lasted nine months but the up shot was that it gave me some very valuable time in front of a camera. This is the single most important thing about becoming a presenter. No matter how natural you are, no matter how confident, you need to spend time in front of camera just engaging it and becoming yourself or at least a projection of yourself.

The summer before in I took that job in 2001 I’d met some guys from a production company called Boomerang in Wales. I met Gareth and Gryf at a friends birthday and by the end of the night they had asked me and a friend if we wanted to travel to France and Mexico as the subjects of a surfing documentary. We got on well and made a great hour long doc and had a lot of fun. The next summer CNX had shut up shop but fortuitously the Boomerang crew had developed a relationship with Channel 4 and had got a commission for the first Freesports on 4 series and because they had seen me working hard at CNX they had the confidence to take me on as one of the presenters.

That was my big break and it will be the chicken and egg scenario for any young presenters out there. Very few people will take you on without any experience, but where are you supposed to get that from? The key is to network and get yourself out there, send your show reels out to every production company whose work you admire and if they are looking for fresh young talent then you have the golden wonka ticket. Production companies like to develop talent so once you find a good home try to repay that belief they have in you. As soon as I got onboard with Boomerang they invested in me and nurtured me. Without their support I wouldn’t be where I am now.

What do you think makes a presenter stand out from other presenters?
Personally I like presenters who are themselves, who are genuine on screen and look like they’re enjoying themselves. And the best of these are the one’s who make it look easy, because while there’s so much to remember and you’re thinking on your feet you have to remain relaxed otherwise people will pick up that you’re not having fun and it becomes uncomfortable to watch.

As I said passion and intelligence for what ever you’re presenting are the key. If you are excited and amped about something then it is contagious. Think about the great presenters at the moment Kevin Mcleod on Grand Designs, Attenborough on anything, Davina McCall on Big Brother, James May on Top Gear (he is the best by the way). No matter what you think of the shows they all have a passion and interest in what they’re presenting and it makes them watchable.

Did you have a style of presenting when you started or is something that just develops the more you do it?
I definitely didn’t have a style when I started presenting, I just had a lot of bad habits that I have had to iron out over time. I knew from the start that I wanted to be myself because when you’re thinking on your feet you want to be able to come out with the first thing that pops into your head whether it’s right or wrong. Personally I wouldn’t want to be second guessing myself having created a persona. But that’s my opinion and preference for some people that might work.

The worst habit I had was pausing to remember the next line of my links and as I did I would let the tone of my voice rise at the end of each sentence. It was really hard to get to grips with as it was a natural reaction, but as I was given a lot of time to practice I was able to shake this and train my brain to remember links.

Are there any techniques that you use to help you remember what you’ve got to say?
Remembering links can be really hard to start with and it is one of the things I take for granted now because in 8 years it has thankfully become second nature. I really struggled to start with because I tried to remember what people had written for me word for word. But as I worked with Boomerang more and more I realised that they would encourage me to put whatever they had written into my own words. This made it easier for me to remember and ad lib if I got lost anywhere. Not all directors will let you do this, some get really funny about saying exactly what they have written down. But in my experience it will all flow a lot better if you’re comfortable with how you’re explaining something.

The way I now remember stuff is just to bullet point the link, so i know what each sentence or paragragh is roughly about so I know I have to say for example where we are, why we’re their and how great it’s going to be and if I’ve read the link ten times then it’ll usually come out pretty close to that. The key is to work hard and prepare on the links so you know them. Take your time and if the director will let you, re write the links to suit you the night before.

Do you ever get nervous, if so, how do you overcome your nerves?
I have always believed that anyone can be a TV presenter because I found it so easy. But having tried to help and coach friends I have realised that nerves and being self conscious will kill people in front of the camera. It is a blessing for me that I very rarely get nervous or embarrassed. The last time I was nervous was before a live MC’ing gig at Leeds festival in front of a mosh pit of about 2000 people bottle fighting. I was so sure that the moment we opened our mouths they would just turn on us. But they didn’t and we ended up having one of the best gigs we’ve ever done.

Do you ever practice presenting in front of the mirror?
No, it’s a waste of time. There is no substitute for a camera, in front of a mirror you’re alone and are performing for yourself, you need to be able to do this in front of a lot of people, under pressure and so the more people you can practice in front of the better.

How can budding presenters get themselves seen and heard?
Right first of all I feel I should say this. There are two ways to get into TV, one is to set out your stall and say come hell or high water I want to be on TV, I don’t care what for I just want to be on TV. I call this ‘eyes and teeth’ presenting because no matter how good looking or cool you are, you are effectively just a mouth piece and sadly in this game there will always be Big Brother left overs who simply because of celebrity will get a job before you. The other way is to have as I have already said twice, passion and intelligence for a subject. This means that you instantly put yourself in a position where you have knowledge and ultimately some control of what you are saying and reporting on. In the long term the latter path is a lot better for your sanity and integrity, because by and large dignity and TV presenting are not best friends. The catch 22 here is that TV demands mainstream compromise so you have to know your subject, but equally you have to know how to sell that and make it interesting to your gran.

You also need to get your name out there, the first thing you need is a show reel. This is 3-4 minute tape showing what you’re capable of. You have to be disciplined with this, TV people are usually too busy for up and comers and will probably only watch the first minute or two of your show reel, so remember this when you get it edited. Try and put a bit of everything in there classic links to camera, interviews, walking and talking even dicking about. You need to show them that you have everything they want in a minute so make sure it really sells you. With that in mind don’t let some ego maniac editor go nuts on it because you’re the most important part of that tape and you don’t want too many distractions.

If you had to give just one piece of advice to a Red Bull Reporter who is going on a presenting assignment, what would it be?
What I always try and do is go out and if I don’t already know them, introduce myself to the athletes, the judges, the MC anyone who’s a part of what you’re covering. This means you can talk about the conditions, if the riders are happy, and best of all  the athletes will also recognise you when it comes to interviews so you stand a better chance of fighting through everyone else to get your slot with them. Network so that you find the stories and bring them to life, not only will you do a great job and enjoy the event more, but you’ll also make a lot of new friends.

Is it better to memorise what I am going to say or make it up as I go along?
Both, memorise your links in which ever way works for you, but when it comes to interviews and ad lib pieces to camera if you have done good research on the subject you should know the story and that will allow you the freedom to freestyle and this is where your personality should shine through. When you have captured that then you know you are doing well.

Good luck

Ed