The Traverse is passionate about supporting up-and-coming talent wherever we can, aiding young professionals to develop their skills across a range of specialisms.
Emerging photographer, Josie Morrison Young talks here about her experience working with the Traverse in capturing rehearsal photography for Sean and Daro Flake It 'Til They Make It in Spring 2023 and how this has aided her professional development.
"My name is Josie and I am a part-time freelance photographer based in Glasgow and I had the pleasure of joining the cast and creative team of ‘Sean and Daro Flake It Till’ They Make It’ to capture one of their rehearsals in Glasgow.
I trained as a theatre artist at Edinburgh College, graduating in 2020 with a BA (Hons) in Dance and Drama into a fully lockdown-ed creative sector. Whilst photography had always been an interest in mine it became a valuable part of my expression and continuation of my learning practice that was able to fulfil me during a very isolated time. I invested my own time and money into developing my understanding and upgrading my equipment, taking headshots for friends and working in-kind in rehearsal spaces documenting small companies’ rehearsal process. I have been able to build myself to place where I have being doing paid headshot work for actors for the past year, and starting to invited to do paid work in rehearsal and workshop spaces.
Arriving at the rehearsal, I knew this was going to be a fun production to document. There was a lot of smiling and laughing to be captured within the team and cast, and the performance was packed with so much energy it made for some fantastic photos. I was met with a few challenges I had to overcome – the space was small, meaning I was stuck to one space in the room and the light of the window was shining behind them making the lighting not ideal. Situations like these can be high-pressured, particularly once you identify the challenges as you there for a job, with a reputable company that you want to create good results for. It’s important to trust the knowledge that you have, the skills you have to capture the best image you can. You want to capture the essence of any production, relationships of characters and fun images that happen on stage – thinking like audience and what they want to see, like the marketing manager and what will sell tickets to the show.
This experience has been invaluable as someone who is still emerging within this career path. Photography is all about trial and error, perfection and learning through practice so having the chance to be in the space to work on and build on my skills was amazing. Also, having my work promoted through the Traverse’s social channels – sharing my work with a new audience and adding the work to my own portfolio helps establishes my business and career."