pubs and shitty graffiti

Photographs by Kieran Woodham

Film photographer Kieran Woodham talks about his photo shoot with the British post-punk band, The Earnest Spears.

Birmingham , United Kingdom

“I first discovered The Earnest Spears when they supported The Wytches in Birmingham last year and was pretty much a fan after the first song. We spoke briefly in the smoking area after the gig and a bit on the band’s Instagram.

I was listening to their stuff on Spotify for a while then found the lead singer, Owen, on Instagram so gave him a follow. He instantly messaged me saying he loved the photos on my page and asked if I wanted to take some photos of them. Being a fan of the band, I was buzzing so had to take them up on it.

In the lead up to the shoot, I prepared by taking some inspiration from other bands. I looked at photos from shoots with bands like Oasis, The Libertines, The Murder Capital, Hotel Lux and a load more. I also had a look at Earnest’s style and thought how I could best capture what they’re about.

The shoot itself was so chilled. We both wanted the same things from the shoot so it made it really easy to work together. They knew the good spots around Birmingham so we just wondered around. We basically did a pub crawl stopping off at venues they’ve played at and other cool bars and food places they know, just shooting as we went along at any run down, shitty, graffiti covered place in sight. It was more like hanging out with some mates than anything.

I didn’t do too much in directing the guys. I gave some instructions but I sort of just let them do their thing, they were naturals and made it really easy. For some photos I just stood back with the camera and let them chat and hang out to try and get some more candid photos.

With shooting film, I’m very reserved about the photos I take so I usually give myself just one shot at it. In some cases, we would stop and set up for a shot but if I wasn’t feeling it or thought it would be a waste of film, we would just bail on it. The guys were cool with it, understanding and never complained.

I had so much fun doing this, and it’s really got me interested in doing future band stuff. It’s given me some new confidence in myself and my photography too.

I feel I’ve made some mates with the guys which is sick and I definitely hope to see them play again soon! They’re absolutely killing it at the moment, putting on fucking wild shows and have got a decent following too which is crazy as they’ve only been together a year. I recommend everyone check these guys out and if you get a chance to see them live, then fucking do it.”

-Kieran Woodham