Phoebe Fox : Life Through The Lens
BRIT School alumni Phoebe Fox may not necessarily be a name that you immediately recognise but is bound to be one to go down in the musical history books. She has more talent in her pinky finger than most can dream of and has worked with a myriad of successful stars from touring with Anne-Marie and The Amazons to shooting Maggie Rogers, Queens of the Stone-Age and Haim to name a few... At just 23, it's a marvel how she has created such an expansive and impressive body of work in such a short amount of time.
Phoebe takes us through some of her favourite photos she's snapped over the years, reveals who's on her lockdown playlist and shares her memorable moments from tour...
One of the earliest photos you took:
I started music photography whilst studying at The BRIT School. Students in music strand put on shows both in school and at The Barfly (now Camden Assembly) and I’d shoot them for the artists / the school. Here’s some oldies of Rex Orange County, who was in the year below!
Who are you listening to at the moment ?
Holly Humberstone just released a new song called Overkill, she's a new artist with an eerie pop sound, catchy and guitar based. Haim’s new album is crazy good, I love that not every song really fits into one genre, everything has a real badass female attitude to it. Phoebe Bridger's new album Punisher is another one...I read that the title track was written about Elliott Smith - not sure if it’s true but there’s such a strong influence in her music and it adds to the (sad) enjoyment to imagine that it is.
Favourite location to shoot at?
I think my favourite is actually to have an unknown location, like just go to a place and walk around and try to find cool spots - it keeps everyone relaxed and you get to find out more about the people you’re shooting. Grace Carter is the perfect person for this kinda thing, she makes everything look effortless. It makes touring so exciting to photograph...unless you have a rainy day in Birmingham!
Best lockdown shot ?
Best lockdown shots might be this collage done over FaceTime with Holly Humberstone. I went to her house a few months ago to do some BTS on the last couple of videos she’s released, so remembered a few spots. I ordered some gels to her house, she stuck them on a light and managed to rope her family in to hold them up or find places to balance them so I could direct her over the phone and then print them onto Polaroid’s! It was a mission but we had fun.
Best new live band you've seen ?
Beabadoobee! She's such a 90's inspired new artist with a really tight band. Perfect set list mix of songs for people to jump to and get their phone torches out. The show was way over sold out, bursting at the seams. I was by far the oldest there which was a first, everyone had so much energy. It makes such a huge difference seeing a band at their own show as opposed to a festival slot because from the second they start you’re in their world in terms of album cycle aesthetics and concepts. It makes the music so much more enjoyable when everyone around you is there specifically for that.
Photo with the funniest memory attached to it ?
Hmm, this photo was taken just before Anne Marie asked her audience to sing me happy birthday. We’d been away from home for 5 weeks and at the end of every set I got to jump up and take a crowd photo of her and her band. When I tried to get off the stage she pulled me back on and her friend Nicola and sister Sam had a cake to blow out too - a very surreal but hilarious moment as I’m sure my expression at the time would tell.
Best festival shot you've taken ?
I think probably this one, it was a total fluke taken behind a This Feeling stage at Isle Of Wight Festival in 2017.
The shoot you were most nervous for ?
Hands down the first press shoot I ever did. Studio lights scared me to death and because it was with my friends band Anteros, I really wanted it to be good!
Most fun you've had on a shoot ?
Most fun I’ve had on a shoot was when SWMRS very kindly flew me to California for 48 hours. I’d been touring with the band for a couple of years every time they came to the U.K. and we’d always speak about what it was like where they’re from. It’s the only time I’ve ever been and the whole thing felt like a dream. I flew there and arrived at night, woke up and we spent the whole day going to a list of hot spots they’d decided on, taking press photos as we checked each one off. It was half shoot, half sightseeing. After that we all went out for a meal and the next morning I flew back home. Jetlag didn’t even have a chance to hit!
Favourite self portrait ?
Favourite self portrait (rather than a selfie) is this shot with one of my best friends from when The Amazons played Glasgow Barrowlands. We’d wanted to work together for so long and it finally planned out. The whole of this tour was an accumulation of mates in different creative roles, you can see them being judgemental in the background.
Follow Phoebe on instagram here.
