Photoshoot 1

I recently went down to visit Salford Lads Club and take a look at the Smiths room. It was a great experience and I managed to take some test shots and get a feel for the space.

After talking with Leslie, who basically curated the room he was unsure about me photographing inside the room. He didn't want to give too much away as they like to gets fans into the room on a regular basis and people do flock to see it purely because there's not a lot online about it. There is the odd wide photo but no real close ups of articles in the room. I liked this, it added to the mystery of it all and I had to respect his wishes. In the end he was more than happy for me to photograph the room freely but he mentioned a few items he didn't want any close ups of because of copyright issues or their uniqueness. He wanted to keep it fresh for new viewers and not spoil the surprise by having photos online of key elements.

I started by getting a few wide shots of the room but it was quite awkward. The walls are really busy but the floor is empty and it's an awkwardly long room. I tried a few shots from each corner until I was happy. Fortunately I'd packed a 10-20mm lens which allowed me to photograph the majority of the room and give a nice sense of size. Photojournalists often use wide lenses indoors as it gives a good idea of the entire space, especially if it's a large group shoot or a shot of a room.

I then moved onto detail shots, there was so much on the walls it was hard to take everything in. I selected a few things that caught my eye, mainly being post it notes created by fans who had traveled to see the room. It was great to see the diversity of the fans, there was someone from every country from Australia to Norway and everything in between.

I really wanted to capture the personal element of the room. It was clear from the second I entered it's a room made by fans, for fans. There's no ulterior motive, it's not there to make money. It's a collection of memorabilia to commemorate one of the most influential bands of the century.

I'm happy with my first visit, I've arranged to go back next week but during the day to get some natural light into the room as the lights were casting hot spots onto images on the wall in some shots.

My plan for the next shoot is to photograph the exterior of the club, which is an essential shot for a news story. I would also like to photograph elsewhere in the club and also grab a shot of Les outside the room as it's his passion and knowledge that made it possible!