ABOUT

So what do you actually do?

My job consists of me covering various parts of the music world such as concerts, events, tours, behind the scenes of music videos and shots for press purposes.

What has your career path been?

When I was 17, just finishing off my second year of 6th Form I worked for Arsenal Football Club in their main store for 4 years, then I went to the University of Hertfordshire.

I started photography at the end of my first year and I was the photography manager for my university's student media group 'Trident Media'. The following year after that I officially started my residency at the university's on-campus nightclub 'The Forum', I carried this on until it's temporary closure due to COVID.

After I graduated at Herts, I went onto working in a full-time Customer Service role. I had to balance my freelance work with this which became difficult at times but due to passion for it, I made it work. The year after graduation, I was approached by Sony Music UK through Twitter after seeing my photos of ZieZie whilst I working at my residency and I have worked with a few artists since. I will be working in freelance photography full-time from December 2020.

What is the best part of your job?

When I started off, I used to think the best part about my job was meeting people who I never dreamed of meeting growing up.

Further down the line, I learnt what I truly love about my job is being able to freely express myself and combine it with my love for music and being able to inspire others to pursue their passions as I truly spent years trying to progress to where I am currently at.

Why do you do your job?

My love for visuals.

When I was younger, I didn't just listen to music just for the song, I was also very attentive to the visual accompanied with it. I was at the back end of my first year of university and I wanted to do something different and that was to follow my passion for music and visuals so I combined the two and photographed my first festival (Latitude Festival) a month after picking up a camera for the first time.

One piece of advice for someone starting in your role?

Study the craft as much as you can and to practice and network. Furthermore, do not feel discouraged by setbacks as it's not always smooth sailing.

Check out Tobi’s socials below!

DAY IN THE LIFE

Corporate Me:

Wake up at 8am before a 10am start, I will be at work until 7pm then I will go to the gym for at least an hour and a half and I do this 5 days a week. 

Creative Me (Shoot Day):

I will ensure I wake up as early as I can before a shoot. The night before I will make sure my equipment is packed and charge and my storage is empty to avoid any hiccups on the day.

After I have woken up, gotten ready and had breakfast, I will do a double take to ensure I have all of my equipment packed and fully charged.

A day shoot can be around 8-9 hours. I will get home from said shoot around 10:30pm-Midnight but for me, it is crucial that I go to the gym after whether the shoot is local or a 300 mile round trip, I need to go.

My days off consist of me planning marketing strategies and ways to improve my brand.