Claire Greenway
Becoming a celebrity photographer and a staff shooter for Getty Images was not always Claire Greenway’s dream.
Mike Stanton, CPN Editor talks to a rising press pen star about the journey from a sheep farm in Wales to the red carpets of London’s Leicester Square.
“I’m not a member of the paparazzi,” Claire Greenway says, admitting that she had anticipated the question. Claire is one of Getty Images’ bright young shooters working in the hectic world of entertainment photography. Yes, she shoots the stars, among other subjects but you won’t catch her hiding in a hedge with a long lens.
Getty Images is very clear about who it contracts and what images it will take when it comes to the entertainment sector. Its photographers work to strict guidelines and it insists that selling unsolicited or inappropriate images for a quick buck is not worth the risk of ruining the hard won relationships it has with the top stars.
At 32, Claire is assistant to Getty Images and The Sun newspaper’s Dave Hogan, one of the most renowned celebrity photographers in the business. She is in constant demand, but not just to cover film premieres.
-
Claire says: “I’m regularly sent to cover ‘photocalls’ at London Zoo for Getty Images – perhaps because my previous life as a veterinary surgeon will make me feel at home there! I always find these jobs amusing because the animals never quite co-operate with the photographers and you have to be ready for an unexpected image. They’re a good contrast to the madness and ‘glamour’ of a film premiere, though celebrities don’t always co-operate either!”© Claire Greenway
When we met recently at Getty Images London HQ, she had been snapping penguins at the Zoo, super model Naomi Campbell, a Muslim wedding and was about to rush off to catch Madonna.
“It’s really varied, but a good photographer should be able to cope with any subject, and get enjoyment out of all of them,” she says.
Being known by name by top celebrities takes time, and Claire’s journey to the press pens of Leicester Square has taken a few diversions along the way.
“I grew up on a sheep farm in mid-Wales and trained for five years to become a vet. But most photographers I know or admire most didn’t start off in the business.”
In 2001, she enrolled in a full-time photography course at Westminster University in central London, working locum shifts as a vet to help pay her way. She secured some work experience with the Press Association and began, literally, muscling her way into the press pens at film premieres. She had no contract and carried only a student press pass.
“The professional guys were good natured and pretty tolerant me as long as I didn’t get in their way. Then one day I was introduced to Dave Hogan who was looking for an assistant to help him get pictures away on time at premieres. That was two and a half years ago.”
-
Claire says: “This was taken at the party following Dreamgirls premiere. Naomi Campbell’s calm poise in this photograph belies the mad crush and noise of partygoers, photographers and her entourage surrounding her. Photographing celebrities in situations like this seems to be as much about politely fighting your way to the front and grabbing the moment they look your way as it is about composition and lighting. There isn’t much time or room for framing and fiddling with exposures.”© Claire Greenway
Claire’s first published image was in the lurid tabloid newspaper, the Saturday Sport. “I made my dad buy it. This is someone who normally reads the New Scientist. He went to the shop and told the newsagent that he was only buying the Sport because his daughter was in it. I told him that he could have re-phrased that,” she remembers.
Her attraction to creating images did not simply happen one day while she was wondering if she could spend the rest of her life treating sick cows. As a child, armed with an old Kodak 110 she would go on holiday with her parents and “take pictures of rocks and doorways”. Her influences are eclectic: Lee Miller, Moholy-Nagy, La Chapelle, Cartier-Bresson, David Alan Harvey, Martin Parr and Alison Jackson – a group that would make for a fun dinner party.
“Alison Jackson’s images are very clever,” she says. “They pull you in and the viewer becomes part of making the image.”
From her own work it is clear that Claire is steeped in landscape, art and music photography. She specializes in capturing the atmosphere of clubs and gigs, producing vivid scenes with which any young and thrusting urbanite would identify.
-
Claire says: “This was taken at Pacha night club in Ibiza when covering DJs/producers Frankie Knuckles and The Shapeshifters. When shooting for Mixmag dance magazine or for nightclubs generally I use the 5D as I find its light weight and minimal noise at high ISOs make it great for working in packed, busy rooms and for capturing the atmospheric low lighting.”© Claire Greenway
However, when the stars roll into town, there is often no time to think - just grab your camera and go.
“I’ve learned a lot from helping Dave Hogan on the one-on-one shoots with big celebrities. You often only get five minutes with them and you have to be able to read them.”
And about them. Claire admits that having to read celebrity magazines like Heat and watch Big Brother is not the worst part of the job.
So it helps to know about who’s doing what and who’s married to whom, but sometimes the job is more about thinking on your feet.
-
This was taken at a private view of an exhibition of images dedicated to the pop group Eurythmics. Video clips were scrolling through on a screen and I caught lead singer Annie Lennox looking up luckily just as an image of her during the band’s Eighties heydays appeared behind her.
“The locations are not always ideal, like in hotel corridors. One time with Mariah Carey, we were told to use a tiny, hotel gym and we only had a few minutes before she arrived. We shoved the rowing machines out the way and pinned up a background and made it just in time.”
Well, that’s showbiz!
-
Claire (second left) on the editing on the ‘floor’ at the King Kong premiere with interested actors Thomas Kretschmann and Adrien Brody, and producer Peter Jackson.© Claire Greenway
- TECH INFO
-
Equipment:
Bodies:
- EOS 5D
- EOS-1D Mk ll
Lenses:
- EF24-70mm f/2.8L
- EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS
- EF16-35mm f/2.8L
Accessories:
- Canon 580 Ex flash gun and Quantum Turbo
- Dell latitude x300 PC and spare 4-hour battery, power lead and extension
- Mac G4 PowerBook
- Software – Photostation, Photoshop CS, GIFT (Getty software) and Filezilla FTP
- Lexar 512mb and 1gb CF cards
- Lexar card reader
- Network cables – ADSL
- Vodafone 3G card
On a premiere shoot Claire takes:
- The two bodies
- The 24-70 and 70-200mm lenses
- The ex flash gun and Quantum Turbo
- The PC, 3G card, Lexar cards and card reader
Claire says: “The EOS 5D is the camera I use a lot. It has allowed me to progress. The speed, colour and quality of the image in low light are really good.
“I tend to use the EOS-1D Mk II when shooting celebrity events. It has a good balance of speed, image quality and manageable file sizes - for speedy downloading, editing and wiring during the event. If I’m covering a job where I can wander about inside a party, I use the 24-70mm or 24-105mm lenses. If I’m shooting from a press pen then I’ll use the 70-200mm on an extra body as well. The IS [image stabilisation] is good for when you’re being jostled in the press pen.”
