Vicky Grout’s love of music and sheer determination has taken her from a gig-going fan with a camera to a photographer in high demand in and out of London’s Grime scene. All the more impressive when you take into account how male dominated the industry is. Last year, Lily Allen posted an image of the Wireless 2018 line up with male acts removed – showing the depressingly small number of female acts. There’s a similar story in photography, where of the 46 photographers exhibited at the 2017 World Press Photo Exhibit, only 5 were women.
None of this has held back photographer Vicky Grout.
Still in her early 20s, Vicky’s pictures have been splashed across Time Out Magazine London, Fader and Clash magazines. She’s photographed Grime stars like Stormzy and Skepta and has recently been passing on her hard-won wisdom in photography series O2 Sessions. But how did she achieve it? Vicky shares her secrets.
Tips that took Vicky to the top
1. Have faith in yourself
No matter the industry, many women are held back by a lack of self-confidence not so prevalent amongst their male colleagues. Vicky suggests putting these inner demons on mute: “Make sure you get your work out there. I know so many artists who torture themselves over their work and never put anything out – and nobody sees it. Don’t be overly critical of yourself and your work.”
2. Focus on what you love
Vicky sees her photography career as a direct result of her love of music: she wouldn’t have taken a single photograph without the passion for the performances at the gigs and raves she attended. “If you’re not passionate about what you’re doing, it will come through in your work and people will see that” she says, “and you’ll get bored of it very, very quickly.”
3. Take inspiration from people around you
Whether you’re a painter or an entrepreneur, it’s good to look at the success of others and understand how this can be applied to your own work. “Look for inspiration from other people’s work,” she says. “Don’t compare yourself with them, but just look at things you like and would like to try yourself.”
4. Take every opportunity to help others
Because the Grime scene started as a small community in the music world, Vicky has found that helping others has always paid dividends. “My pictures have got us both [Skepta] noticed, so I feel like we’re helping each other out.” As an established voice on the scene, Vicky uses her photography to support and promote female talent, from established Manchester-based singer IAMDDB to the emerging talent of London rapper Flohio. Many of Vicky’s opportunities came from being on the scene with her camera and the first name that came to mind when a new project came up.
And Vicky’s have been very much pinned to Grime: “Because more people were following that genre of music, more people were seeing my work as well.”
5. Practise and perseverance
Whatever your passion, stick at it and don’t give up. Vicky learned a lot about the perfect portrait by taking pictures of her friends before she turned her lens to more famous faces. She advises: “The more you practise, the more you’ll get to know your personal style. The more you do, the more you’re learning and the more you’re building your craft.”
To see Vicky’s positive philosophy in action, check out her Portrait tutorial.