Pandemic gave me confidence, says photographer

A teenager who started his own online music magazine said the pandemic helped give him the confidence to do things for himself.

Kyle Horne, 18, moved from Dunfermline to Cambridge in search of more opportunities to work as a music photographer.

Now, less than a year later, he has snapped musicians such as Raye, Teddy Swims and McFly at their concerts.

Mr Horne, who shares his works in his magazine called Adrenaline, hoped to help more young people gain experience and insight into the industry.

Mr Horne said there was "no real kind of help, guide or information" for young music photographers.

Alongside working on Adrenaline, he said he wanted to build on his skills and decided to move to study photography at Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge.

While taking on university, he began to message venues in and around London for opportunities to photograph artists, for free, at concerts.

"It's one of these things where you try to be as proactive as possible," he said.

"A case of building on your experiences and making sure that support is there for other people.

"There's no real information out there for music photographers. It's almost like an exclusive club, you're doing it all yourself."

The 18-year-old said he developed his affinity for music photography during the Covid pandemic.

It was one of the first times he sat down and "properly listened to music", he said.

During that time, Mr Horne had been physically out of school for longer than his classmates as his family had started shielding before the first national lockdown.

"It was definitely an experience. You could say that's what made me do things myself.

"I would do a lot of self-learning, a lot of being sat by myself reading a textbook... just to catch up and get there and I did.

"I'm so happy that I did but I think it's given me that kind of push to go for it and that confidence."

Speaking about the magazine, Mr Horne said he and the volunteer contributors had learned a lot from each other and it was "exciting to offer opportunities to people".

"The biggest advice ever I can give to anybody it would just be to just ask," he said.

"The worst thing they can say is no... if you don't get it, then it's a shame, but you just move on to the next thing."

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