It’s been several years since country music photographer John Shearer made the move from Los Angeles to Nashville. Since then, Shearer’s goal has been to showcase what goes on behind the bright lights of country music’s favorite celebrities.
Shearer photographs clients such as Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, Bob Dylan, Kelsea Ballerini, and Thomas Rhett among other talent.
Shearer’s work brings fans feeling closer to their favorite artists in intimate, behind-the-scenes, and documentary-styled photos.
Courtesy of John Shearer
BC: When did photography really begin for you?
JS: “I got into photography in the nineties when I lived in California. I photographed punk bands, skateboarding, snowboarding, and that whole scene. I went to college at San Fransisco State and majored in photojournalism. At the time the assumption was that I would be working for a newspaper covering sports, war, conflict - a million things other than entertainment. During college, it became clear that working for a newspaper wasn’t reliable protection. Newspapers were laying off their photography staff - going from twenty people to one photographer.” Shearer says. “I then moved to Los Angeles where I had covered music previously so it was an easy transition to cover entertainment on a broader scale. I worked full-time at Getty Images photographing television, music, and movie premieres for seven years. In 2015, the family and I decided to move to Nashville where my dream was to open a studio for country artists for album covers. I loved working with artists and the whole industry. I had traveled back and forth (to Nashville) a couple of times and was accustomed to the type of people here. It’s a great place of community.” John shares. “Here I am eight years later with a studio in Nashville, I travel quite a bit and tour with artists. The focus with my photography now is music, specifically country.”
BC: Was there someone who influenced your work?
JS: “Yes, photographer, Jim Marshall. He was the iconic rock photographer of the sixties. Everything he did was backstage-style photography. He developed relationships with the artists and they gave him access to things people weren’t used to seeing. (He photographed) The Beatles backstage at their last concert, Bob Dylan, and The Stones. When I went to college I developed a personal relationship with him, almost like a mentor-like relationship with Jim. If I could point to anyone, I would give one hundred percent of the credit to Jim Marshall.”
BC: Why is photography special to you?
JS: “The type of photography I do specifically freezes a moment in time and makes people feel like they were there - whether it’s backstage in Luke Combs’ dressing room at the CMA Awards or on Kelsea Ballerinis’ bus. I like to show people something that they aren’t going to see on T.V., at the award show, or at the concert. I want to make them feel like they are backstage in these intimate moments in time. With still photography, I am capturing moments in time and I’m not being invasive to the extent of recording a video or audio. It’s a moment in time but it doesn’t give people more than they need to know.” John shares. “Thankfully a lot of these people trust me to photograph moments like that.”
Photographed Luke Combs and Nicole Combs
Photographed Tim McGraw
BC: Do you prefer one style of photography over another?
JS: “I do two things. I do studio work - album covers, advertising, and portrait work. I have another section where I’m documenting artists’ lives behind the stage.” John tells me. “A lot of photographers dig their heels in the ground and have one style of photography and do things one way or another. To be honest, I like the fact that my style is diverse. If I’m in the studio five days a week, I wish I was on tour with an artist. If I’m on tour with an artist I get the itch to be back in the studio.” John confesses. “I really like to change it up to keep it exciting. I feel like pigeonholing yourself into one style you can get burnt out."
BC: When touring with an artist are you in full control of what pictures you take or do the artists’ or artist management tell you what they’re looking for?
JS: “When someone hires me they generally are familiar with my style of photography, what I shoot, and how I shoot it. A lot of artists’ have tour photographers or content creators who only work for them and travel year-round with just that one artist. But, when someone hires me to do tour stops it’s usually major cities or major markets. They’ll bring me in for two or three days knowing the type of work I do and specifically bring me on the tour to capture that type of photography. In general, I would say photographers are absolutely told what is needed. And, I do usually ask them, ‘Do you need something besides what I’m already going to get?’ Oftentimes, the answer is no because they trust that I know what I am looking for.”
Photographed Miranda Lambert at her Las Vegas Residency, “Velvet Rodeo” show at Zappos Theater
Photographed Morgan Wallen performing at The Ryman Auditorium
BC: What kind of moments are your favorite to capture when you are photographing those live shows?
JS: “When doing any tour work I like to capture the moments that for those who didn’t buy tickets and are watching TikTok, the moments they aren’t seeing. It might be Kelsea Ballerini getting ready on her bus before going on stage or Eric Church walking from the bus to the stage or Keith Urban tuning his guitar during rehearsals. I like to capture the moments that the rest of the world doesn’t have the opportunity to see.”
BC: When you’re on the road, what is the must-have gear that you need?
JS: “It depends, if we’re talking about touring I keep it pretty minimal for the most part. I use small cameras because they aren’t intrusive and they don’t get in the way. But, there’s the other side of business where I’m doing album covers and advertising. If I’m traveling for that I am also with a crew of five or six people; lighting techs, digital techs, prop stylists. They are two entirely different situations.” Shearer explains. “For example, I went down to Atlanta to shoot an ad campaign with Zac Brown and had an entire crew with me. We often need enough lighting to pre-light six or seven scenes so the artist isn’t standing around waiting for us.”
Photographed Lady A
BC: What do you take pictures of when it’s not work-related?
JS: “When I’m not working, I am spending the bulk of my time with my family. When I’m not with my family - I enjoy mountain biking and hiking and I’ll sometimes bring my camera along. My entire life is pretty family focused with my wife and children.”
BC: Out of all the projects you have gotten to work on, what has been your favorite?
JS: “That’s a tough one. Some of the best experiences I have had is when I’ve worked with Bob Dylan. If we’re talking about concert tours, I love when I have the opportunity to photograph Taylor Swift. Her shows are always so big and extravagant.” Shearer says. “I got to photograph Michael Jackson’s rehearsals for the This Is It shows that didn’t end up happening due to Michael’s passing. I’ve had a few experiences when I’ve gotten to work with Prince, and sit down with him after the shows and review photos with him. Those are a handful of things that come to mind.”
BC: Looking back on all the experiences you have had, are those memories a blur for you?
JS: “Yes!” John laughs. “Often I’ll go back through my archive and I’ll find photos that I completely forgot I took. I’ll find photos from movie premieres, award shows, and concerts that I really don’t remember being at twenty years ago. But I have the photos to prove, thankfully.” Shearer tells me. “If I were to go back in time, I would make some sort of diary to document some of the experiences I have had with some of these people. It’s often a blur, but sometimes I can’t remember what I did yesterday but I can tell you every detail of a shoot I did with Prince twenty years ago - so it goes both ways.”
Photographed Zac Brown Band
BC: Is there something within photography that you haven’t been able to do, but want to?
JS: “It’s not something I haven’t been able to do, but I will say a focus of my photography path this year will go more into T.V. production. Markets around Nashville, such as Atlanta, Savannah, and Charleston - there are so many T.V. shows being filmed. I could definitely see myself expanding outside of Nashville and getting more into that, whether it’s key art ( e.g. movie posters) or that, in combination with documenting the cast and crew working behind the scenes.” Shearer explains. “My focus has been on country music and Nashville specifically for a good, eight years or so now that I could see (movies) being the next place I would take my career.”
BC: Is there a common misconception people have about the work you do?
JS: “One common misconception is that I do work with musicians and on massive concert tours, but it is work. I’m not there as a guest or to enjoy myself. The pictures make it look as such because I want to make it look like I’m a fly on a wall. But, the reality is that I have a job to do. I got to photograph the Cannes Film Festival in the South of France and that sounds like the most amazing job in the world and yes, there are amazing moments but I also had to leave my family for two and a half weeks and work every day for fifteen days straight. The photos depict parties but I’m not there to party, and it’s not always a vacation. I don’t take my job for granted because it’s a fun one but people say things like, ‘You must have had the best time at the Grammys last night’ and they’re absolutely right but people don’t always understand I am there working, on my feet for twelve hours.”
BC: Is there a person or event you would like to photograph?
JS: “I’ve done backstage coverage at nearly every award show except for The Oscars - so that could be a bucket list event. As far as one person I would like to work with, gosh I don’t know. It would be artists that I would love to go back in time and work with. I’d say Jimi Hendrix - that whole generation of artists. I would love to document that time period of rock and roll history, it was iconic and changed so much of today’s music industry.”
BC: How did you get into the country music side of photography?
JS: “When I was in L.A. I was working with all different musicians and actors. Music was always my passion though, as far as photography goes. I traveled to Nashville for events like the CMA and CMT Awards and loved working with everyone in the industry. In general, entertainment is not the most down-to-earth profession to be in but the country music scene is.” John says. “There is a saying once you work in the country music business you’ll never go back and work in rock, pop, or whatever. What really gravitated me towards country music, more than the music itself are the people; not just the artists but the people working behind the scenes. This genre is much more down-to-earth, friendly, egoless, and inclusive. Country music is a community and Nashville is a little big town.”
BC: Is there a tour that has been one of your favorites that you have photographed?
JS: “The first thing that comes to mind is the very first tour I did in 2003. I did Lollapalooza before it became a festival. I was specifically working with Jane’s Addiction. It was the first time I slept on a bus and was on the road for ten days to two weeks. More recently, I love when I have the opportunity to photograph Taylor Swift shows because every single one of her tours is just so incredible. Just last weekend I did the beginning of The Eras Tour in Phoenix, Arizona. She plays forty-five songs over three hours. I’ve never seen an artist or band play for that long without intermission or breaks.”
Photographed Taylor Swift on The Eras Tour
BC: What advice would you give to aspiring photographers?
JS: “Don’t pigeon yourself into still photography, which I did. I had a good career doing that but moving forward, everything is focused a lot more on the motion. I don’t want to discourage anyone from doing still photography but I would definitely broaden the forms of media that they are capturing.” John says. “If an artist wants to bring a photographer on tour, they often expect them to do still photography, video, possibly VIP experiences, meet and greets, update social media, and post photos from the show each night. Nowadays it’s harder to be a still photographer because you are expected to know so much more than still pictures. If I could go back I would get into more of that and broaden the scope of what I do.”