Life, Values & Legacy: Our Chat with Stephen Payne

Stephen Payne shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.

Stephen, we’re thrilled to have you with us today. Before we jump into your intro and the heart of the interview, let’s start with a bit of an ice breaker: What do you think is misunderstood about your business? 
I’m a photographer and before telephone phones had cameras, photography was seen as a skill. These days, everyone with a camera/phone thinks they are a photographer, but they aren’t.

Think of it like this, you could hand me a 1957 Les Paul guitar and I would make it sound like a cat being squashed ….. because I don’t know how to play guitar.

But I have friends who can make a cheap Chinese guitar built in 2024, sound beyond amazing. So you understand that I’m not saying you can’t take good photographs with iPhone, because you can, but a good camera does not make a good photographer.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I started shooting photographs for Melody Maker, The NME, Record Mirror and Sounds back in 1982. I gradually progressed to working full-time for The Evening Standard as a freelancer, shooting all of the photographs for Fay Macshler’s restaurant reviews as well as many other feature article portraits. I also started working in film and video, moving to California in 1991. In 2023, I moved to Malta.

I slowly progressed in my career working for the likes of MTV and numerous other cable outlets and record companies. I continued working as a photographer shooting many portraits for High Times and others.

I photographed Ridley Scott, Elon Musk, John and Steve from the Sex Pistols, Johnny Cash, ZZ Top, Rodney Bingenheimer, Larry Harvey, Ozzy and Lemmy, Henry Rollins, Stewart Copeland, Matt and Trey from South Park and many, many others.

If I had to define my skill, it would be that if I take a photograph of somebody, the viewer of the picture seems to understand a little bit about the person in the photograph. A slight view into their soul perhaps.

Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. Who saw you clearly before you could see yourself?
Me. I first picked up a camera when I was about nine years old and it just seemed like it was part of me. It was my father’s and he let me borrow it and take pictures. I really like the pictures I took. Other people like them as well, so I just kept doing it. The one photographer that always stood out to me as taking the best photographs was David Bailey. I liked his white backgrounds and found it that’s the style that I had been shooting whenever I could. I tend to overexpose the backgrounds on many of my images.

Working for The Evening Standard was very good training as well because you learn what a deadline is and you learn that you never step over that deadline. Not once, not ever.

Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
No. Of course there have been times when I’ve had to do other side jobs. When I was much younger I washed dishes. I was a motorcycle dispatch rider in London for seven years. I did part-time work as a chauffeur in Los Angeles for a couple of years, but I never gave up photography or filmmaking. There was no chance of that ever happening. It’s what I do. It’s not in my blood, it is my blood.

I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. Is the public version of you the real you?
100%. I am just me. Trying to put on a public persona would take far too much effort. That’s another reason why I don’t tell lies. Trying to remember which lie you told to which person seems like a lot of work to me. So I don’t lie. It’s also wrong. 🙂

I treat people as I’d want to be treated by them. That probably means I get taken advantage of sometimes, that’s just life. I’d rather be taking a advantage of occasionally, than take advantage of others..

I’m definitely an optimist and I always try and see the best in someone. If that turns out to be incorrect, I cut that person out very, very quickly. I surrounded myself with good people. I have many friends that I had for decades and I like it that way. I also have many new friends as well.

Okay, we’ve made it essentially to the end. One last question before you go. What are you doing today that won’t pay off for 7–10 years?
Making movies. I’m shooting something right now in Malta, but it’s taking a bit longer than I would have liked it to take. Trying to find people as committed to the project as I am, or even close to it is proving to be a bit of a problem. But I will persevere and get this thing done. It will probably take a year longer than I would like.

It’s a film called “The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea.” a dramatic thriller set on a small boat. I wrote it. I’m directing it. I’m shooting it. …….. and I am editing it.

Will it make me famous? Probably not, but maybe the next one will and I’m in the process of writing that as well.

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