Abbey Road hosts Rankin and Gered Mankowitz ahead of their annual photography awards

Earlier this month, the Abbey Road Music Photography Accelerator — which, if you’re not familiar, is the music studio’s platform that supports music photographers — hosted a chat with Rankin and Gered Mankowitz at Colours, Hoxton, as part of their SXSW London pop-up, Abbey Road Studio Four.

In the hour-long talk, hosted by founder of the UK Black Female Photographer’s Group Jemella Ukaegbu, the photographers reflected on their careers behind the lens, covering everything from their initial discoveries of photography, to how they build trust with the artists they shoot, to adapting to the constant changes in the industry.

They also looked back at some of their most memorable work, from Mankowitz’s portraits of Jimi Hendrix and Kate Bush to Rankin’s shots of Oasis and Björk, also diving into the stories behind the iconic photos.

The talk took place ahead of this year’s Abbey Road Music Photography Awards, where Rankin will be the head judge. Entries are open until next Monday (28 July), so, if you fancy getting some recognition for your own music photographer, enter now here.