Paramore. Green Day. My Chemical Romance. There are too many to list, so when it comes down to it, Jered Scott has photographed a lot of bands and artists. The photographer and Hearsay Press founder has been in the game for nearly 20 years, capturing those special, one-of-a-kind concert moments. From major bands in sold-out arenas to intimate portrait sessions with smaller artists, Scott has seen it all and preserved the moment. Of course, for every picture that gets published, there are hundreds more that remain hidden in the archives…
…Until now. In 2021, Scott teamed up with designer and creative director Kody Dahl to publish the unpublished. They spent tons of hours comparing and scrutinizing, determined to create a book that plays out like a music album—equal parts vulnerable, dramatic, and inspiring. Their efforts resulted in Photo Pass: Eighteen Years of Punk and Stuff.
“I basically went and made cheap photo prints. I packed as many images onto a sheet of paper as I could, printed them at Kinkos, used the big paper cutter to cut everything into faux 4x6s, and then I showed up to our first session,” says Scott about the beginning of the project. “That became sort of our road map.”
It’s a quiet Thursday afternoon as we virtually chat. Scott is eager yet calm as he talks, fondly recalling how Photo Pass came together. “We started in 2021, and we went hard for a few months. I would say we probably got 50 percent of the book laid out. And then life happened and we just couldn’t get back to it for almost two years,” he says. “In 2024, we really got back into it, but it was in chunks and it was spread out. Last year, we were committed to finish.”
“It was really fun to just throw a whole bunch of photos out on the ground or on the table and start picking.”
But even though it was “an on and off process for all those years,” Scott and Dahl never stopped believing in Photo Pass. They didn’t give up on it, and the photo selection process became a highlight of the venture. “We just started looking at random images and saying, ‘That really stands out at this moment’ or ‘That photo’s really cool’ or ‘This feels like it needs its own spread.’ We’d stick a Post-it on it and put it in a pile,” Scott explains. “We’d grab another photo and be like, ‘This photo’s really cool, what goes well with it? Is it just one or is it two? Is it three?’ It was really fun to just throw a whole bunch of photos out on the ground or on the table and start picking.”
Overall, Photo Pass features 250 pages of Scott’s favorite pictures, but mostly, it serves as a time capsule of moments that Scott has collected over the years. “This was the career, this is where I’m putting everything that I feel like I want in it,” he says. The goal was to make a project with purpose, where each photo was chosen to be featured. “I didn’t want this to be a thing where we’re like, ‘I don’t know, let’s just put that in there.’ I’m really excited about definitely 95 but close to 100 percent of everything that’s in there,” he explains.
“I told [Dahl] I didn’t want to make an archival history book. I also didn’t want to make it an art book. I wanted it to be both.”
While Scott and Dahl could have made a traditional photo book with pictures in chronological order, it made more sense to shake things up. This was a chance to showcase not only Scott’s photos, but to showcase them in a way that emphasizes the experience of live music. “It was a lot of intuition and feel,” Scott says. “I told [Dahl] I didn’t want to make an archival history book. I also didn’t want to make it an art book. I wanted it to be both.”
From there, the duo gravitated toward the format of a music album. “First picture, for the music I listen to, is usually big and loud and grabs your attention. The second song on the album might be faster or more melodic,” Scott explains. “By track three or four, they slow things down a little bit to let you catch your breath, and then it gets fast again. We were like, ‘Let’s just follow that pattern for how we do this visually, and try to lead people on some sort of experience like that.’”
When it comes to music photography, the experience is definitely a ride. Scott tells me about how he got started, realizing his passion for photography around the time he was finishing college. “My college roommate was in a band, and I started taking pictures of their band and my classmates,” he says. “All of a sudden, I was really interested in photography and was pretty ravenous to shoot things. I just started working with local bands but legit bands touring through southern California, and within a year, I was working with three or four of my all-time favorite bands.”
“I hopped on MySpace, sent him a DM, and I got to go shoot that show. It was like my first real show in an actual venue with a photo pit.”
Scott went on to photograph these bands in local venues, where he became more acquainted with the craft and live music setting. It seemed like this was his destiny, which was confirmed by a random act of fate. “I was on a class trip between semesters to get an art history credit. I was overseas in Italy, and the first day of our trip, we’re in a parking lot waiting for our bus to pick us up. Some guy walked up to me and started talking,” Scott explains. “He liked the band shirt that I was wearing. I was like, ‘These are my friends from home,’ and I told him this small town that I lived in. He was like, ‘That’s where my band’s from.’ He was in this old sort of pop-rock band called Sherwood. I was like, ‘You’re in Sherwood?! love you guys!’ And so after that, I saw that they were gonna be playing at a big venue ten minutes away from campus. I hopped on MySpace, sent him a DM, and I got to go shoot that show. It was like my first real show in an actual venue with a photo pit.”
Before I let Scott go, I had to ask him one important question for all aspiring music photographers out there: Do you have any tips or advice for anyone who’s looking to start a career in music photography?
“Number one, try not to be discouraged by other people’s careers or experiences,” he shares. “I think there are incredible photographers that don’t have a following and can’t break in and can’t figure out how to get anywhere. So, I would say figure out what your lane is—creative, photo shoots… Then, I think it’s about working locally to build up a portfolio and trying to get in with a publication in the realm of the music that you like so that you can have more opportunities to do photo shoots.”
So, once you figure out where you want to start, you need to decide on your style. “In my office here, I have a photo on my wall that I had in my bedroom in high school. I still have it up because it captured so much energy of what it was like to see this band in one image, and that’s what I wanted to capture,” Scott says. “I liked time and place, being able to see things on the back wall where people will be able to be like, ‘I know that venue, I know that space, I remember that tour because I remember that backdrop.’”
“Be real, be authentic, be there for people, and I think the rest takes care of itself.”
Along with figuring out your voice, you need to make connections. “The last thing is relationship building. It’s not networking and trying to be like, ‘If I get to know that person, then they’ll introduce me to that person and I’m off…’ It’s okay to want to work hard and it’s okay to want to outperform people, but you don’t have to be rude about it. Be real, be authentic, be there for people, and I think the rest takes care of itself.”
To recap: don’t be discouraged, pick a lane, develop your style, make connections, and be real.
For his parting words, Scott tells readers, “Please buy this book so that I don’t end up with tons of them sitting in my house!”
You can purchase Photo Pass: Eighteen Years of Punk and Stuff by Jered Scott here.
Check out Jered Scott’s portfolio here.
Learn more about Jered Scott here.
