Adegbayibi grew up in Enfield, north London, and first picked up a camera when his cousin TJ Koleoso \u2013 Ezra Collective\u2019s bassist \u2013 asked him to photograph their church\u2019s worship band before the service. He shot there for a couple of years before graduating to local gigs, building a body of work by approaching small artists and asking if he could photograph them. \u201cThe more I shot, the more confident I felt,\u201d he says. \u201cThen more people reached out to me, based on my Instagram.\u201d<\/p>\n
His work with Ezra Collective has been a key part of that trajectory. In 2022, Adegbayibi went to Lewes\u2019s Love Supreme jazz festival to watch the band play one of their first major headline shows. One photo in particular, of TJ leaning back on his bass, and another of the whole band that was subsequently used on an album sleeve, convinced him that photography could become more than a hobby: \u201cI was like: \u2018Damn, I can actually do something with this.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
double quotation markI think my photography serves as an example of Black joy and the truth behind Black communities<\/p>\n
Since then, he has photographed Ezra on tour and at increasingly large shows, including their performance<\/a> at the Royal Albert Hall in November 2023. That led to a solo exhibition of his work celebrating British jazz, and eventually to his becoming one of the venue\u2019s in-house photographers. Adegbayibi\u2019s freelance work largely focuses on music, and has taken him to gigs and festivals across the UK, including Glastonbury and Recessland, the London festival celebrating Black music and culture.<\/p>\n What distinguishes Adegbayibi\u2019s photography is its sense of movement, intimacy and joy, particularly in his images of Black musicians. \u201cI\u2019ve always loved shooting Black people,\u201d he says. \u201cYou\u2019re spoiled for choice with the amount of beautiful smiles flying around.\u201d He is interested in that split-second smile, the release in someone\u2019s face, whether that\u2019s on stage or in the crowd. There is a conscious resistance behind that approach: \u201cBlack people and musicians are often portrayed as aggressive, violent or angry,\u201d he says. \u201cI think my photography serves as an example of Black joy and the truth behind Black communities; what we are actually like.\u201d<\/p>\n His interest in movement has also become a technical fascination. Inspired by visual artist Kat Anderson, he began experimenting with slow shutter speeds, light and layering to create photographs that \u201calmost feel like you\u2019re painting with light\u201d. His Albert Hall exhibition explored movement and stillness within jazz \u2013 \u201chow energetic, but also still, jazz moments can be while I\u2019m taking pictures\u201d.<\/p>\n The competitive nature of photography does not escape him. London is full of talented photographers, he says, and consistent work can be difficult to secure. But rather than seeing that as a reason to retreat, he sees the competition as motivation. \u201cI use it as a driving force,\u201d he says. \u201cHaving that community in London is inspiring and pushes me to do more.\u201d He was struck by seeing his work\u2019s wider lineage at the V&A East\u2019s inaugural exhibition<\/a> The Music Is Black, which features decades of images of Black British musicians, and the photographers who documented them. It made him think about the place his own photographs might occupy in that archive. \u201cMaybe someday someone can look at an image and think: \u2018That\u2019s what jazz gigs were like back then.\u2019 Or: \u2018That\u2019s what Black musicians were doing, and how they were dressed,\u2019\u201d he says. \u201cThat\u2019s the hope.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018We just went for it\u2019: five of Temi Adegbayibi\u2019s best shots<\/p>\n Ayo Salawu (main picture) Photograph: Temi Adegbayibi<\/p>\n David Kayode and Anna Adetiba
\u201cThis was the main image in my Royal Albert Hall exhibition. I\u2019m always trying to figure out how to capture the energy of a drum solo in a still image; I\u2019d been researching slow shutters, layering and double exposures. We shot it in a blackout studio in Greenwich, set up the drums, ordered some pizza and just went for it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDavid is leading on saxophone and Anna is supporting him,\u201d says Adegbayibi of this studio shot. \u201cI asked Anna to keep walking back and forth behind David while he played. I used a slow shutter to blur Anna\u2019s movement while keeping David as still and sharp as possible. I wanted the picture to show those two different kinds of movement happening at the same time.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1788425530_696_500.jpg\")
<\/p>\n