During our live interviews on The Camera Life podcast, we often ask guests what their earliest creative inspirations were and who the key players were in shaping their photography skills, craft, and career. Most of us can recall at least one individual who recognised our potential and motivated us to take the leap and pursue a creative career. But have you ever been told that you can’t or won’t succeed in a genre, industry, or craft? For some, that could be the end of the creative journey. For others, like live music photographer Lucinda Goodwin, being told she wouldn’t make it was the catalyst to her future success.
SpotifyApple Podcasts!Lucinda’s story is peppered with milestones where she ignored the nay-sayers and roadblocks and forged ahead despite them. As a result of a keen eye, determination, and a passion for her craft, Lucinda has become a household name in the Australian music industry and is an inspiration to all.
Lucinda’s journey began at a young age as her love of live music festivals, events, concerts, and gigs presented her with the unique opportunity to document her experiences. With a camera in hand, she dedicated her creative time to following and photographing the bands and performers she admired. The Geelong-based (Australia) image maker saw the potential to pursue her love of live music while intertwining her second love of photography. It was a match made in live-performance heaven, and Lucinda further expanded her skillset and experience by obtaining a Cert 4 Diploma in Photoimaging in 2011/2012 at NMIT/Melbourne Polytechnic. With her eye set on becoming a fully-fledged live music photographer, Lucinda’s determination pushed her forward. What’s most surprising, but sadly not uncommon, is that Lucinda was told by her educators she wouldn’t make it in the industry. To her absolute credit, Lucinda ignored such negative sentiments and rose above and beyond to become one of the most recognised names in Australian music photography.
Lucinda’s determination, positivity, and amazing body of work have seen her career and capabilities go from strength to strength. With a love of the local Geelong and Victorian music scene, Lucinda is often front and centre in photo pits, backstage, and behind the scenes to some of the region’s and the world’s biggest musical names, events, and performances. Her ‘set list’ includes legends such as Sir Elton John, Ed Sheeran, Foo Fighters, Fleetwood Mack, Lauryn Hill, Liam Gallagher, Molly Meldrum, and Iggy Pop. Sticking to her love of local music festivals, Lucinda has captured the essence of Bluesfest, Queenscliff Music Festival, Splendour in the Grass, Golden Plains, Meredith Music Festival, and Lost Lands. Despite the lack of encouragement and support offered by educators who should know better, Lucina has even graced Australia’s biggest music industry night, the ARIA Awards. It’s an impressive resume that echoes Lucinda’s skillset, mindset, and sheer determination to document something she is so passionate about.
Of course, Lucinda isn’t just photographing rock royalty for kicks. The Geelong-based live music photographer has seen her images published in a number of leading local and international music publications. Or more importantly, those publications have had the good fortune to feature Lucinda’s work and tell a faithful account of what the scene is all about. Given the breadth and depth of music acts and genres in her library, Lucinda’s dynamic and bright style celebrates the live music scene with raw energy. Her captivating images have told so many stories and have appeared in publications including The Music, Moshcam, Forté Magazine, Beat Magazine, Music Insight, and Casual Band Blogger. Lucinda has taken a leading role in capturing the essence of live acts while also promoting emerging local acts through behind-the-scenes, live event, and portrait work.
While Lucinda is confident and comfortable working alongside music legends, it’s fair to say that she’s a legend in her own right! Lucinda’s accolades paint a clear picture of her dedication to the local music scene, inspiration as a visual creative, and pure talent as a seasoned live event photographer. Lucinda’s contribution and output have been widely recognized, including making Beat Magazine’s list of Five Females to Know in the Australian Music Industry (2020). Not bad for someone who was told they wouldn’t make it in this business! Lucinda didn’t stop there. In 2023, she was recognised as a finalist in the Australian Women In Music Awards Photography Category for Music Photography and received the Ross Lipson Award (2023) in recognition of her massive contribution to the Geelong music scene. Other achievements include the Moshcam Photo Awards in 2018 and works included in the "Number one | Gudinski" Ballarat Foto Biennale Core Program (2022). While it’s an impressive list, what shines for me the most is Lucinda’s down-to-earth nature, passion for her craft, and spirit of generosity.
It was an absolute treat to chat with Lucinda during our live podcast. Justin was especially excited as Lucinda is a Canon R shooter - finally, he found another Canon user. We spoke at length about Lucinda’s work, accolades, inspirations, and love of the live music scene. We also discovered Lucinda’s personal collection of retro film and Polaroid cameras—something we will have to see in person one day soon.
If you’re unfamiliar with The Camera Life Podcast, be sure to take a look at our YouTube channel for the latest episodes and, of course, our back catalogue of weekly shows. Our shows are also available on popular audio podcast platforms. If you like what you see, please give us a thumbs up, subscribe to The Camera Life, and click on the bell icon to receive notifications of upcoming shows. We host two shows weekly, the first being every Thursday at 9am AEDT (Australia), where we interview amazing guests. The second show, The Random Photography Show, airs every Monday at 7:30 pm AEDT. The Random Photography show is a little random, a little loose, and a lot of fun! Be sure to check them out.
Find Lucinda:
- Website: https://www.lucindagoodwinphotography.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lucindagoodwinphotography/
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@lucindagoodwinphotography
