The “Singing” of The Singing Photographer
“Where on this wonderful Earth does the Singing part of your name come from?” I hear you cry! Well, it’s a question I get asked a lot actually (maybe not exactly in those words though). It’s pretty simple- I love to sing and perform as well as photograph great things and great people.
From when I was around 4 or 5, until I was in my early teens, I went to dance classes. I loved performing and seeing my Mum and Dad’s face in the crowd as I danced. I always remember the Formula One-style costume changes my Mum would have to achieve, they were always at a breakneck speed! I loved going along every Saturday and learning new routines. My love for creativity started here! I have a few home videos of me in my dancing displays (one routine, in particular, stands out for some reason, to the song “Catch a Falling Star” by Perry Como) and it’s always so funny to see myself (especially in the younger years), trying to follow the older leaders.
Me after one of my quick changes!
My other musical and creative outlet before photography was being part of my school’s shows. I remember absolutely loving to act and putting my all into the performances. I did a couple at Primary School and a couple in High School too (I distinctly remember a Mother Goose Panto at some point).
I re-wore a dress for my Primary School show that I wore as a flower girl for a wedding and here it is! We love the re-wearing of a dress here, no shame in that!
After school, in 2010, my journey in photography started when I went to college and then in 2013, my “proper” musical path opened up when I joined a choir.
Me singing away at choir!
We achieved so much in my time at the choir, we were in the paper a good few times, we were able to sing at some very cool and big events and so much more. I’m very proud of all we achieved together over the years! I even led the choir for the last few years too, which was a privilege and will always be something that I’m so proud of. I was part of the choir for nearly 10 years overall, co-led for 5 years, and led for 3.
Excited for one of many Christmas performances!
During and after choir, I have performed with my flatmate Kirsty who is a professional singer and I will be recommending her a lot as she is an incredible vocalist (and I’m not even just saying that)!
Over the years, I have performed with Kirsty many times, whether it’s with other groups, or just to add some harmonies to her solo performances. I love to sing harmonies that accentuate the song and I love getting creative with anything but particularly music.
Some of my favourite performances include:
The Carole King Concerts that we did with an absolute dream team of musicians! We did a few gigs with this concert and they went down an absolute treat! Here is a link to one of the videos from that!
Said “dream team” at our gig in Johnstone!
The Glasgow Belles (our lovely group with Kirsty, our other lovely friend Lorna, and I doing harmonies) was a real highlight of my singing adventures too! We did a brilliant and memorable performance at a Dobbies Garden Centre in 2019!
Great times singing before the world went crazy!
Our online concerts were a real highlight too! In the thick of Covid we were on Facebook singing there because we couldn’t do it live. It was a real pleasure to be able to entertain people during such an awful time. We got some brilliant and heartwarming comments from people who were really enjoying them. My favourite is linked above, which was our first one, it was a Mamma Mia and Grease singalong!
Nearly ready for one of our Carole King performances!
Currently, I am still singing at different events, and learning the piano. It is definitely a work in progress as you can see from this video:
I look forward to the future, for even more of the musical side of me, to come out! I would love to incorporate acting into my life again, as it’s a big passion of mine and I would love to make music and singing even more a part of my business going forward too! Watch this space for any announcements related to that, you can follow me here:
Instagram: @thesingingphotographerglasgow
Facebook: The Singing Photographer
LinkedIn: Clair Macdonald
For now, thank you so much for reading, and I hope this gave you more of an insight into my name!
Love,
Clair
