"Attending live gigs is very important. The spirit of that experience will inform the shoot, particularly how it is lit. I shoot very fast with as little equipment as possible and avoiding external, ie additional, lighting as much as possible. I enjoy working in "the street" much more than the studio.   The most important thing for me is creating an atmosphere   The most important thing for me is creating an atmosphere, sometimes out of nothing. That can be hard. Obviously, in a studio you can control lighting and other factors to produce the desired mood. But there are no genuine reference points, which is why I always prefer "the street". I work mostly in London and London's streets provide my reference points. London's past always interests me.   That approach is also a useful way of complementing what I call the musician's ego; it's a way of making them or her feel part of the environment. And picking a particularly strong environmental feature can be an effective means of adding strength and power to the atmosphere of the shoot. Photographs on this page (left to right, descending): Trumpeter - © copyright Peter Williams. James Mcmillan - © copyright Peter Williams. Photograph of Jacqueline du Pré & Daniel Barenboim, is © copyright Clive Barda. All other photographs in this article are © copyright Peter Williams. The images used in this article may not be copied or reproduced without the express permission of the copyright holder.