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As a musician and photographer by avocation, and Head of Stage for New York City's famed Apollo Theater by profession, Joe Gray has learned how to construct a picture as well as he can construct a set. And after photographing legends at the legendary Harlem music hall, Gray has constructed a solid set of tips for any of us shooting community theater, our kids' high school play, church choirs or any other local stage production.

Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson © Joe Gray

"I guess photography has always been in me," says the self-taught 60-year-old. "When I was growing up in North Carolina I had a small Kodak camera, and then I got one of the first Polaroids. Photography was intriguing to me all along, but I guess I never took it seriously until I got to The Apollo!"

 

Gray, whose Apollo photos we featured in our article "75 Years of Innovation and the Arts at The Apollo Theater," had been inspired by a fellow stagehand, the late Bernard Crooke, who "was taking pictures left and right, and I was fascinated by some of the stuff he was doing with just a point-and-shoot film camera." Later, Gray got to know Shahar Azran, the theater's official photographer, who was generous with advice and time. Gray eventually splurged for a Canon 20D.

 

"My first shoot with that camera was Wynton Marsalis doing this school concert/teaching thing he used to do for kids every year. I shot some of the instruments onstage, and shot him performing. I didn't know anything about apertures or ISOs – I shot on auto mode. Wynton Marsalis' photographer saw me shooting, saw the flash go off on my camera, and he laughed at me. 'Amateur! You shouldn't be shooting in auto mode, it means you don't know what you're doing!'" Gray recalls with a laugh himself. "He told me you gotta go read the manual, you gotta read up on this stuff. He pointed me in the right direction. I still shoot a lot on raw gut, but that's where I found out about the manual mode, and learned which way to turn the ISO and f-stop dials.

Barack Obama © Joe Gray

Gray has had an equally go-by-your-gut-life. He was born in Rocky Mount, N.C., the son of "a bootlegger and numbers runner. I had a very close-nit family, but it was a bootlegging house." Young Joe learned to play drums, and when he was older worked at a tobacco factory and in the tobacco fields, "priming" (a manner of picking) tobacco. He earned a bachelor of arts degree in music from Fayetteville State College, now Fayetteville State University, he recalls, and taught music for a time in New Brunswick, N.J., before being drafted into the Army. After completing basic training, however, he got a medical discharge around 1974. He then worked as a water-bill collector for the city of Raleigh, N.C., followed by a stint playing drums in a cover band on the hotel-lounge circuit. 

Bill Cosby © Joe Gray

After that, a mobile car-wash business went nowhere – "It was cool during he summer, but during the winter it was crazy to be out there trying to do this." – and then joined a band that wound up opening for the popular R&B group Cameo. That proved to be an audition of sorts. "I guess they liked me and they asked me to come to New York and play with them," Gray recalls. "I've been here ever since." The Cameo gig itself only lasted about four months, and Gray drifted into construction while still working on music projects. His son,  Joseph Gray III, born in 1991, writes music as well, he says. 

The Black Eyed Peas © Joe Gray

A chance music-store meeting with The Apollo's production manager helped land him a job loading and unloading equipment at the theater, which eventually led to his current position. As well, he says, "I've been the opening act for the Amateur Night show for 12 or 13 years. And when we used to take the Amateur Night show on the road around the country, I was the tour manager." Additionally, "I co-wrote the theme song for Amateur Night" with Apollo Theater Foundation musical director Ray Chew.

 

Brian Williams © Joe Gray

He's since pulled back on photographing Apollo acts – the venue, owned by New York State, is run by the nonprofit Apollo Theater Foundation, and between union rules and protocol, Gray didn't want to cause the organization any problems – but he learned a lot of things while he shot. And as others were generous to him with their tips, Gray wants to pass on what he knows. "It doesn't matter if it's The Apollo or your little community theater," he says. "A stage is a stage." And with his advice, your own pictures will look less stagy and more lively.