Ross Halfin

British rock and roll photographer (born 1957)

Ross William Halfin (born 11 August 1957) is a British rock and roll photographer. Since the late 1970s he has worked for some of the biggest acts in rock and heavy metal, including Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Black Sabbath, The Who, Kiss, Metallica, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Van Halen, Def Leppard and many others.

Halfin was born and raised in Wimbledon Chase, London to a Scottish mother and Russian father. His father Lazarus was a Russian Jewish actor, who then became a music publisher. He had a number one hit in 1957 as writer of the song "You're a Pink Toothbrush". which was a UK number one single for Max Bygraves. His uncle Dennis was a commando who was captured by the Nazis in Crete during World War II. Because he was Jewish, he threw away his ID card, stating he was Canadian and then spent four years as a prisoner of war in Colditz. Halfin originally wanted to be an artist when he grew up. He attended the Wimbledon School of Art starting in 1975 where he studied painting. Disillusioned with the school's preoccupation with Modernism, he started shooting music photography, bringing his camera along to rock concerts, which he could do with no restrictions at the time. He later claimed he became a rock photographer by accident.

Halfin shoots both freelance and assignment pieces, for magazines and clients directly. He has toured with many bands, including Metallica, Iron Maiden, Status Quo, Def Leppard, The Who, AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, Jam, Blondie, Mötley Crüe, Van Halen, Aerosmith, The Black Crowes, Ozzy Osbourne, Kiss, Soundgarden, Queens of the Stone Age and The Mars Volta.

Halfin began his career working for Sounds magazine in the 1970s, shooting various artists on the punk scene including The Clash, The Jam, The Sex Pistols, 999 and The Adverts.

After linking up with writers Geoff Barton and Peter Makowski, Halfin moved on to working mainly in the US with bands such as Iron Maiden, AC/DC, Bon Jovi, UFO, Rush, Journey, Aerosmith and Black Sabbath. In 1980, Halfin became chief photographer of new music magazine Kerrang!, photographing their first cover of AC/DC. He continued shooting with them for the next 20 years.

In the 1990s, Halfin took to travel photography on a casual but obscure basis, but his work would later resurface in an issue of Genesis Publications in 2011.

Halfin worked with Eminem and Slayer, and started working with Metallica again in 2007. He attended the Closing Ceremony of the 2008 Olympics Games accompanying Jimmy Page.