A PORTRAIT exhibition of 100 Huddersfield folk is set to challenge preconceptions about what people should look like.

Photographer, Karl Baird, who used to run music venues, including rock ‘n’ roll pub The Parish, has spent 18 months doing portraits of ordinary people around town.

Now he is unveiling the fruits of his labour in his first exhibition as a professional photographer.

His debut event, dubbed simply ‘Portraits’, opens at the Byram Arcade’s Blacklight Gallery this evening Fri 21.

Karl said he began snapping the diverse range of people he met over the years through his exposure to the music industry.

As he turned his attentions to going pro he decided to focus on accumulating portraits of the eclectic range of styles and images portrayed by everyday people across all walks of life.

He said: "I started doing portraits of friends and it grew and grew.

"There’s all the people I’ve met over the years running music events, I thought I’d start to photograph them.

"And it’s all people who live and work in this town, from musicians to artists to all-sorts really."These are ordinary people that work in this town, people that you pass every day in the street but obviously they’ve got these other lives that they lead, and you never know that just by looking at them.

"There’s everyone from IT guys to poets, and musicians to magicians.

"It’s such a different world now and with the freedom of the internet people can do what they want.

"A perfect example is I was photographing a guy that works in a bank and he took off his coat and he was covered in tattoos, and you just wouldn’t associate that with people who do that.

"It just highlights different walks of life and people and what you expect them to be like.

"It’s trying to break down barriers and what you perceive that person to look like in that profession.

"With working in music for years you learn not to judge people by how they look and it’s just trying to get that across to other people.

"People can make up their own minds when they see the portraits and hopefully be surprised by what they do."

True to form, the event will launch from 7pm this evening with live performances from Huddersfield band Annie Rockett, Sean Greene and Alice Harrison.

The Blue Rooms cafe/bar will also be open for refreshments.

Web: www.karlbaird.com