Cheryl Alterman

For nearly two decades, Cheryl Alterman has photographed musicians at venues large and small, capturing the essence, and energy of live music through her lens.

Early on, Cheryl moved from LA to England and lived there for 25 years. After extensive travels and raising her kids in the UK, she returned to the United States. She worked full time in radio, whilst simultaneously working as a music photographer for BAM Magazine (Bay Area Music Magazine), a respected music publication founded in 1976. At BAM she progressed to Senior Photographer, and then began writing stories to accompany her photography. She ultimately became Managing Editor as well as retaining her position on the magazine as a Senior Photojournalist. Then, at the start of the pandemic Cheryl left BAM and started her own online music magazine, The Music Soup.

Cheryl has also been a contributing photographer for numerous music publications, including Modern Drummer Magazine and Guitar Player Magazine, and has created album artwork, promotional imagery, and commissioned portraits for musicians and bands.

Before turning her full attention to photography, Cheryl studied oil painting under William Martin in Southern California. She moved abroad and spent nearly 25 years living in the United Kingdom, where she graduated from West Herts College with degrees in both Typographic Design and Photography.