During lockdown documentary photographer Brian Sweeney has had exhibitions cancelled and commissions postponed but now he has trained his lens on a project that will help other freelance creatives whose sources of income have dried up.

For the last five weeks he has been photographing the members of Glasgow-based not-for-profit record company, Last Night From Glasgow, in black and white portraits that memorialise this unique time in history.

Inspired by historical images of Glasgow women peering out of tenement windows, Mr Sweeney, adhering to all social distancing rules, has captured bands, singers, composers and songwriters in prints that are a nod to the moody style of photojournalists Bill Owens and Bill Brandt.

Mr Sweeney was invited to join the record company as creative director four years ago and has worked with bands across the UK to hone their visual brand through record artwork, music videos and promotional materials.

"It was something I really believed in", he said, after having worked in the cut-throat music industry in Scotland, London and Iceland for many years. "I just couldn't believe anybody would do this and it's gone from strength to strength."

Volunteer-led Last Night From Glasgow is funded entirely by member subscriptions of up to £100 per year. For that, members get exclusive records, and access to gigs and events.

Each artist and band has their music published, promoted and distributed without initial outlay by them and are given hundreds of records to sell for profit.

Mr Sweeney, whose background is in film, music and fashion portraiture, was moved to start the project, which includes the sale of an exclusive record, Isolation Sessions, of the label's artists covering each others work, not only to keep busy during this fallow period, but to connect the members, many of whom had never met.

He said: "We had loads of gigs and album launches lined up for summer and that's all been pulled so we came up with the idea to keep the artists busy. I'd always wanted to do a photography project with the members as it's quite a socialist idea.

"The whole basis of the [record label] was socialising, going to gigs and listening to music and all of a sudden that's been taken away."

Since starting, more than 100 people have been photographed and the prints, sold via Last Night From Glasgow's website, are flying.

It's a "lifeline" for Mr Sweeney, who hadn't seen any other income for more than three months.

He's been as far as the Borders, Stirling, Edinburgh and South Ayrshire for the portraits after starting the project on two wheels biking across Glasgow.

Through the album and prints, the sense of community, already strong among members, has expanded at a time when perhaps it matters the most.

"It's an absolute joy to do it. Some people haven't spoken to anyone else past the local shopkeeper for weeks. Everything's organised by phone and I stay at least three metres away. "

What has stood out to him is the warmth of the people he photographs: "I've never seen so many people be so pleased to see me and I know there's extenuating circumstances but if anything, this time has reflected how decent people actually are. It's broken down a lot of people's barriers."

Ian Smith, who founded the label in 2016, did so because, as a music lover, he saw the uneven distribution of wealth and debt attributed to artists and labels and wanted to create something more democratic.

He said: "To all intents and purposes, it's a modern day patronage. We don't assign debt to artists, which is the complete opposite of what every record company in the world does. So if you're a young band you're not going to make any money until you've paid them off."

With 400 members who pay subscriptions starting from £60, the model is a success and has drawn more than 30 bands to the label who have all contributed to the Isolation Sessions, the profits of which will be shared between independent music shops in the UK to keep them afloat.

He said: "In some sense, the situation we're in just now has been a real opportunity for us, because we've spent the last four years shouting at the market, you're unethical, you don't operate properly, you don't look after your customers and artists. Now that lockdown has happened and all these commercial entities have disappeared because they don't know how to make money. We've never made money, so our situation hasn't changed."

The label is funded at the start of every year, so there is still money in the pot to support their roster of artists.

Mr Smith said: "We've been able to show everybody that if you had an ethical platform, if you were fair and equitable and did things in the right way, you can traverse situations like this."