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A place to politely discuss the tools, technique and culture of photography.

This is not a good place to simply share cool photos/videos or promote your own work and projects, but rather a place to discuss photography as an art and post things that would be of interest to other photographers.

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Concert photographers: Tips on my first big gig (alien.top)

submitted 10 months ago by pluckmedia@alien.top to c/photography@viewfinder.pro

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Hey everyone

I’m shooting a pretty big gig coming up this week. I have done a bit of concert photography for some smaller bands but will be shooting a massive venue with Bloc Party & Interpol headlining.

Just wanted to ask if anyone had any tips I should keep in mind while shooting.

This will also be the first gig where the ‘3 song’ rule will be applied so I’m stressed about getting all that I need within that timeframe.

Any particular shots I should try and get? Also, is it worth trying to see if I can get on stage to shoot from behind?

This is the rules that were sent to me:

“Please note that the photo restrictions are the first three from the pit only and nothing from front of house/crowd after the first three.”

Does this mean it will only be first three and then everything else is just from the crowd?

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[–] McCrackus@alien.top 1 points 10 months ago

Based on my experience, don’t try to shoot anything after the first three unless you get explicit permission from the venue. I’ve seen venue policies change and privileges removed for all photographers due to one example of a photog not respecting the rules.

Shoot with the fastest lenses you own. Respect the crowd but the pit is your space for those three songs. Respect the space of the other photogs. Don’t lift your camera in the air in front of other photogs. Don’t use flash unless it’s explicitly allowed. Don’t bump into other photogs while they are shooting.

The types of shots you want to get depend largely on the lenses you are bringing. But try to get a balance of individual shots and group shots, tight and wide angles, action, facial expressions, etc. avoid mic stands in artists’ faces.

Those bands are big enough to play venues that hopefully have decent lighting, which should help you.

Also, make sure you enjoy the experience. Shooting concerts is a lot of fun. After the three songs, hopefully you can put your camera away and enjoy the rest of the concert as a fan.