Photography

Recycling some tips I wrote in a previous thread, but hopefully, some of this should be helpful.

General useful info:

• Bring earplugs, sometimes festivals will provide them, but just in case it might be good to get your own pair.
• Get to stages early. usually, security will let you into the photo pit 5-10 minutes before the act comes on stage, but may not let you in once they're already on.
• Stepstool. Depending on the height of the stages you may want to bring a little stepstool to help you get some height. Note: Worth checking with the festival that they'll allow you to bring it in before Friday if you do want to bring it.
• Be mindful of others. Pits are busy (security, other photographers, band crews etc etc), keep an eye out you're not blocking other people's shots when moving around, stash your bag under the barrier, don't put your camera on the stage.
• Drink water, eat some food. It's so easy to forget if you get into the swing of things, running about a festival with a camera trying to get to things on time, so when you do get some time do some self care.
• Wearing black (or darker neutral colours). Again just general courtesy to the bands/other people working around you, bright colours are distracting.
• Depending on the size of the festival there may be a 'press tent/area' you might have access to to drop off bags, take a rest etc, so might be worth checking the festival has this

When shooting:

• On the lenses, it really depends on the size of the festival. If it's smaller, bring the 18-55, if it's bigger bring the 55-200mm. If you can find a way to bring both, bring both and stash one in a bumbag or something for easy access to swap around when needed. If the space issue is because of the festival's bag policy, they're usually waved for photographers with a pass (check with the festival if this is the case beforehand as every festival is different.
• Settings-wise, honestly, there's no hard and fast rule with concert photography. But the I Shoot Shows blog has some really good guides on settings etc if you're unsure, so I highly recommend checking that out.
• Phone-wise, some festivals can be a bit fussy about phones in the photo pit, so check with them it's okay to use if you do want to do that
• Experiment, from what you've said on the thread you're there mainly for fun. Don't stress yourself out trying to get the perfect shot every time. As someone who's been doing this for years, not every photo will be perfect, or even good, you'll be lucky to come out with more than a handful per set. Figure out what works for you and what you like. I recommend at the end of every day import your photos somewhere and have a look through to figure out what you think works and what doesn't and use that to learn for the next day. If in doubt ask other photographers, we're (mostly) a very friendly, if not shy, bunch.

Hope you have fun with it! And any other questions pop them below