FAQ - if you want to be a music photogarpher

DotOrg

The F.A.Q. for Music Photographers wanting
to learn how to get into the music photography business
(taken from my website: aaaphotos.org/faq.htm)


What equipment do you use?

I currently use:
Canon 20D with battery grip
Canon 350D

Canon 50mm f1.4
Canon EF-s 10-22mm
Canon 24-70mm f2.8 L
Canon 70-200 f2.8 IS L

Canon 580EX speedlite X2
Canon Wireless flash remote

Sandisk CompactFlash memory cards 1GB X2 and 2GB X2
Wolverine 80GB portable memory card reader



What lens and camera should I buy for concert photography?

If you can afford a digital SLR then I highly recomend you get one, if not, any second hand cheap film camera body, preferably Canon or Nikon will do just fine. I used to use an old Canon EOS 1000FN.

Canon & Nikon are preferable because should you want to move forward in this area of photography you'll end up wanting to use more and better lenses. Canon & Nikon are the current clear leaders in high quality lenses and are the choice of the vast majority of professional photographers. Both make superb equipment and each has some small advantages over the other but in the end it's the photographer who takes the picture, not the camera.

I've been using Canon for over 15 years and have never had any problems with it.

As regards lenses, in general you get what you pay for. The faster a lens is, (meaning the wider the aperture will go) the easier you will find it to shoot in the low light settings of most concerts. Very fast lenses, especially zooms, are very expensive (€1000+)

I often use a Canon 50mm prime lens (meaning it's a fixed focal length and doesn't zoom) which has a huge aperture of f1.4
This means I can shoot in very dark conditions and still get well exposed photos using medium iso settings. The drawback is a very shallow depth of field so focusing must be spot on. If the nose is in focus the eyes won't be, so you have to practise with this type of lens to get the best results. The Canon 50mm f1.8 is generally around €100/$80/£60 which for me is the ideal starter lens if you don't have much money to spend.

The standard lenses you get with cameras are often of very little use for concert photography. So go buy a cheap prime lens and do the zooming with your feet.



How do you get your pictures so sharp?

by using the fast (wide aperture) lenses listed above, by learning and practising how to handhold a camera at relatively slow shutter speeds. And by simply taking lots and lots of pictures. The more you shoot, the more pictures you'll get in focus. If you don't take lots of pictures, you won't have lots of great pictures.



How do I get into the music photography business?

Simple, hard work, persistance, communication, being cheeky, persistance, persistance, determination, hard work and by taking lots and lots of pictures. There is no easy way I've every seen to get into this very poorly paying business. Start by looking up listings for your local music venue. Find the bands website who are playing there. E-mail them and ask if you can come down to their show and take pictures and you'll give them a few pictures afterwards. Most unsigned bands will love this and will generally be more than happy to put you on their guestlist.

Do this constantly, every week, a couple of nights a week. Shoot the support bands, E-mail them with your pictures. Maybe you'll give them some copies for their website. Maybe ask them for a small fee if they want to use the pictures.

Eventually these bands will come back and ask you to their next show and you'll get to shoot them again and get better pictures and you can shoot the support bands again. Many of the bands might ask you to do portrait pictures for them for their press pack/ demo CD / home made album covers.

Some bands will go on to play bigger venues and support big name bands and if you keep in contact with all your bands you meet, you might be able to ask your band for a press pass for these big shows.

Some bands will ask you (others won't bother asking, they'll just take) if they can have some pictures because the local newspaper/zine/magazine is doing an article on them. You can ask the band for a fee for this of course.

The more bands you shoot, the more people you will meet, and the more people will see your photographs. If you are good enough and you work hard enough you'll eventually get small magazines and newspapers and occasionally big magazines asking for photos from you. Be nice to all these people you meet and have contact with. Be good to the picture editor and they'll be good to you and maybe ask you to shoot more and more for them.



How do I get those photo passes for concerts so i can get into the front photo pits at concerts?

Read the above answer again about getting into the music photography business.

On many occasion I've looked at the official website of a relativly big band, found links to their management or record label and e-mailed them requesting a photo pass. Most of the time they'll ignore you, a small number of times they'll reply saying no. But occasionally they'll reply saying yes and you'll find yourself right at the stage shooting away.



How I do I get backstage and shoot bands?

By being nice to tour managers, band members, managers, concert promoters, by making contacts with all these people.Be persistant and determined, don't be afraid to ask anyone and everyone but do so without being too irritating. Watch the Cameron Crowe film, Almost Famous, watch Spinal Tap. Take lots of pictures



How do I get my pictures into the magazines and newspapers?

It's very very rare that you can send in a picture and it gets published and you get paid. If you take enough pictures, bands will want copies, they'll send your pictures in when they are having an article written about them. Put lots of pictures on your website. Only good ones, weed out all the bad shots. Try and meet music journalists and offer them some pictures of the gig they are reviewing if they don't have their own photographer there.

Again, it's about persistance and determination and of course, the ability to take great photos.



Can I be your assistant?

Yes of course, I won't pay you. I'll probably borrow your camera if it's any good. I won't let you touch my camera or lenses. I won't get a press pass for you. I doubt I'll give you much credit when I get great shots but you can watch how I take photographs. To be honest, it won't be very useful at all for you. You'd be way better off going out on your own and taking pictures rather than watch somebody else do it.



What college courses do you advise or what books would you recomend?

I studied analytical chemistry in college and I'm currently studying retail management. I've never had a days lesson to with cameras in my life. College can teach you some things about taking pictures but it's no substitute for just going out there with a camera and taking photos.


Books on photography I like are:

* Concert Photography: How to Shoot and Sell Music-Business Photographs by Jon Sievert
* Showtime by Steve Gullick
* Five Thousand Days: Press Photography in a Changing World by the British Press Photographers Association, Harold Evans
* Rock Faces: The World's Top Rock 'n' Roll Photographers and Their Greatest Images by Oliver Crask

I'd also advise looking at lots of photography websites, you learn so much simply by looking at other peoples good and bad pictures. My two favourites currently are:
photo.net - allows you to upload pictures for critique, people will be harsh but often helpful
grassrootsx.com - a place where music photographers go and you can view portfolios of work and come talk in the forum about the crazy business that is music photography

Shrimp

Very Informative. Thank you. I dont have an interest in going into concert photography as a job when I am older, but definalty as a hobby, amongst other forms of photography/art aswell. I may try what you recommended.

"Start by looking up listings for your local music venue. Find the bands website who are playing there. E-mail them and ask if you can come down to their show and take pictures and you'll give them a few pictures afterwards. Most unsigned bands will love this and will generally be more than happy to put you on their guestlist.

Do this constantly, every week, a couple of nights a week. Shoot the support bands, E-mail them with your pictures. Maybe you'll give them some copies for their website. Maybe ask them for a small fee if they want to use the pictures."

Good Guidelines. Ha, be your assistant, you think highly of yourself. Just kidding. I'm sure I'd learn something from you.

Good post, Good Read.

Youssef.

DotOrg

i get at least one e-mail a week asking if they can do work experience with me/get a job with me just because of my website and the fact that people think us msuic photographers get free passes to any concert we want

Shrimp

really? thats funny i've never heard of aaaphotos before.. you must be big!?

DotOrg

depends what you mean by big? i think lots of young photographers think music photography is glamerous because you get to meet loads of bands, go backstage at concerts, get in free to gigs, get to go on tour with bands etc etc

so loads of people, when they search for music photographers on google stumble across my site and think i make my living doing all the above

alb

Good post, you obviously know your stuff. I, liek Shrimp, would love to do some gig photography, but not for my dinner, if you know what I mean. This was very informative for those that might do though. As much as I love my 50mm F1.4 prime, it is a bitch getting the focus right.


(EDIT: sorry about the long quote, that was an accident )

Shrimp

ddi u really have to quote that alb..

DotOrg

i've not being doing music photography all that long but have been working pretty damn hard at it the past year. I've shot at bud rising, oxegen, glastonbury in the past couple of months and V festival and electric picnic are in the next few weeks amongst a thousand smaller gigs in dublin and beyond

Shrimp

Thats pretty cool. Well i got 6th year next year, so i wont have too much time to get around to gigs.

tonyj

DotOrg wrote:

I'd also advise looking at lots of photography websites, you learn so much simply by looking at other peoples good and bad pictures. My two favourites currently are:
photo.net - allows you to upload pictures for critique, people will be harsh but often helpful
grassrootsx.com - a place where music photographers go and you can view portfolios of work and come talk in the forum about the crazy business that is music photography

www.photosig.com is another photo critique site I love.

Great article, very informative.

Now, can I be your assistant? :rolleyes: