Being a music Photographer

I can’t remember the first gig I shot-I think it may have been my friends’ band in high school. But what I do remember is sneaking my first camera (a Nikon FG20 - film 35mm) into gigs when I was underage. To me, observing and absorbing live music is cathartic. Capturing that feeling through a single shot is one of my favourite challenges. I still get an adrenaline rush.

Some of my early music photography shot on my Nikon FG20 (also in the photo). Left to right include You Am I, Sime Nugent, Ryan Adams, Even, and Matt Walker & the Necessary Few.

I don’t shoot many live gigs these days. Family and business limit the ability to be spontaneous and head into Melbourne for gigs on a whim. So being an official Photographer for THAA (The Hills are Alive Festival) and NYE on the Hill each year fill my cup.

Hills

Give me music, fresh air, creative and kind kin and I’m happy! The ‘hill’ has become more than my happy place, it has become family. Year after year it is a pleasure to absorb all the interactions at these festivals. Some festivals are bigger in all the ways that matter. They are bigger in their passion, their thoughtfulness, their friendship, their care. Bigger in the way they encourage new connections and foster existing bonds. Bigger in their support of the up and coming artists and all things creative.

NYE on the Hill is all of this. It leaves my heart feeling big, ears totally satisfied and my soul wanting to be back again and again and again. 

Every sunset the stage shuts down so everyone can gather on the Hill to watch the epic sunsets. I love this ritual of coming together.

Music Photography Tips

I thought it might be useful to share some ‘tips’ and insight into how I approach photographing live music. These are not rules by any means, but may be of interest to anyone entering into gig photography. I am more than happy to answer specific questions not covered here, so hit me up in the comments at the end or send me an email ;)

(Clockwise - The late Charles Bradley, Jamatar and the incredible Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings, another soul sadly lost that I feel absolutely privileged to have been able to capture)

Lens Choice

It’s always advisable to have two bodies on you with two different lenses. I shoot with a Canon L series 70 200mm f2.8 and a Canon L Series 16 35mm f2.8. You can’t always anticipate what is going to happen on stage and you don’t want to be stuck with your zoom lens when an artist comes right up close as you won’t have enough distance to focus or fit it all in frame. Being able to switch between a tight zoom and wide shot will keep you ready for anything.

Will Cuming aka Lanks. Overhead lights are effectively like a studio ‘hair light’. If you spot meter for them you can often create more dramatic shots as doing so darkens other elements on the stage that may be distracting. Yes, it was 2.04am and I had been shooting since around 9.30am.

West Thebartons Reverand Ray Dalfsen. Smoke machines can be a pain in the arse to get a clean shot through at times, but also a fun challenge. I find it’s about being patient, keep spot metering for where a little clearance might be, wait for it all to line up…bingo!

Spot Metering

There are so many different quantities and quality of light when shooting live music...and they change every second! I love working with stage lights, watching them, trying to anticipate that moment when they will interact with the artist in interesting ways. 

I always have my camera on manual and set to spot meter. This makes it easier to quickly take various readings of the light and expose accordingly. I’ll measure the stage light at its brightest, the dark area on stage, the light strongest on artists face and the crowd. Not all in one go, but for each set I’ll definitely be making sure I’m checking in on the various lights.

Shutter Speed

Keep it fast. Every artist is different, some will be highly active, others remain almost still in their performance. Feel free to get creative with some motion blur but if you want the crisp shots, you’ll need to keep that shutter speed high (around 2000 sec minimum for those hair flick shots.) Up the ISO if you need to and move your camera with the subject to help with focus. Trying not to bounce and dance around if it’s a band you dig is a challenge here! I have admittedly stuffed up some shots getting excited moving around, hello blurred shots.

Stevie from Melbourne punk rock n roll act, Clowns.

Press Clubs Natalie Foster, always incredible live!

Look for the interactions

For me, live music isn’t just about the lead singer. It’s about everyone on stage. I always aim to get a good shot of each member on stage and love watching for the interactions happening between band members. The little moments in between songs. A sideways glance. Try to capture shots that the Artists feel capture what happens from their view.

West Thebarton

Clockwise- Luca Brasi before taking the stage, Regurgitator, Ball Park Music bringing in the New Year and The Milk Carton Kids walking backstage after their encore at the Thornbury Theater.

GET AMONGST IT!

If you want to really get the shots with energy you have to get in close. Interact with the crowd, talk to people, join in the dancing and jumping...with camera in hand. Be part of the vibe and you’ll find it easier to capture. Music festivals are an incredible way to make new connections with likeminded souls, absorb it as much as you can whilst capturing the magic. Having a wide angel on is best for this, and have your external flash mounted and ready to go.

Be respectful

 Respect the artists, respect the crew and respect the audience.

A brief moment of pause and tenderness backstage between Duane and Kylie, partners in life and also kick arse Stage Manager and Artist Liaison respectively.

A LOT of time, energy, money and creativity goes into any live show. Most often, all involved work incredibly long hours without much down time between gigs. Go in with the mindset of it being a privilege to have the role and access you do to capture an artist at work. Introduce yourself to stage crew, check in and see if there are restrictions on where you can shoot from or time, such as the 3-song rule. 

Observe and shoot the moments, don’t stand there trigger shooting every part of the song. It is intrusive and not necessary. I always like to do a little research if it is an artist who I haven’t heard before. Listen to their music and get a feel for when the big moments are.

Keep out of the audiences’ view as much as possible and thank them if you do have to get up in their way to get a quick shot. Better yet, take a pic of them (if they are ok with you doing so) as a thanks. Ultimately us Photographers are music fans too, so remember what it is like on the other side of the barrier too. Help everyone enjoy the gig as much as possible and get the images to savour the moments for all time.

I love shooting portraits, and Festivals are ripe with interesting people comfortable at expressing themselves.This was snapped on my Mamiya C330 on 120 film.

Get creative

It’s fun to get a bit creative too. Experiment with techniques like double exposures, slow exposures or even some zoom burst. The photo above is Stella Donnelly and was taken as four multiple exposures in camera. It can be a little tricky trying to time your shots overlaying well as a composition, but it’s fun trying! The image below is Henry Wagons taken on a slow shutter speed and as a zoom burst. This technique involves moving the zooms focus whilst the shutter is open. For this photo I had the camera focused in tight on his face, depressed the shutter, then quickly pulled the zoom out to a wider shot before the shutter fully closed. The result is a painterly effect which often creates interesting blurred patterns of light.

How do you get to shoot gigs?

I get asked a lot how to get a spot shooting gigs and festivals. Often with wide eyes full of lust for the title of being a gig photographer. My first response is, it’s a rush, but bloody hard work. Second, you generally need to be shooting FOR someone i.e. a blog, magazine, vlog etc. A lot of people apply for media passes for big concerts/festivals so you need to be able to show in your application that a) you are skilled and b) you have reach. Marketing teams need to get the most out of whoever is there capturing the festival.

Start by getting listed as a contributor to online music blogs, or approach bands you may know/like offering to shoot their gig. Don’t expect to be paid whilst you are building your portfolio. In fact, very few music photographers get paid well. So, if you are entering into music photography for income, perhaps think again. Or get really strategic about what you are doing, and work hard. I’ll say that work hard bit again. Start with small gigs and grow your skills in working in all sort of lighting conditions and shooting scenarios, i.e. don’t always expect a ‘pit’ to be in, sometimes you just have to be in amongst it all and get your shots.

Post festival I am bruised by lenses hitting my thighs, my body aches like I’ve run a marathon (not that I’ve ever done that, but I think the comparison is justified). Adrenaline teamed with very little sleep and covering a SHIT LOAD of moments and artists is exhausting. It wears you down, absolutely, but then again, I’m closer to 40 now so perhaps you youngins reading this may hack it better than me, ha! But I go back again and again, because it’s my rush. It’s what I started out doing and I’ll keep capturing music for as long as I can.

A rare moment of me unhitching my camera and letting someone take my photo. My friend Georgia turned it up a notch by getting me on her shoulders…talk about bloody strong! So grateful for this pic x