Concert Photography Lesson 1

 

Welcome to Lesson 1 in Concert or Music Photography. I will be writing about 15 different lessons on how to be a music photographer. It is winter now in China, so I have a lot of free time to kill. I will be releasing one lesson each week until the music season starts here in China again and I have to go back to work. Most of the lessons will be based on questions I get asked all the time by people who want to get started in shooting gigs. These will be technical lessons on how to shoot concerts or festivals, as there is not a lot of information online about that already. Once we have covered the technical stuff, we will move on to more generic topics, like getting a pass to shoot an event. I will go through all the basics you need: the equipment, how to get the correct exposure in a show, composition, workflow, and editing, and finally, how to make money.

But before I start, I will say that these lessons are not for beginner photographers. You need to be comfortable shooting in manual mode on your camera. If you are still shooting in one of the automatic modes and are not comfortable with manual mode, then you are not ready to learn concert photography. You have been warned. I will not be covering basic information like how to set the aperture, what it does, or shutter speeds on your camera. I am writing this as I would teach one of my assistants. I expect my assistants to know the fundamentals already so that I can get on with the job of teaching concert photography and putting them to work.

 

 

So for lesson one, we are starting with the basics.

 

The gear

 

 

 

I have a lot of gear that I use when I shoot, and I use all of it. But that does not mean that you need to have all this gear to shoot a concert or a festival. Music photography is more about skill and technique than gear. So to start off this discussion, I will list what you will not be able to use at a concert or festival to get good shots.

 

 

None of this will work:

1. Mobile Phones and yes, that includes an iPhone. Just don’t be that person who comes to shoot an event with their phone, pretending to be a photographer.
2. Tablet PCs and iPads. Seriously, why would you even take a photo with those??? I wish Apple and Android tablet makers would stop putting cameras in them.
3. Point-and-shoot cameras such as the Sony RX100, Fuji X100, etc. Some of these are fine cameras, but fixed-lens cameras are not really suitable for this type of work as the wide-angle lenses will not be able to shoot anything other than stage shots. Perhaps as a B camera, they could work for BTS stuff.
4. Leica M mount cameras. Although some people love their Leica cameras, manual focus with a prime lens is not going to cut it, especially with the short focal ranges that the lens offers. Getting to 200mm is a minimum requirement for small stages, and the larger stages will require a 400mm or greater reach. I own Leica cameras and use them in my personal life, but I don’t take them to shows.

What you will need:

1. A camera system with a few interchangeable lenses.
2. A couple of lenses, covering the wide-angle up to 200mm and beyond.
3. A flash for shooting the crowd or doing portraits. A manual flash is okay, but a flash with TTL metering would be better.
4. A good high-quality camera bag. You will be carrying your bag with you to all the different stages, so it will need to be easy to carry. Don’t leave your bag in the media center or tents backstage, or your stuff will get stolen. Newbie shooters always get stuff stolen in their first festival if they are not prepared.
5. Memory cards, extra batteries, and the most important piece of gear, earplugs. Earplugs are the most important piece of safety equipment. You will lose your hearing after just a few shows with no earplugs.
6. If you want to make money from this, then you will also need a computer or tablet computer with you at the event. Images are usually the most valuable within the first 24 hours of an event now. You have got to get the shots edited quickly if you hope to make some money.

So let’s start with the camera.

 

 

The camera you decide to use is important, but it is not a dealbreaker. The type of camera you use will determine the ISO range you can go up to. So if you are shooting with a mirrorless camera and an EVF, you will have two problems to deal with. First, the ISO range will be limited for many of the mirrorless cameras, especially the micro 4/3 cameras. The next biggest problem with mirrorless cameras will be the EVF. Although most EVFs are great in the daylight, when you are shooting in low light, most EVFs start to lag a lot. I have tried to use my Fujifilm XT1 a few times at shows now, and the EVF was always painful to use and distracting. The lag in low light, as well as the stage lights blowing out in the EVF, is a nightmare to deal with. OVF is far superior at night when shooting concerts or festivals. (Update: In 2023, nearly all cameras are now mirrorless, but they are still not great for shooting festivals or concerts. I bought and tried to use a Nikon Z6, and the EVF is still too slow to follow faster bands on stage. The EVF still lags behind an OVF, and trying to time jump shots or hair flicks is a nightmare with an EVF. Perhaps the Nikon Z9, but I haven’t used it yet.)

 

 

If you decide to use a DSLR you can choose to go full-frame or APS-C sized sensor. The choice is really up to you. Each has its own benefits. Full-frame cameras generally have better iso performance but you will lose out on reach. The crop factor on the APS-C sensor can be a huge benefit sometimes when you are shooting a huge stage and 200mm is not long enough to get the shot. Personally, I use both, I normally take 2 full-frame cameras with me and an APS-C camera as well, mostly to shoot video but if I need the reach, I will quickly grab it and use it. As for auto-focus, everyone thinks that shooting concerts needs super-fast auto-focus, but I disagree. Shooting a concert needs accurate auto-focus but not super fast auto-focus. Your shoots will almost always be pre-focused on a subject before you shoot it. If it is not pre-focused, then you are doing it wrong. So the auto-focus on most mirror-less cameras is more than good enough and the auto-focus on any DSLR camera is perfect for this type of work. But in general, I will say that DSLR is a much better choice for this line of work than mirror lens cameras. (Update 2023. Eye autofocus and AI-assisted autofocus have now become a key selling point for most cameras but when you are shooting up towards an artist on stage with all the lights going crazy in the background, those algorithms simply don’t work well. Most Sony shooters that I know, turn of eye autofocus as it always misses during shows.)

 

Next, we will look at the lens.

 

The lens is the most important investment you can make for your photography. Invest in glass, not cameras. When it comes to shooting concerts, you have two choices: primes and zooms. Primes are faster than zooms, but zooms are more versatile. Versatility is the name of the game with regards to music photography. Invest your money in some zoom lenses. You will need to cover three focal distances. Firstly, you need to cover the wide end for the stage shots, group shots, and crowd shots. Somewhere starting at 16 to 18 mm on a full frame is best.

 

 

 

 

 

Finally, you’ll need something for the long end, so 200mm or longer.

 

 

 

When you apply to shoot a show, you don’t know where you will be shooting from. Sometimes it is on stage, and then you need a wide lens. Other times it is at the soundboard, and then you will need a 600mm lens. You have to be prepared at shows, and you cannot say, “Uh… I’m sorry, I don’t have the equipment to do that.”

 

 

 

 

The speed of your lens is important as well, but a lot of that also depends on your camera’s ISO range. An f/2.8 lens is king here, so a fast zoom lens is the best, but they are also the most expensive. An f/4 lens is okay, but it will be difficult to use at night. It all depends on your camera. If your camera can really only shoot up to ISO 3200, then you will need the f/2.8 lens. If you can get to ISO 6400 or higher, then an f/4 lens will be okay. It all depends on your camera setup. I mostly use f/2.8 constant aperture lenses now, but I have used slower lenses in the past.

(Update 2023: One of my most used lenses now is the Nikon 200mm – 500mm f/5.6 lens. f/5.6 is really slow for shooting events, but I can easily push my ISO to 8000 at shows now, so I can get away with a slow lens.)

My advice is to avoid lenses without constant aperture. Shooting with those lenses is possible, but it makes a difficult job even more difficult at night as your aperture is constantly changing as you zoom in and out, which would be a nightmare when trying to get your exposure right.

 

 

 

 

 

The flash. You may need a flash at a concert, but never to shoot a band or a performer with. Most places will tell you no flash, and if you break that rule, you will most likely get kicked out, and your publication will either get blacklisted or will not get access to the event for a while again. Concert photography is not about flash photography, but you do need a flash for shooting the crowd or for shooting a band portrait behind the stage for your publication. So you need to have a flash in your bag at all times.

 

 

Camera bags are the most neglected aspect of concert or music photography. A bad camera bag will destroy your shoulder if you are shooting an all-day festival, while a good camera bag will make shooting in the most challenging environments a painless experience. No matter what camera bag you decide to use, make sure it is waterproof, offers good protection for your gear, and can fit all your equipment. Most festivals will not offer a safe place to keep your gear, and theft is common, so you have to carry your gear with you. If it rains, the show does not stop, so your bag must be water-resistant or waterproof. Think carefully before you buy your bag. Don’t buy the cheapest bag you can find, or you may end up losing all your equipment in a rainstorm.

 

 

Fast memory cards are important. Make sure you get a bunch of memory cards, and don’t go over 32 GB per card. Swap out the cards when they are close to full. Get the most expensive and best cards you can afford. Cheap cards tend to fail more often, and if you lose your images, you lose your job. It’s as simple as that. Always carry spare batteries for your camera with you. That should be obvious, but so many people only have one battery in their camera. Shooting even a single performance concert can be a long day. You may need to shoot pre-show stuff and portraits, then the show, and maybe backstage stuff at the end. That could be a lot of shooting, so make sure you are prepared with enough batteries and memory cards to last a whole day.

 

 

 

The single most important thing that you need to shoot a show, though, is your earplugs. You have to protect your ears. You will be standing right in front of the speakers in many cases, and you will be able to feel the bass go through your body. If you don’t protect your ears, you will lose your hearing in the future. You cannot enjoy the music if you cannot hear it. I always carry two sets of earplugs in my camera bag, and I keep a pair of cheap foam earplugs in my wallet. If my assistant leaves his earplugs at home, I don’t let him into the pit. He gets backstage duties as I don’t want to be responsible for him losing his hearing. You will never see a musician on stage without earplugs. Be smart and protect your ears.

 

 

The last thing that you may need is a computer or tablet. If you are working in this industry, time is a precious commodity, and your clients will want the images within minutes or hours (if you are lucky) of the show ending. I carry my Surface Pro 3 tablet with me to every single event, and I normally have 40 minutes to upload 10 images for my clients to use on their websites and social media accounts. I then have until midnight to upload the rest of the images. You need to be able to work and edit fast, so while you are traveling back from the venue, you need to work. Photos that are one or two days old are useless and not worth money. Speed and quality are what people get paid for. So a computer or tablet is important if you want this to be your job.

(Update 2023: I have stopped carrying Microsoft Surface Pro tablets and switched to an ultra-lightweight laptop. MacBook Airs are almost universal with people working shows now as they are very light and have great battery life. You don’t need a super fast computer for covering a show, but you do need a lightweight machine with decent battery life. There are almost never any electrical outlets to charge your computer at a show.)

That is the general gear you will need to be a concert photographer. Next week, we will be looking at some common types of photo compositions that you should be shooting and what mistakes to look out for in your work.

If you have any questions, leave a comment and I will get to it.

So until next week,

Happy shooting.

Shaun