Music Photography

I am a music obsessive. Always have been, always will be. I've been very blessed to be able to photograph some of my favourite artists in the past few months and I think music photography is the way I'm heading professionally, it's where my heart lies and it's what inspires me.

Use negative space to enhance an image. 

The last few months have been a whirlwind of gigs and nights. My advice for getting gigs to photograph is to be bold - go to your favourite gigs and if public photography is allowed, take your camera and email the photos to the artist and/or record label as soon as possible after the gig. Offer to do further gigs for them - they're usually unpaid but it may open other doors. Keep at it too - if you see a gig you want to cover get in contact with the promoters with some examples of past gigs and ask if they'd like it covering.

Roots Manuva

The photography itself is the fun bit - don't worry about it, if you like the artist you WILL get shots you're happy with. Music photography equals working with low light - be prepared to set your ISO high and shoot as wide open (low aperture number - e.g. f2) as possible. This is always a good plan anyway for that good depth of field.

Direct flash with slow shutter

A long lens is advised - I always work with my 135mm f2.0. If it's a concert or gig in a large venue then flash isn't usually allowed however, if it's a DJ or club night I wholeheartedly recommend taking a flash with a diffuser. I would usually bounce the flash but direct flash (diffused) with a slow shutter speed can produce some interesting results. Be adventurous with direct flash, you can even shake the camera. I recommend a Lumiquest mini soft box - it's hard wearing and does a fantastic job. It's about 20 quid, beware of Ebay copies, I had one and it fell apart after my second gig with it and it was difficult to get on and off.

Utilise light hitting your subject

I'm guilty of shooting tons and tons of shots - try and stand back every once in a while and take in how the lights are working and how they're catching your subject. Take advantage of the different colour lights and try different angles - get down low so a spotlight is behind the artists head, or shoot so you can see the beam of light hitting your subject. You can also use the light to silhouette your subject or to highlight the instrument they're playing.

Get amongst the crowd

Labels love crowd shots too - of course it's nice to have some amazing pictures of their artists but also you need to capture the vibe of the crowd. Get out amongst the crowd, enjoy the music with people, have a little dance with them and get snapping. People generally don't mind you squeezing through if they see you have a large camera with you and a lot of them will try and get in photos. Don't be annoyed by this, embrace it! Don't be afraid of enjoying yourself either, if you're having fun, you'll capture a vibe a lot better. 

Make the most of wide apertures

A pit is a good vantage point

Finally, get to a gig early - give yourself time to check out the venue and shoot some shots of the setting up or support band so you're all set up for the main act. Ultimately - have fun and enjoy what you're doing, it's a good place to be. 

Black and white often works well

Use smokey atmospheres to your advantage

Get meeting the crowd

Capture the emotion of the crowd

Familiarise yourself with the artists

Get up close, don't be shy

Use a long lens

A subject to the side can make for a striking image

The crowd love being photographed

Pay attention to every member of the band