concert

How to Shoot Film Photos at Concerts

This article is a little guide on how I have had luck shooting photos at concerts. This is by no means the only way to do it, nor can I say that it will be the best way to do it for everyone. All I can say is that I recommend bringing a 35mm camera into some concerts. It really is a fun way to document your night!

Taylor Swift Sony RX10 IV

Taylor Swift Fan Found a Clever Way to Bypass Eras Tour Camera Rules

Taylor Swift's Eras tour has been an absolute smash hit, with attendance at each show averaging more than 72,000 fans. With nearly 70 shows on the docket throughout North America and ticket prices averaging nearly $500, ticket sales alone could eclipse $2 billion per CNN. Unsurprisingly, many fans want to take high-quality photos and videos at the shows.

Concert Photography: A Complete Guide

One of the most exciting things to photograph is a live concert. Rock concerts in particular have an air of electricity about them that you can feel. When you are hired to photograph one you automatically feel like you are a part of that excitement.

Concert Photographer Shoots Striking Bokeh Panoramas

In Summer of 2019, while working with Elbow in Manchester, concert photographer Peter Neill had an idea. He decided to try and stitch an epic panorama... with a twist. Instead of using a wide-angle, he would use an 85mm f/1.4 and capture a pano of the stage and the crowd, but with a shallow depth of field and bokeh.

How I Got Outsmarted by a Kid with an Umbrella

I’m an experienced concert photographer. From the largest stadiums to the smallest, dirtiest night clubs, I’ve photographed thousands of bands and seen it all. I’m damned confident in my ability to anticipate the shot and be in the right place at the right time. Or, at least I was until last Saturday night.

How to Shoot Concerts: Tips from a Pro Music Photographer

I am writing this concert photography guide in response to several ‘How to’ guides I have seen online that don’t quite hit the mark on how to take great live concert photographs. Most of the articles focus too much on the obvious, like concerts are dark and avoid things in your way (like mic stands and such). Personally, I think it is a bit patronizing to suggest that you are letting the photographer in on the ‘professional secrets’ if it is written by a non-professional music photographer, so this is my guide.

Film vs Digital in Music Photography: I Shot the Same Show With Both

Film is very rarely used in music photography anymore. The reason for this is primarily because of social media and instant news. There’s no time to go home and start pouring chemicals onto film to develop it or wait until the morning until a lab opens to do it for you.

Turning Every Frame from a Concert Into a Timelapse of the Show

What would it look like if I made a timelapse out of every single picture that I captured during a concert? I had occasionally been toying with this idea since I saw a wedding timelapse by photographer Kevin Mullins a while ago.

How to Shoot Double Exposure Concert Photography

I recently shot a series of double exposure photos of the band I Don’t Know How But They Found Me at The Knitting Factory, and they've received a great response. So, I thought it would be worth explaining how I took them!

Camera Settings for Concert Photography Beginners

This guide is intended for concert photography beginners. If you have a DSLR camera and are interested in how to control your camera settings to take great photos at concerts, this guide is for you. If you're an experienced photographer who just hasn't shot shows before, there may be some helpful info in here along with plenty of stuff you know already.

Annoyed Musician Shoots Audience with Phone Instead of Playing His Solo

Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Josh Klinghoffer hates when people at the band's shows spend the whole time staring through their screen—shooting the performance on a 4-inch box instead of experiencing it for themselves. So last year, during a show in Turin, Italy, he turned the tables.

Photographer Flips Off Musician After Being Called Out for Using Flash

Musician Ryan Adams got into another very public scuffle with a photographer this week. Midway through his set at the 2017 Gasparilla Music Festival, Adams, who suffers from Meniere’s disease, called out photographer Joe Sale for using flash photography and potentially putting the musician's health at risk.

Concert Photography Jobs: How to Make Money by Shooting Music

There are a lot more music photographers than there are music photography jobs — that’s just how it is in this corner of the industry. It's a port of entry for many hobbyist photographers, and the result is saturation of the market. A lot of budding photographers are willing to work for free, making the gigs that are out there even tougher to get.