15 Tips and Tricks for Great Concert Photography

Instead of the usual concert photography tutorial, I thought I’d do something a little different and give you some ideas for new shots and perspectives.

Concert photography itself is not really hard! The hard part is getting a press pass to some of the big gigs and getting decent equipment (i.e. mainly a good lens) to actually be able to shot pictures. I’ll cover those items in a coming post. ;)

Once you got these 2 basics sorted, everything else is fairly easy! Bands are excellent material for great pictures, they put on amazing and powerful shows and you just need to push the button. In all honesty I often find concerts a lot easier to shoot then models or studio stuff. These artists are natural performers and posers, so unless you’re doing something awfully wrong you will usually walk away with some great pictures. The problem is that many of these good pictures will be terribly alike.

Here some ideas for capturing great and different band pictures:

1. Arrive Early

During the sound and light check is an excellent time to capture good shots without being stressed by the crowd.

Apart from good manners, it’s always a very good idea to show up early for a couple of reasons. Arriving early will allow you to sort out any hassle with your press pass and the security/venue people will be a lot less annoyed when you’re the only one they have to deal with, compared to later on when everybody is trying to get in all at once. If it’s a small to medium venue chances are good you will run into band members “out in the wild”, which usually makes for some interesting pictures. Be there for the sound and light check if you can, the band will be far more relaxed and you will not have to deal with thousands of fans jumping about while taking your pictures.

2. Special FX

Soulfly rocking out in the smoke. Make sure to capture all special effects.

Make sure you capture any and all special effects! Use all the smoke, lights and pyrotechnics you can cram onto a picture, but remember that they are accessories, your main image will always be the band or artist in question. If you arrive early enough. make sure to talk to the roadies. Usually they’ll be happy to get some attention and as often as not, they’ll be happy to tell you which part of the stage is going to explode when. This knowledge makes taking the pictures a lot easier. Just a word of warning too, sometimes the roadies will be extremely grumpy and won’t talk to you, don’t take this personally, they have a very tough job and usually very little sleep, so give them a break and accept a no.

3. Up Close and Personal

Guido from the Donots dripping some sweat on me. Don't be afraid to get right in there.

No matter what else you take pictures of you will need at least one up close and personal picture of the artist(s) in question. There are 2 ways to get this picture, either with a great zoom lense (we are talking about something like the Canon 200mm f2.8 here or better) or the cheaper version: get up close and personal! Make sure you get into the photographers pit and don’t be afraid to get covered in spit and sweat! If you know the venue and if you know the security people this makes your job a lot easier. A word of warning though, the security people and the band on stage are both doing their job, just as you: Never get in the way of them doing their job!

4. A Different View

Sometimes all it takes is the power of the artist and no fancy background and lights. This picture shows Billy Talent rocking the Nova Rock festival.

As a beginner in concert photography it’s always a good idea, to stick to the other photographers there, as they usually will know where good places to take pics are. Once you know what you are doing, start to look for your own place. You don’t always need to be right in front of center stage, sometimes a shot from the side or from on stage can be the killer shot of the concert. Also sometimes it’s a good idea to get rid of all the flashy lights and effects and focus purely on the subject.

5. Background and Framing

Maja from The Sounds.

While 90 percent of concert photographers will tell you to get in there and make sure to get closeups of the artist, I tend to occasionally take a step back and pack some of the setting into the picture. Many bands nowadays will have cool backdrops (or video/light shows) which set a nice scene. Also don’t be afraid to get some of the equipment and rigging in the pic, used well these great a good frame.

6. Background vs. Foreground

Don't forget about dept of field and background vs. foreground.

Pictures don’t always have to be bang on the subject. A good interaction of background and foreground will sometimes tell much more of a story. As a concert photographer you are trying to tell those that weren’t there what happened. Capturing the action and interaction is what it’s all about. Creative use of depth of field can be a valuable tool here. Don’t be afraid to make the background your subject, vice-versa when you’re subject is in the foreground make sure your background is interesting as well, otherwise it serves no purpose.

7. Make Eye Contact

Eye contact makes for intense pictures.

Most good bands know how to capture and involve their audience. The real trick is to make each of the thousand of people out there feel as if the band is playing just for them. Eye contact is one of the most important tools to do this. A band that’s got a bunch of photographers in the pit, will also know that they need to perform for them. They will usually throw in a pose or look just for all the hungry cameras waiting for them. Make sure not to miss this moment. When a band member heads your way be alert and have your camera at the ready. Make sure to snap as many pics as possible in those moments, as not all of them will turn out perfect. If you do capture the right moment you can be sure to walk away with a very intense picture. Also remember that bands don’t only exist of their singers; guitarists, bassist and what not will also put on a good show, keep an eye out for them.

8. Black and White

The Toy Dolls (with Yul Brynner), look good in B/W.

Not all concert pictures have to a technicoloured blur. Occasionally a shot will work really well in black and white, don’t forget this when editing your pictures.

9. Back-lighting

Adam Green backlit, makes for a dramatic image.

Back-lighting is most commonly used in nature and landscape shots. If a photographer uses back-lighting in a portrait shot, they are generally trying to add a more dramatic, intense mood to the scene. This is perfect for concert photography and thanks to the big light rigs at shows it’s normally quite easy to catch, use this to your advantage.

10. Emotions

Mia overwhelmed by the audiences love.

As a photographer you are always trying to tell a story or capture a moment. These moments usually will relate to emotions, make sure you capture these! Depending on the show and the artist these can vary widely. From love songs to pure scream-core death metal there will always be some feelings involved, try catching theses in your frames.

11. Audience

The audience makes for some great shots at concerts.

Shows are put on to entertain the masses. The audience is the most important factor of a show. The best light effects are useless if the audience doesn’t catch on, vice versa the lamest show can be mesmerizing if the crowd is into the band and rocking out! Remember to snap a couple of snaps of the audience! They make great shots for any stories about the concert that might be published, plus they can often bring across the feeling and the power of the show a lot more than a pic of the band. As your time in the pit is usually limited to the first three songs, the opening bands are a good time to get these shots in. Don’t waste your three songs for audience pictures, in the worst case you can always shoot these later from elsewhere.

12. Festival Feeling

Mud pools at festivals! YAY! :D

If you’re at a festival or some bigger event make sure you take some pictures of all the crazy stuff that goes on offstage. There will be loads and loads of stuff happening, don’t be afraid to snap away surprisingly many people will be happy to pose for you, but always remember to ask first!

13. Between the Songs

Evil Jared from the Bloodhound Gang wiping his balls with his T-shirt before throwing it to the fans...

When the first song is over the band will usually welcome the crowd or perform some other sort of small talk or entertainment, till everyone is ready to hit the next song. This is no time for you to relax, often cool things will happen then and you should always be ready to capture them. Between songs is also a good time to find a new location to snap the next set of pictures during the next song. Yes, as a concert photographer you will have to multitask, get used to it ;)

14. The Big Picture

The "Big Picture"

A good picture for a successful gig coverage is what I call the big picture. Head out to the back and take a picture of everything. This gives a sense of size of the concert, also most stages will be well decorated or lit up in an impressive manner. With a little practice even these “landscape” shots can be your best pic of the show.

15. Don’t Forget the Drummer!

Poor little drummer boy... :)

The poor suckers are always stuck in the far back, usually badly lit and not easy to get a shot of. Don’t forget them completely, usually they will be sweat covered maniacs that make for really great photography material. If you can get on stage, taking a pic from behind the drummer is always a good idea too, it captures what the band sees and makes for a completely new perspective for everybody else.

I hope some of these tips are usefull and maybe will inspire you to some new and better pictures! Feel free to share them with me, I would be glad to comment on them. Also feedback and more tips and advice are always welcome, so bring it on and happy snapping! :D

Ps: All pictures taken by me...

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