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How do you get access to a gig as a photographer?
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Just a general enquiry really on this subject.
How do you get yourself in the photographers area for gigs/events. Do you have to be affiliated with an agency or paper for example?This question has been asked many times.
Its a bit of a catch 22. You need to have experience workin for promotion companies, but theyll only take you on if you have experience.
Your best bet is to apply to the promotion company themselves. Or you could do what I did, get involved taking pics for local promising Irish bands. I did this for a Waterford based band and eventually they got a gig supporting the Frames, and I tagged along and got to shoot the Frames.
Just keep trying as much as you can, and be persistent basically.
Also need to ask yourself what size or kind of gig are you thinking about. Small venues, unknown or local bands, and you’ll have no bother generally. Ask them if it’s OK to take pics so you don’t rub anyone up the wrong way. When the venue size increases or the more profile a band or event has, the more weight you’d need to pull.
It’s best to get all the practice you can, and if you start off in crappy small unlit gigs (as I call them – basically crap light) then you’ll hopefully get familiar with handling low light levels and what you can and can’t do with it. As it’ll be a small venue you’ll be limited for angles and can see what works and what doesn’t.
Once you build your portfolio a bit, show it around and get to know the bands, venue people and promoters and trade entry to gigs for pics. If you can, get ‘residency’ at a regular music night somewhere. I did this last year at The Roundy in Cork. People get to know you.
And if you look like you know what you’re doing you’d generally be left alone to get on with it, or approached by the right people during a gig.
This year I’ve basically been handed the ticket to photograph any gigs I like in the Savoy, and have residency at the Firkin Crane Theatre photographing dance (including closed door shoots, i.e. lights & stage all for the camera). I’m using these to improve my skills and get myself up to a consistent standard. In a year I went from pub gigs to venues with decent lighting and stagecraft, and that’s purely by going along with my camera, and building contacts as they came along. A year ago it would have taken some persuasion to let me in even on a freebie ticket. Like everything, it needs time.
Many moons ago when i was young(er) 1983 I was going to a Toyah concert in Birmingham and i wrote to the Promoter and said can i have a photopass and low and behold it arrived in a couple of days.
Now fairplay I was able to roam around a bit and security even gave me a wide berth it was my only go at concert photography and a few shots where quite decent even if i do say so myself so sometimes it might pay to be cheeky :)
Thanks guys.
Ive been tagging along to the button factory a lot lately and to local bands’ gigs, so I think Im on the right route.What are the legal problems I may encounter?
Can my camera be cnfiscated, can I be fined during gigs???They can’t confiscate your property and I don’t think they are allowed to fine you for taking photos.
I’d say the most they can do is request that you stop taking photos and if it really matters to them, that you wipe your card (which you’ll probably restore at home with the restore software that many cards come with but they’re not generally savvy enough about) and then tell you to leave the premises. At the worst they could bar entry in future, which with ROAR and all that they’re entitled to do. But I’d say you’d really need to pee someone off to have that happen. Similarly the band can ask the venue to not allow you entry or to take pics.
I’d be interested to know what gear and camera settings (iso/flash/shutter speeds etc) you’d generally use for indoor gigs with poor lighting.
Welcome Wayne.
Lens wise, as wide as you can get, generally f/2.8. You would be struggling with an f4 lens.
Until recently I used a Canon 20D always on manual and shooting RAW, though you could still quite adequately use aperture or shutter priority or even a program mode.
I set the White Balance on the camera to Flash and normally prefer to shoot with the flash on rear curtain sync. My flash unit is a Canon 580EX, so it is dedicated to my camera.
I’d set the rear-curtain sync on the flash unit. I would also normally underexpose the flash by between 1 and 2 stops, and nearly always bounce, diffuse or use indirectly, as head-on flash is usually unflattering, though with some techniques it can lead to some very interesting results, so play at will. When bouncing off walls or ceiling, you may get a colour cast depending on the colour of that surface and if you’re in a blacked out club then the bounce will be of no use at all.
Back on the camera my ISO would normally be between 400-800 and shutter speed low enough to freeze, or mostly freeze, the scene, and aperture open enough to light it but subtly. This will vary but as a starting point I’d suggest 1/60 and f4. From there close down the aperture/increase shutter speed to increase the effect of the flash, or open up the aperture/decrease shutter speed to allow more ambient light into the mix and decrease the effect of the flash.
Distance of flash to bounce as well as the overall range you need to cover will usually determine your flash underexposure, which will also affect what shutter speed/aperture you would select.
In my experience, on-camera flash is best used as fill flash only, usually underexposed as it can’t be bounced, and only if necessary.
Clear as mud? Find yourself a gig where you’re allowed to take flash pics and not annoy people too much, and practice a lot.
Good luck!
(This probably would do better posted as a new thread elsewhere me thinks..)
That’d never happen at a promoted gig by MCD or Aiken etc..
They’re all first 3 songs, no flash. While I have a 24-70 2.8L and a 70-200 2.8L, I prefer shooting at 2.0 or f2.2 on my 50 and and 85 1.8.Depending on the light (most smaller venues has p*ss poor lighting-all crap red gels), I get 1/60-1/100s at ISO800 or 1600 if pushed.
Obviously I prefer 800, but freezing motion is the absolute requirement.
NME for example specifically request no motion blur whatsoever.Unless you have spot metering on your focus point, don’t trust your meter. It’s not really able to tell what’s going on. Shoot a few shots an check your histogram. Don’t mind if the light source blows out, just make sure the shots are correctly exposed. I used to allow it to underexpose in order to get higher shutter speeds, but I’m not sure that 100% the best way because bumping the exposure on the RAW still introduces more noise. I should do tests to see if a bumped ISO800 shot has more noise than a native 1600…
i write for a local lil magazine called the douglas post. ive got the gift of the gab and normally email protoers and agents of bands and djs before i go to gigs. the key when asking for passes is to make the promoter think your doing them a favour. when i want an interview i say that the particular act has a strong following in cork and my article will reach a lot of fans not able to attend the gig…see what i mean bout making em feel like its of benifit to have you there?..
thats how u get close to top acts like eddie halliwell:D
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