Why? Well because of a number of reasons.
1. It's not easy to get into the big concerts with great headliners.
2. It's a lot of work, The smaller concerts let you in but usually expect hundreds of photo's in return.
3. It's not so much about photography, timing and composition will make you stand out from the rest.
4. It is much more about, equipment and politics.
I know it's a bit short sighted but I am just trying to make a point. As a concert photographer you are an observer not a director. The better you observe, the better your photo's will get. Knowing all the little habbits of the artist or getting to know the lighting designer, can help you to push the shutter at the exact right moment.
But if you are not really into people, I am not, concert photography just boils down to 3 things: luck, equipment, composition.
Equipment:
- Get a body with great ISO performance 1600 or more
- Get at least 2.8 lenses from 10mm up to 500mm
- No, no flash :)
- Spend a lot of money and go
Composition (can be challenging)
- you are most of the time litteraly at the feet of your idol or ... some other musician.
- A lot of rubbish is in your way, mikes, other musicians, construction poles, ...
- Musician have a bad habbit of not standing still, the ones that do stand still are boring.
Luck:
- yes, you will need it.
So why do I still bother? I can't help it, I just love the feeling, being frontstage, while thousands of people are standing behind you, feeling just a little bit jealous :). And sometimes, when you are really lucky, you do get that one lucky shot which could just make your day. (I'm still waiting)
What follows are some shots of the last concert I did, Afro Latino 2012, lovely atmosphere, great music, and great organisation. Did I already mention that those are also reasons why concert photography is worthwhile practicing?
