Tech Olive

I’ve been doing concert photography ever since I started shooting and I’ve shot everything from tiny little basement shows to arena concerts such as Buckcherry, Nine Inch Nails and Thursday. Here’s a little guide of things you should know when planning on shooting such a musical event.

1. Know the Venue!

Large concerts such as Buckcherry or the Taste of Chaos Tour have some pretty strict rules as far as what you can/cannot do. If you are shooting with a photo/press pass in the “pit” (the space between the crowd and the stage), you’re most likely going by the typical rules of concert photography; 3 songs, no flash. Using flash or being disrespectful to the security guards will get you tossed and will blemish your rep as a photographer. If they ask you to move, move.

2. Push that ISO, but don’t over do it.

Most concerts have very low lighting. Even big concerts can have less than adequate blue and red flashing lights, so you’re going to need the camera to be as sensitive to light as possible. Motion blur is only cool if it’s minimal (motion blur on the hands of a guitarist, for example).

3. Bounce the Flash (where possible)

If you’re just shooting your friend’s band in a basement, beware of direct flash. It flattens the image, adds nasty shadows and is straight up distracting/disrespectful to the band and to others in the crowd. If you use a top mounted flash, angle it up to bounce it off ceilings/walls. If you have a pop up flash, consider using a diffuser or even just a white credit card to bounce the light upwards.

4. Be respectful to the crowd

They paid money to attend/enjoy the concert. If you’re 6’3″ and standing in front of a 5′ nothing girl, sit on the ground, give her your place, etc. Be respectful. Most people are more than willing to move for a moment after a tap on the shoulder if you kindly ask first and let them know that you want to take a few photos

5. RAW is your friend

If you have a camera with the ability to shoot in RAW format (for Canon it’s .CR2), then shoot in that format. Granted it takes up more room on your card, but it can be a definite life-saver. RAW allows the ease of adding effects like lens vignetting (darkening on edges) and offers higher quality images.

All images are copyright of Lucas Carter Photography

www.lucascarterphotography.com