Live Music Photography

[danalive]

Hi Photographers!

I am just starting out shooting some live gigs and need some tips/advice on the following:

1. General tips on how to shoot a live gig - Currently doing small club/bar venues.
2. Photo package structure & cost

Anything you can add to my knowledge would be great!

Thanks,
Dan.

[jjeling]

I think the best person here to answer this would be AcadieLibre. He is the most experienced with live music photography. The only thing I can say is dont sell yourself short.

[danalive]

I think the best person here to answer this would be AcadieLibre. He is the most experienced with live music photography. The only thing I can say is dont sell yourself short.

thanks jjeling I hope he sees this post

[AcadieLibre]

Thanks although I am not sure I would be the best suited to answer this. Well as for tips all I can say is you want as many fast lenses as possible. I usually can get by with 3 zoom f/2.8 lenses covering 16mm to 200mm range and I always lug my 3 f/1.4 prime lenses 35, 50 and 85 mm if it is a new venue.

Lighting from venue to venue and even act to act varies and your better to be over prepared then waste your time by showing up with the wrong lenses. After you shoot and get familiar with the various venues and you can usually get and know the bands you know what to bring and cut down on a lot of what you bring to a show.

I can get by 90% of the time with my 24-70 mm f/2.8 and my 70 - 200 mm f2.8 lenses. And you can just forget using the meter readings to get the shots, you need to know what you settings should be. I shoot almost all by experience, I get no meter readings at any night concert or club setting or when I do they hop all over the place because the lighting so you learn to compensate for each setting.

And most venues and bands prefer you do not use a flash so best learn to shoot with out one. Well anyway that is the basic version of shooting from my experience, everyone shoots somewhat differently and best to try and develop your own style. I shoot in manual and change the settings as the lighting during the set changes.


Now for making money, best of luck it is one of the harder areas to carve a living out of. You must assume most bands have no money and those that do hire do so by word of mouth or they have seen or met you and know your work or you know someone at a label and when you start out it is usually small labels on a budget.

All I can really say is you need to carve out a niche for yourself that people would want you over others. There are other ways I make money from my concert photography but it works because the the market in Toronto seems to be holding up well so far. Your market also has a lot to do with how you try and make money. Also everyone who owns a camera wants to shoot bands so lots of competition. You best of doing it for the passion of it and then try to make money rather than try and make money on something you have no passion for.

Anyway about all I can say, best of luck. I am needing to change my photo viewer on my concert site once I do I can pm you a link to it if you want.