Everyone at the Photoletariat was amazed by the response we got from last month’s post ‘Everything You Know About Concert Photography is Wrong’. Special thanks to A Photo Editor for sharing it with his audience and everyone who joined the dialogue.
In response to the post, I received a couple emails with great questions, I thought I would answer one of them:
Jason wrote:
“It’s kinda depressing at these big shows. But in a way it’s made me start to learn how to be more creative. So can I ask you, how do you go about getting in w/ bands/publicists to be able to shoot sound checks, in green rooms, backstage, etc? Is it all just working connections? Or do you have any tricks you’ve gained over the years?”
Looking back, I realized I’ve been the most productive, the most successful and the most personally rewarded by creating my own opportunities through self-initiated projects. This realization was reinforced again and again by presentations by established and emerging photographers (like the PDN 30) that I attended while I was figuring things out. I saw consistently and clearly that their growth came out of the courage to pursue personal work. [click to continue…]
Danny Kroha, Detroit 2010 ©Jacob Blickenstaff
I can’t hold my tongue on this subject anymore: there are too many competent, talented and creative photographers shooting themselves in the foot by neglecting to edit their work. There are also many developing photographers who are not progressing because they can’t tell their good work from their bad.
The Current State of Things:
Music photography and how it is being used on many websites and blogs runs against good judgement and taste. Music websites and blogs have an unlimited appetite for content, and it doesn’t really seem to matter what the quality of that content is. I’m not sure why this happens, but probably in the race for clicks and S.E.O. rankings, images are being exploited to serve as Googlebot fodder and snarky comment bait. A photograph’s power to beautifully and bluntly get to the heart of the matter is being lost and abused.
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Soul Artist Lenis Guess taking the stage with peach
If you are a music photographer, I hope this post will agitate you a bit: Everything you know about concert photography is wrong.
1 – Shooting Big Bands in Big Arenas = Success
Shooting Coldplay or Jay-Z means you are a big deal, right?
I think that most concert shooters are in a very limited situation and don’t realize it. The bigger the show, the more restrictive the shooting conditions are. You might be stuck in the back of the room shooting from the exact same angle as 15 other photographers for 2 songs. On top of that, you might be pressured to sign legal restrictions to what you can do with your own photos. What fun is that? And what opportunity do you have to do something creative? [click to continue…]
Guitarist Al Street by Jacob Blickenstaff
The promotional portrait is a key tool for bands and solo artists who want to reach an audience across a wide range of media.
It’s worthwhile for an artist or band to commission and license great photography. By collaborating with a photographer, the artist has control of their visual identity and creates more opportunities for media coverage. Being seen more frequently in a positive way is a valuable thing for a musician who is trying to attract an audience and sell albums. Music publicists charge a small fortune for this very thing by means of writing and distributing press releases and engaging press contacts to write about their artists. Photographs enhance these efforts, and in my experience, can create their own opportunities in and of themselves. [click to continue…]
Sharon Jones Promotional photography in print
We’re happy to introduce our new guest blogger, New York-based music photographer Jacob Blickenstaff. Stay tuned for more of his posts in the future.
Greetings Photoletariat readers! I was invited by the editors to share some information about the value of shooting music photography and hope to explore some unique issues involved when combining the two creative fields of music and photography. [click to continue…]
