Before I was a concert photographer, I was just a fan. I’ve been going to concerts since about the age of 14 or 15, so about 15 years at this point.
(My first concert was Britney Spears).
(My first rock concert was Linkin Park). (RIP Chester).
I didn’t start taking photos at concerts until late in my concert-going career and my concert experience has changed quite a bit since I began doing photography. I do still attend shows as just a fan without taking photos, but now I can’t just watch a show without thinking of what lighting situations and movements would have made a great photo.
On the flipside, when I’m in the photo pit it’s hard for me to not headbang or take a moment to just watch and enjoy (without missing an awesome shot). One perk of being in the photo pit is that I’m so close to the bands — I’m not riding the rail, I’m in front of the rail (usually for just the first three songs).
I’ve gone to a couple of shows where I so badly wanted to take photos, but wasn’t granted a photo pass. That’s always hard. While I go anyway because I’m a fan of the band and want to see the shows and still have an amazing time, I can’t help but pretty much analyze the show from a photographer’s point of view. I’ll constantly watch the show thinking about how I would take pictures and I sometimes watch the photographers who made it to the photo pit with a twinge of jealousy.
I even get so desperate to take photos that I’ll take out my iPhone and try to snag some decent shots. While those pictures are nowhere near as good as what I can get with my Canon 5D Mark III, I sometimes manage to get something worth sharing — a good memory from the show. When I do iPhone shots I use Snapseed to edit them and make them look better before I post them to social media.
Here's to hoping someday I will be able to shoot any show I want.
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