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 p.1 #13 · Concert Photography Question (Long!) | |
It is absurd that everyone shoots with their cell phone cameras or point & shoots (because the venues can't control it anymore), but they won't let other photogs shoot. At some venues and in some ads for shows I've even seen "no long lenses", which is because of the realization that they can't stop small cameras, so they'll still attempt to stop semi-pros and pros instead. Having said that, I can understand some restrictions because you don't want 50 photographers hogging the area in front of the stage, spoiling the show for those who paid to get in. And yet, YouTube proves that everyone is already shooting everything. As cameras get smaller and smaller, it can't be stopped and IMO it certainly doesn't hurt the band (in spite of their attempts to control their own image) unless you want to argue that a YouTube presence stops people from buying the band's records or DVDs.
I think one of the things you have to prove to the band's publicist is how your local paper helps them. Prepare a demographic breakdown of the readers or show some research that your advertising or circulation department has prepared that attempts to prove that people who read the paper are likely to attend the band's concerts and/or buy their records (even though your photos will appear after the fact). Is this a real local newspaper with an arts section? Or is it primarily a "penny-saver" with a few articles in it? Does the newspaper get concert/club advertising or local record store advertising? If not, it might be hard to prove that you're not simply trying to take advantage of your Press ID in order to take photos of something you happen to like. In other words, is your newspaper really assigning you to cover these shows or is this something that you've decided to do on your own?
I'm never shooting unsolicited (except for an occasional free outdoor concert), so I'm always already on the band's list. But even then, there's issues. Sometimes a patron will complain if I'm shooting with flash or if I'm in their way, even for a moment. Sometimes the door guy can't find my name because there are usually multiple lists. Sometimes the band forgets. Sometimes the band is supposed to get me a VIP seat, but they don't and the place is so crowded, it's hard to find a shooting position. In small venues, sometimes there's an area next to the stage to shoot from, but it's frequently crowded with patrons who don't belong there and the venue doesn't bother to get people out of there, even if they're standing in front of a fire door.
At big shows, they will tend to let the press shoot the first three songs only. I think this is reasonable because in most papers and magazines, only one photo gets published, if you're lucky. They don't need to shoot an entire show to get one usable photo. But I'm shooting for the band's websites and archives and while I don't overshoot (I tend to shoot no more than about 100 images per show), I do like to cover the whole show, especially because "special guests" usually appear later in a show. In fact, I usually never shoot the first three songs because I'm waiting for everyone, especially security, to "settle down" and get relaxed. Even when I have permission to shoot, I don't necessarily have permission to shoot with flash and so I try to keep low key.
While it won't get you in the door, one other thing I've noticed at shows is that people will walk up to me and say, "oh, you must really be a pro". I think they're looking at my long lens, but I always ask, "why do you say that?" They reply, "because you're wearing ear plugs." When you look like you don't want to be there, people think that you truly are a working pro and the plugs confirm for them that you must do this all the time. (And you should wear them anyway because even one over-loud show, which they all are these days, can give you tinnitus and permanently destroy your hearing.) And you should also dress like a pro. That doesn't mean you have to wear a tux like a wedding photographer, but don't look like you just rolled out of bed to shoot the show.
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