Confessions Of A (Newbie) Rock & Roll Photographer

In The Beginning

For as long as I can remember, I’ve always wanted to have a serious crack at Rock photography. When I was younger and watching VHS concerts of my favorite acts, I would periodically hit the remote control’s PAUSE button to try and capture a pose, a photo if you will, on the TV. Those days are long gone but the seed had been sown from a young age and photography was always something I wanted to get proficient at.

Over the past five years or so, I have been a hobbyist photographer refining my skills and learning all aspects of the camera – which goes everywhere I go – at all times.

Recently, I have had the opportunity to shoot some great Rock acts through various associations and now that I have had this taste for it… I want more!

The adrenalin rush before each and every gig is intense. I liken it to back in the day when I used to play in a band myself. That moment before we’d hit the stage was as close to orgasmic as one can get. And It feels the same in the photo-pit.

Behind you lies a rabid crowd chanting the band’s name in sheer anticipation. Ready and eager to witness and experience their heroes. In front of you the band is getting ready to hit the floorboards with raw energy, power, volume, aggression and extremely high energy levels…

…and there you are!

Smack, bang in the middle of it all.

You are being pummeled with pure energy and force from all directions. Armed with your camera and equipment, you need to ignore the overwhelming force of amplified music, a ravenous crowd, a frenetic band, and the flying Doc Marten boots that come crashing into your back as yet another crowd-surfer comes stomping onto your back.

I’ve always felt that shooting a band live is the ultimate test for a photographer. You are working under a highly stressed and amped up situation and you better know what you’re doing before your three-song-limit is all but over in the blink of an eye. It is volatile situation. There are other photogs in the pit jockeying for position. You have a very limited time frame to capture what you are after and if you think three songs is ample time, you’re mistaken. You need to know your camera. You need to feel the shot before it happens.

I learnt a real valuable lesson last November when shooting classic Aussie rockers The Angels at Melbourne’s Forum. In the haste to swap my SD card, I did it in the dark between songs – not realizing I was forcing the card into the camera slot the wrong way and mangling the pins that hold the card in place. End result, I easily destroyed my Canon 400D in the blink of an eye.

This was my first professional photo-pass gig and I just totally and utterly blew it by single-handedly destroying my own camera!

Since that fateful day – things have certainly picked up. I have invested in better gear and lenses. I’ve shot some amazing bands in a short amount of time: Dropkick Murphys, Satyricon, Cult Of Luna, Death Angel, Armored Saint, Alkaline Trio, Bleeding Through, Marky Ramone’s Blitzkrieg to name a few with many more to come. And I am feeling more confident in my abilities and have learnt where to stand, when to shoot, what to shoot and to avoid flying chicks with mohawks and Doc Martin’s!

So what advice can I give at this stage of proceedings?

First and foremost, be super friendly with the bouncers and the punters who are there to see the band. Having shot regularly at one venue, I get to see the same faces who work as security. When they tell you your three songs are over, pack your gear and get out. Don’t argue. Don’t plead. Don’t be a pain in the ass. If you do this, they’ll get to know you and the next gig you shoot – they may even let you stay longer.

At one show, I introduced myself to one of the security guys before the show began. He said to me, that I could stay beyond the three songs and if I liked, I could still shoot the band from the extreme left of the stage. He recognized me from a prior shoot and knew that I did everything he asked of me. He remembered I was kind and attentive and he gave me a break at the next show. Being kind and courteous will get you far.