Tips From the Road - Event Photography

While I was on the road with Matisyahu I decided to make a video right before soundcheck giving some tips from the road. We were at a very cool venue in Virginia called the Norva which is one of the best venues in the country.

What I am trying to get across here is that you can not shoot the same thing night in and night out. You have to set out with a photo goal every time you go out to shoot. If you end up not having a mental picture of what you would like to shoot you are just going to repeat your photos and most likely never get anything other than the normal photos.

When I am on the road which I try to not stay longer than a week these days, I have a lot going through my mind. If I am going to a new venue I have to worry about if the lights are going to be good, where will I be able to shoot from, will I be able to get something different than the night before. I am also always thinking about the candid images, will there be something unique about the locations I am shooting in or will it look like I am shooting at any generic place.

Each day that I am out on the road I try to capture something different. One day I may focus on shooting form the stage only. On other days I may stay in the pit. For part of other shows I may leave on only a long lens and try to capture the lights coming out from around the artists head. There is nothing wrong with focusing on one type of image. But I will say once you capture that one image move onto the next type of shot you want to capture.

Just remember to think about what you are shooting, ask yourself how can I capture this event or subject from a few different perspectives. If you set out with this mentality you will be putting yourself into a great spot to capture killer images.