Concert Photography Part 3 - Etiquette
Etiquette is a strange thing, in the way that it’s incredibly subjective. People interpret it in different ways, for example, if I put someone before myself by holding a door open for them to walk through, thereby inconveniencing myself, some would think it were polite, and etiquette might dictate someone to offer a thank you. One dictionary defines it as:
rules governing socially acceptable behavior
But again, socially acceptable is subjective since society is an unspecified number of people grouped as a collective, but I’m going to assume that Etiquette in the context of this article amounts to:
“Making an effort in concert photography while you are working to be polite to those around you, contributing to a mutually happy work environment where everyone can work together without annoying each other, and screwing up their day“
Regardless of what it means to you, this is the context that I’ve used for this piece. The tips I list here are gathered from my experience working small gigs, large concerts, festivals and other events. Nothing I write here is intended to single anyone out. Those people working around you doesn’t just mean other photographers, we’re talking about venue staff, band staff, security staff, everyone you’re likely to come into contact with during your assignment.
Firstly, a word to those of you that are starting out, regardless of the kit you carry, professionalism is as much about how you approach a task, as it is about “getting the shot”, if you piss people off you’ll start to find it very difficult to get follow up work, this is a very small industry, where the regulars often know each other, respect them, be openly friendly, and you may find you get more work from unexpected directions.
Preparation - AKA, Help others to help you!! This has nothing to gear preparation, we’ve already covered that in an earlier article. This falls under the realm of preparing all the information that is relevant to the venue and the job. When you got the assignment you’ll have a contact, that contact will have a mutual opposite number. I’ll elaborate further; Arrive early, because when you arrive with plenty of time it allows security and stage management to deal with you in a way that works with the rest of the their job. If you arrive just in time or late it usually pisses people off, they have to make a special trip for you to collect you, or repeat instructions they’ve already given everyone else, and it’ll just make them resent photographers more than they already do. Most venues, especially larger ones will often have a map of the layout of the venue; where the stage is; where the exits are; where the crowd is in relation to the stage. There are other nuggets of information you might need which will also be a factor, like how much lighting is being used and height of the stage, try and get these ahead of time, asking the staff stuff like this when you arrive will likely annoy them as they have a thousand other things to think about on the night, all of this will factor in to how you are received by your fellow ‘togs.
Security - Security is a fact of life these days, whether you’re covering the band at the local pub or shooting a mega star at Wembley Stadium, in both instances there will likely be security (or doormen). Firstly it’s important to understand that most security teams are probably not accountants that moonlight as doormen, many security professionals these days are exactly that, professionals, they earn their living from it. When they stop you at the door and politely ask to look in your bag, let them, they’re almost certainly not trying to steal your kit, and simply trying to back sure (in the wake of all the London Soho bombings) that you don’t have a bag full of weapons or explosive devices. Don’t forget it’s very unusual for non-photographer people to turn up at any kind of gig or concert with a large bag of stuff, so it’s natural that you will attract attention to yourself, if they raise any objections, it’s OK because the venue knew you were coming, right? (more on this in a moment), you have an email, or at the very least the name of a contact within either the band or the venue?? If they give you instructions like “we’ll lead you in at the end of song 1, you get songs 2 and 3 to shoot then we’ll lead you out” listen to them, if you’re looking to do this concert photography malarkey often then you’ll be likely to bump into the same security guys again and again, if you do see the same guys often, try and remember their names, a little social etiquette goes a long way, conversely if you piss them off regularly, they’ll still remember you, just not in the way you’ll want them to.
Lights, Camera, Action
So you’re about to be lead in by security to the auditorium. You kit is all ready to go, you’ve made some initial assumptions about the lighting, your gear is all set, ISO, Shutter Priority, lens…. great!! In a few seconds the frenzy will begin, you and a dozen other ‘togs running around on stage all trying to get the creative shot, the action shot, but wait, who left their bag in the middle of stage front? Crunch!! Trip!! Crash!!. It sounds a bit amusing but it’s easily done, one your way into the ‘togs pit, or stage front or wherever you may be working look for somewhere safe to put your gear bag, don’t expect the security guys to look after it, it’s not a part of their job (unless you know one of them on a first name basis and see him regularly, he might help you out occasionally 
) if the audience is close to the pit, be careful leaving it close to them, after all you don’t want it to go walkies. Don’t leave it where people can trip on it or tread on it, it’s your responsibility to look out for your own gear, it’s not everyone else’s to avoid stepping on it because you left it somewhere dumb!!
Try and avoid hitting people with your zoom lens, try your best, it still happens and can’t always be avoided, likewise you’ll likely get bumped around a little, it’s the nature of the beast. If you have a point and shoot camera, you’ll likely attract some “looks” from the other ‘togs, it’s normal and I’ve seen it bunch of times, many people forget that everyone starts somewhere, there’s not much you can do about it unfortunately, just remember most of the people in the pit are there to do a job, and earn a living, and if you’re using the point and shoot, they’ll be assuming (perhaps incorrectly) that you’re not! The sooner you upgrade to an SLR and some decent glass the quicker you’ll be “accepted” and it’s about as simple as that.
Know what’s going on around you, ALWAYS!! Before you stand up and take that shot, are you standing in front of someone that was there before you? Are you about to walk through someone else’s shot? Are you about to stand in front of five other people that are trying to work? If you watch the others working that have been doing this for sometime it looks like you’re working with a team of Meerkats!! They’ll see space they want, and understand who’s around that space all in one look then duck under the other ‘togs lenses and scurry to the spot, stand up final check that you’re not blocking someone else’s shot then SHOOT! Look again and repeat for the few minutes they have. The more you do it, the better you’ll get at the SHOOT & MOVE stuff, and you’ll get better at being aware of those working around you, and almost intuitively know where to be and where not to be, who’s shooting and who’s framing or preparing to move. Again, sometimes you’ll get in peoples shots, you’ll get in their way, you’ll bump and get bumped, apologise if it’s your fault and move on, they probably won’t hear your apology over the music, probably won’t hear it because they’re too busy looking for the next shot, but they might and it never hurts, likewise you’ll get heads, arms, lenses and all sorts of other unwanted junk in your shots too (see the image at the end of this article), don’t let it spoil your day, move on and focus on the gig. If there’s a newbie that doesn’t have a clue about etiquette, there are a few things you can do; give them a wide berth, so they don’t screw your shots; point them at an article like this after the gig so they can know better for the next time; the former will allow you to get your shots, the latter will help them become a better ‘tog. But don’t blast them for not knowing any better, it’s counter productive and that might have been you way back when at your first big gig with a gaggle of ‘togs.
Once your two (or however many) tunes are done you’ll be lead away, don’t be tempted to turn and get shots of the next tune because it starts as your being lead away, security are under strict instructions, if you do try, you’ll piss them off, potentially get them into trouble, probably make an enemy of them and potentially get yourself kicked out. The same goes for being lead in, if you’re shooting for tunes two and three you’ll be lead in towards the end of tune one, don’t be tempted to lift the camera up until your tune, even to get a reading for light, as far as security knows you’re shooting.
Now for the waiting!! Did I mention the waiting, before you went in to shoot the support act there was waiting, if you were lucky there wasn’t much, but if you shoot the support act and the main act, then you’ll be waiting for the support act to finish, then the intermission then the build up until finally you get to do your shoot for the main act, the reason you came in the first place. You’d better get used to the waiting, ’cause you’ll get a lot of practice!!
Congratulations…. you’ve filled a stack of memory cards now go back to the studio and enjoy the fruits of post-processing your work for submission!!
There ends this sermon, and this series of tutorials on concert photography, it’s not rocket science, it’s mostly common sense and practice. It’s great fun, infinitely rewarding and has a certain cool factor. Some of the article(s) apply equally to local gigs and major concerts equally, other parts apply only to the big ones. Take the parts you need or find useful and discard what you don’t, my only hope after writing these articles is that ‘togs new to concert/music photography go forwards with a better understanding of what to expect and what is expected of them. As always if you found this or these articles useful, leave a comment, tell me, or even better still tell others you think might find them useful. Good Luck!!
Image © reproduced with kind permission of Thomas Kjær
