How Do I Get Pit Pass at a Larger Venue?

Kev actually posted the title of this in the comments of an earlier post, so I’d like to take a few minutes to address it and add a few thoughts about variety too…..

Kev, to answer your question, there are a few different ways of accessing the Pit at major venues, but all of them involve working up to it, and will require effort on your part. Your best bet is with a Niche magazine or serious genre specific mag. Firstly they’re normally publishing on a shoestring, and are happy to receive input for free, more importantly you’re likely to be better received if you can do a gig review, it’ll mean they don’t have to send a separate writer to the gig. Once you proved your worth and proven to them that you can produce consistently good quality work, they’ll start to trust you with the bigger gigs safe in the knowledge that you’ll return with something useful to them. Knowledge and enthusiasm towards the genre will show through too. If you hate Jazz, don’t try and cover Jazz, your work will likely lack the sparkle that would show through from a photographer that knows and loves the subject. Niche genre’s might include, Ska, Blues, Jazz, Country (in the UK), Folk, Roots, New Age or any other number of non-mainstream music.

Secondly, find up and comers to the genre that are trying to make a breakthrough or get noticed, there are a few things that they need. Firstly they’ll want to get publicity shots to send out with demo’s of their music this is a great place to show that you can communicate the feel of the genre and the band in a single shot. Try where possible to avoid cliches if you can (if you do this right, you have an opportunity to create a unique look or style for you and your work). These same bands are also probably (thanks to the wonder of home studio’s, mp3’s and the Internet) considering self-publishing an album, EP or similar, which they’ll want a cover done for, and very likely will want it to include them. Both of these things can be done on a quid pro quo basis, i.e. they get the use of your images in their promo material for the price of you being credited as the photographer, and likewise you get to use the work in your portfolio.

Be aware you’ll be trading on your subject matter knowledge again, if you hate Jazz, chances are you won’t know a good band from a bad one, and you’ll be putting your work up with the band, and if the band has little chance of progressing because they sound ummmm not so great…. then you may be wasting your time, and potentially putting your reputation on the line.

Hope this is helpful….. and I hope both you and Tara (Tara posted a comment on the same post) get out there as often as possible and have a bunch of fun!!