Concerts

I haven't attended many concerts--in fact, I've been paid to photograph more concerts than I've paid to get into. Concerts have an incredible energy that can flow, change and transfer between the performers and the audience. For a photographer, the challenge is to capture that energy--but that doesn't mean just the peaks. Many times, the moment that a connection is made is the moment where a good photo exists. That connection can be between performers, between a performer and the crowd, or when the performer knows he (or she) has captured the audience.

Shooting concerts of big-name acts is incredibly difficult nowadays--many acts require photographers to sign away the rights to the film (something no responsible photographer should do), the normal concert will allow photos of only the first one to three songs, and then the photographers are removed from the arena. You have to get it fast--and getting anything spontaneous is not really a possibility. Still, its a lot of fun.