Photographing a Music Festival: What to Bring, What to Expect
Shooting a music festival is not a walk in the park (actually it literally might be a festival held in a park but you get me.) Think of this more like packing for a trip vs. what you'd bring to just shoot some portraits. Since I just finished up a week at SXSW and I've been getting a lot of questions about this, I figured I'd give a comprehensive list of my favorite products to bring and what to expect when photographing a music festival!
RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS | MUSIC PHOTOGRAPHY
Warner Bros Records was having a contest on their Facebook page where you should post in the comments why you should get to photograph RHCP in your city. So I posted one of the photos from Jazzfest and explained my experience and how I wanted to properly shoot them from a photo pit. A few weeks later I had a notification that I won!
RESTORATIONS, PIANOS BECOME THE TEETH, MEWITHOUTYOU, THE MENZINGERS | MUSIC PHOTOGRAPHY
On November 1st, Restorations, Pianos Become the Teeth, mewithoutYou and The Menzingers rolled into Baton Rouge on their tour to play at the historic venue Spanish Moon. Spanish Moon is a super intimate and unique venue, dating back to the 1800's as an old Firehouse and standing as one of the most legendary places for bands to stop on their tours of the southern USA. With a small area for crowds and a second floor balcony overlooking the space, the venue proves to be a snug, mellow atmosphere even with the most popular of bands on its tiny stage. It is observed that the largest crowd of the night gathered for mewithoutYou, but the other bands on the ticket captivated the audiences as well!
FUTURE | FREEBANDZ FEST | MUSIC PHOTOGRAPHY
On Friday September 25th, the Freebandz Fest came to Baton Rouge’s River Center in full force. Headlined by rapper Future and other hip-hop artists August Alsina, Rocko, and iHeart Memphis, the event was a sure success.
HONEYVIBE | HOUSE OF BLUES NEW ORLEANS | MUSIC PHOTOGRAPHY
HONEYVIBE IS AT IT AGAIN. I thoroughly enjoyed photographing them at the Baton Rouge Blues Festival a few months ago. This time, they helped me with my dream of photographing at the House of Blues in New Orleans, one of the most historic music venues and a place that I've seen some great bands at myself. Being on stage with such talented people performing and capturing their love for music is exhilarating. I can't wait to see what the future holds for this awesome group of guys!
GROOVIN 2K15 | YOUNG THE GIANT, PARACHUTE, COIN | MUSIC PHOTOGRAPHY
Every year, LSU Students On Target puts on a free concert in Baton Rouge for students and locals. With big names in the past like Akon, One Republic, Ludacris, and Weezer, it's an event that pretty much everyone puts in their calendar each year. This year, bands Dulac Smack, Coin, and Parachute opened up for headlining act Young the Giant. I had the amazing opportunity to shoot the meet & greets with the bands, and even get a pass to shoot the performances from the pit! It was an AMAZING show, I still can't believe that LSU Students on Target pull this off for us to go FREE. I'm obsessed with some of the shots I got, so check them out below and let me know what you think!
BATON ROUGE BLUES FESTIVAL | MUSIC PHOTOGRAPHY
I had the awesome opportunity to obtain a media pass for the Baton Rouge Blues Festival last Saturday, which was pretty amazing considering I had access to shoot and hear TONS of talented artists. If you haven't had the chance to check out this great festival, you have to go next year! Because of inclement weather, it was moved indoors to the Baton Rouge River Center this year, but that just made it a more convenient event to attend!