10 Commandments of music photography

It's really not a secret that whatever we do there's a certain learning curve to it. And photography is no exception. In fact music photography is in my opinion one of the hardest things to master and many photographers will agree with that. There's so much things to keep in mind like lighting, your camera settings, time constraints, other people and also some dangers too. So I'll share some of my knowledge and give some general tips to keep in mind when going to photograph a concert.

1. Bring the right gear.
To shoot concerts you need a good low light capable camera and a fast lens. If you're going to shoot small clubs then you will be using high ISO's most of the time so get yourself a nice camera. I'd suggest anything from Canon or Nikon. If you're on a tight budget Canon 1100D or Nikon D3100 is perfectly fine. For lenses avoid anything that is slower than F2.8. Sometimes you can get away with slower lenses but don't depend on it. 50mm 1.8 prime from any manufacturer is an excellent starting point for a very reasonable price. If you're just starting our and on a tight budget just get it! It's really worth every cent.

2. Wear earplugs
It takes 8 hours of exposure to an 85 dB noise for hearing damage to occur. Might sound pretty safe but for every additional 3 dB it only takes half the exposure time for damage to occur. So if you're standing at a loudspeaker in a rock concert where noise level is let's say 100dB then it will take only 15 minutes to damage your hearing. So ALWAYS wear earplugs at concerts. Even when your'e just a spectator. That way you can avoid noise induced hearing loss and tinnitus.

3. No flash
I don't use flash at concerts unless it's absolutely necessary and I can't get a picture at all without it. Why? Because I don't think it's polite to the artist and it ruins the stage lighting. Imagine that you're playing a very difficult guitar solo and the photographer in front of you fires his flash straight in your face from close distance. I've seen dudes doing that and I'll be honest - I think that's an amateur approach to concert photography.

4. Listen to the security guy
In smaller concerts there's often no restrictions to what you can and what you are not allowed to do. But in bigger events you have to obey all the rules they give you. That means that you probably won't be allowed to use flash and you will only get to photograph during the first three songs.

5. Don't get in the way
Be polite to other people around you. Yes you need to get the picture but remember - others paid to get their ticket but you probably got in for free. So be nice and it'll pay dividends. Trust me! I once politely asked a guy if I can get past him and he pushed everyone else away to free me a path to the stage. Of course that won't always happen but try to be as polite and understanding as possible.

6. Know the venue
I'd suggest you to always arrive early to check out the place especially if it's your first job there. It always helps to know the usual lighting of the venue, places where you can photograph from, restrictions etc.

7. Know the band
It's always good to be familiar with the band or at least with it's music. It really helps if you know what to expect from the band, if they're very active on stage, usual moves etc. So I'd suggest to listed to the bands music before the concert, watch some videos if there are any and best - introduce yourself to the band.

8. Be sober
This one is obvious. I guess one beer would be fine but if you want to drink - do it after the show. Not only it will slow your reaction and thinking down but it will also look unprofessional from the side.

9. Always have your gear with you
I haven't had problems with this one because I always have my gear on me. But I personally know at least three people who got their cameras stolen so I suggest you to never leave your gear anywhere. If you are not allowed to be in the venue with your gear after your first three songs I'd say just leave.  It's better to be safe than sorry. Seeing the Ozzy Osbourne concert to the end is not worth losing your camera.  Just leave! That way you won't have to trust your bag to anyone plus you will be able to get home quicker to process your pictures.

10. Shoot RAW
RAW file basically is a digital negative. It contains all the information that camera's image sensor records during the exposure. JPEG's use compression to keep file sizes smaller at the cost of image quality and editing possibilities.