Concert Photography - "How I Got This Shot"
We asked some of our favorite concert photographers how they managed to snap their favorite photo they've ever taken.
In addition to being music fans and purveyors of social activism, Dom and I love the live music experience. While Dom is a musician and songwriter in his spare time, I’m a concert photographer. I’ve shot everything from huge festivals and arenas, to tiny clubs and dance halls. I love hearing how other photographers craft angles from behind lens, seek out unique pictorial narratives, and capture those blink-and-you’ll-miss moments. Below, 20 photographers - myself included - share their thoughts on how they got that shot.
- Kat
Photographer: Alfred Mannarino
Artist: Bruce Springsteen
When: September 2018
Where: Sea.Hear.Now Festival; Asbury Park, New Jersey
Instagram: @almannarino
Website: www.alfredmannarino.com
How I Got This Shot:
“I was covering the Sea.Hear.Now festival in Asbury Park, NJ for The Pop Break and didn’t have a photo pass, but was able to bring my camera in as press to cover the sights of the festival and take portraits for some of the bands. There was a rumor that Springsteen would show up at some point during Social Distortion’s set, so I got as close as possible and brought my gear hoping for the best. While the rest of the photographers had already left the pit and had to try and grab photos from the boardwalk, I was able to capture one brief and amazing moment of Bruce getting ready to perform to thousands of fans before security told me to put my camera away. I got the photo approved by the festival the next morning and it’s still one of my favorite photos I’ve ever taken.”
Photographer: Ken Grand-Pierre
Artist: The 1975
When: August 2014
Where: Lollapalooza; Chicago, Illinois
Instagram: @kenamiphoto
Website: http://www.kenamiphoto.com/
How I Got This Shot:
“Throughout 2013-2014, I accompanied The 1975 on dates in both the United States and Europe. They were touring for their debut/self-titled album and it was a privilege being able to document their story. The shot I've selected is one I'm very proud of. It's of Matty from The 1975, moments after playing to a massive crowd at Chicago's Grant Park during Lollapalooza 2014. The way this was taken is after the set, Matty jumped from the stage to take photos with fans and I can still remember the stage manager yelling at him to go away so the crowd would disperse. It was mayhem, loud, and chaotic, which makes me love this photo even more because it depicts people who are so into the moment that everything else doesn't matter to them. I love that shit.”
Photographer: Carla M. Bradley
Artist: Albert Hammond Jr.
When: March 2018
Where: White Oak Music Hall; Houston, Texas
Instagram: @carlabradley89
Website: https://carlabradley1989.wixsite.com/home/photography
How I Got This Shot:
“Albert Hammond Jr. brought his Francis Trouble tour to White Oak Music Hall in Houston, Texas back in March 2018. I had missed seeing him four previous times and knew I had to see finally him because I am a Strokes fanatic. I really had no idea what to expect. I just knew that I was in the front row, center stage with other highly elated Strokes fans. Albert did not make it easy for me because his energy matched our own and jumped around all over the stage. I'm incredibly proud of this shot because I caught him mid-guitar solo while the light engineers were flashing between red, yellow and white lights.”
Photographer: Marie Demeire
Artist: Julien Doré
When: June 2017
Where: Francofolies; Montreal, Canada
Instagram: @mariegoestoshows
Website: http://tinyurl.com/mariegoestoshows
How I Got This Shot:
“This picture holds a special place in my heart because it's how everything started. After entertaining the idea of becoming a concert photographer, I jumped at the occasion of a free show at Montreal's Francofolies in 2017 to bring my DSLR and give it a try. The artist playing was Julien Doré, a French artist I've always loved, and I remember taking a few seconds staring at my screen with this shot on it, and thinking "damn, I could really be good at this.” A few years later here I am, fully following my passion as a concert photographer and loving every minute of it!”
Photographer: Phaelen Kuehne
Artist: Sore Points
Where: Vancouver, Canada
Instagram: @phaelen_k
How I Got This Shot:
“This is a photograph of the band Sore Points from Vancouver B.C. The band Sore Points are a high energy punk rock band in the vein of Ramones and early 70’s rock ‘n’ roll from New York. Their playing creates a thrilling atmosphere to photograph them in and at the end of the night there is always a dynamic photo of one of the members. What makes this photo special is that it was shot in a boxing ring and was used for a tour poster for Malaysia and wound up as a bootleg t-shirt for said tour.”
Photographer: Will Oliver
Artist: Mac DeMarco
When: September 2019
Where: Brooklyn Steel; Brooklyn, New York
Instagram: @weallwantsomeone
Website: www.kweallwantsomeone.org
How I Got This Shot:
“Mac DeMarco at Brooklyn Steel last year - the show was almost over and out of nowhere he rips his shirt off and I realized that things were about to get wild. He then crowd surfs and I saw him go towards the right side and realized that he was going to climb up on the side and climb to an overhanging beam and jump off. So I ran up the stairs as quickly as I could and got a spot right behind him and got a shot of him in between the fall, trusting the crowd beneath him. I've covered a ton of shows there but never saw anyone do that before. I'm proud of it just because of how quick it all happened and the moment of him floating above his devoted fans waiting to catch him.”
Photographer: Bill Bodkin
Artist: Rob Zombie
When: May 2012
Where: PNC Bank Arts Center; Holmdel, New Jersey
Instagram: @thepopbreak / @bullboskin
Website: www.thepopbreak.com
How I Got This Shot:
“It's hard not to get an interesting shot of Rob Zombie in concert. The lights, the stage set up, the costumes, the hoopla. All of it is there, so all you have to do is make sure your camera is in focus. I've always enjoyed this photo, however, four years after the photo was taken that it became one of my favorites. The reason for that is that Rob Zombie posted it on his Facebook page in 2016 as his cover photo. I was absolutely floored. White Zombie, his original band, was my favorite band as a teenager, and they an integral band in my musical evolution. To see him take the time to post this photo was a validation of my work that I never knew I wanted or needed.”
Photographer: Inca Schulz
Artist: Minuspol
When: November 2019
Where: Unholy Nights Festival; Hameln, Germany
Instagram: @incaschulzphotography
How I Got This Shot:
“The little festival was called Unholy Nights and it took place in Hameln, Germany on November 30th, 2019. I photographed the band Minuspol (@minuspol_band) from Osterode, Germany. They're calling their music something like "alternative party rock." If you wanna check their music out, you could find their self-made album "Held von Morgen" on Spotify and AppleMusic. It was one of the lucky shots I think I could call it. It just happened :) I'm proud of this one because it was the first time that I caught all of them jumping together. Luckily I got a new lens, a sigma 24-70 2.8 art, a day before the show and I just wanted to test it. I knew that the jump was coming, cause it wasn't the first show for me with them, but I never got them all together in the air, so I was really happy with the result.”
Photographer: Carly May
Artist: MARINA
When: September 2019
Where: The Bomb Factory; Dallas, Texas
Instagram: @carlymayphoto
Website: www.carlymayphoto.com
How I Got This Shot:
“My best friend is a huge Marina fan and I wanted to make them a print for their birthday so I went way out of my way to get my press credentials and print it undercover at my school’s photo lab. It was worth it.”
Photographer: Lennart Haard
Artist: Billy Gibbons
When: June 2019
Where: Sweden Rock Festival; Norje, Sweden
Instagram: @haard_rock_photography
Website: http://chasingthelightart.com/band-photography-lennart-haard/
How I Got This Shot:
“Here's one my of favorites from 2019. I shot from the photo pit on a hot summer evening in front of 30,000 rock fans. You can see that Billy is in a great mood :) It’s a sharp photo and great light, and I got over 600 likes on my IG.”
Photographer: Nadia Divoli
Artist: King Princess
When: October 2019
Where: MTELUS; Montreal, Canada
Instagram: @nadiadavoli
Website: www.nadiadavoli.com
How I Got This Shot:
“On October 29th 2019, I photographed King Princess at MTELUS, a venue in Montreal, Canada. KP was posing and looking straight into lenses a lot that night so I wanted to find a way to capture that mood. It was a full pit as usual and I tucked myself away from the rest to try and create something different in that moment. When I managed to get myself into that mindset while shooting, I always end up with some of my favourite shots. It’s not perfect, but I love the feeling emanating from the image.”
Photographer: Carl Battams
Artist: Pianos Become The Teeth
When: August 2018
Where: ArcTanGent Festival; Somerset, England
Instagram: @carlbattamsphoto
Website: www.carlbattamsphotography.com
How I Got This Shot:
“For me it’s such a powerful, passionate and striking image. The way he is tightly grabbing the mic, you can see how much passion he is putting into this performance."
Photographer: Abigail Shii
Artist: YONAKA
When: May 2019
Where: Heaven; London, England
Instagram: @soundofapeach
Website: https://abigailshii.com/
How I Got This Shot:
“I wasn't very familiar with the venue or the band so I don't think I fully knew what to expect, but they completely blew me away. I only had a prime lens at the time, and the fact that I was told I'd need a zoom lens for that venue didn't help my nerves. In spite of all that, in the end I managed to get a few shots I was really happy with, and some of my favourites ever.”
Photographer: Greg Chow
Artist: Japandroids
When: June 2013
Where: Music Hall of Williamsburg; Brooklyn, New York
Instagram: @gregchow
Website: www.gregchow.com
How I Got This Shot:
“Japandroids are one of my favorite live bands, but they're a tricky shoot. Most of their lighting rig is strobes, and largely backlit strobes at that, so not matter how prepared you are, you need a good amount of luck. I have plenty of shots from this show that are either completely blown out or just empty darkness. But I probably took three of my all-time favorite shots at this show (two of which Japandroids used as album artwork). What's most satisfying about this one is how much prep went into the shot--getting up to the balcony, waiting for the stage divers, dialing the right settings into the camera--and how it paid off when I got doubly lucky that the strobes fired for a proper exposure right as the stage diver was mid-air. It's one of my favorite shots because of how that combo of prep, luck, and execution turned into something that I think is just pretty cool to look at. Speaking of stage diving, I've seen some really awful attempts at stage diving over the past few years, where people sort of slowly lower themselves into the crowd, so I also really enjoy this photo as a relic of a bygone era when people knew how to haphazardly throw themselves off a stage into a waiting crowd.”
Photographer: Jason Rubenstein
Artist: Lily Virginia
When: October 2016
Where: Culture House; Washington, D.C.
Instagram: @jayruby22
How I Got This Shot:
“This is Lily Virginia @lillyvirginiamusic taken in October 2016 at the former Blind Whino, now the Culture House @culturehiusrdc a former church in SW Washington DC as part of the Sofar Sounds series @sofardc. She was the second of three acts that night and I just love this shot. Who’s she looking at?”
Photographer: Kristina Davidson
Artist: Arcade Fire
When: August 2016
Where: Lollapalooza; Chicago, Illinois
Instagram: @alltheseshowsivedone
How I Got This Shot:
“Caught this shot from the front row with my Canon Powershot SX720 HS. I’m proud of this photo because it’s not easy to capture a clear image of Regine. She is a dancing queen in every sense of the word and never ever stops moving when she’s on stage and feeling the beat. I love that this captures a feeling of stillness in the movement. A professional photographer, I am not, but it excites me when I’m able to capture a cool shot like this, especially at a festival.”
Photographer: Shannon Johnston
Artist: Starcrawler
When: March 2018
Where: SXSW Festival; Austin, Texas
Instagram: @me_onlylouder
How I Got This Shot:
“I started shooting SXSW three years ago. Being from Canada, Austin has become one of my favorite places to travel to. My photo family reunites for a week of pure joy. I shot Starcrawler the year they won the Grulke Prize as one of the faves of SX-2018. What an amazing show. From start to finish. Iggy Pop back bends, blood spitting, religious possessions - an all out rock and roll riot. I caught Arrow Wilde fronting her band at Thrasher Death Match. Perfect showcase to hurl themselves at the crowd and drive their energy down our throats. When I am in charge of what venue and what band, I submerge myself into the show as much as possible. Right up front, thrashing against the metal rails splattered with someone else’s sweat in rhythmic movement with the whole crowd. I love waiting out that perfect moment when the singer is just about to lose their shit. That’s where I find my shot. In Juxtapose, when they have literally given their blood to the crowd and left it all on the stage.”
Photographer: Joshua Haaland
Artist: Phangs
When: June 2019
Where: Teragram Ballroom; Los Angeles, California
Instagram: @joshthepoet_creative
Website: www.joshthepoetcreative.com
How I Got This Shot:
“This photo is of Phangs aka @thisisphangs. This shot was from my fourth time shooting him, this particular time was June 22nd, 2019 at the Teragram Ballroom. The biggest difficulty of this shot was I was having to push through the crowd with my full backpack on because my pass fell through. But I absolutely love this shot that captures everything that he is. The kinetic energy, the moody lighting with no stage wash, and just the hint of his rock roots just holding on. This will probably be one of my favorite shots for a long time to come.”
Photographer: Dan Lafferty
Artist: The Black Tibetans
When: February 2016
Where: The Babes Ride Out Zine Release Party; Long Beach, California
Instagram: @dan_lafferty_nd
How I Got This Shot:
“It was a small private event so it allowed me to interact with the band and get close to the action. The Black Tibetans are a 3-piece Rock N Roll band from Los Angeles, CA. This photo just says it all - lead singer pouring his heart out into the mic, bassist fine-tuning the timing into the song as she follows the drum beat of the music.”
Photographer: Kat Manos
Artist: Father John Misty
When: May 2017
Where: Brooklyn Steel; Brooklyn, New York
Instagram: @katgoestoshows
Website: www.katgoestoshows.com
How I Got This Shot:
“This was one of the first photos I ever took at a concert that made me go… ‘oh, maybe I can actually do concert photography.’ I had taken photos at shows for fun for almost a decade at this point, but never seriously considered that I was capable of it. This photo of Father John Misty, which I snapped with my phone from the front row the second he popped his leg and raised his arm, ended up kickstarting a real passion for me. It was pure kismet; the lights, the framing, and the composition just fell into place perfectly. A moment of validation came when FJM’s own lighting designer reached out to me and asked if he could put this photo in his lighting portfolio. It made me realize that music photography is special because it represents an intersection of multiple forms of art: music, dance, choreography, lighting, staging, fandom, and, of course, photos.”
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Chosen by Dom, InterfaithFamily empowers people in interfaith relationships — individuals, couples, families and their children — to engage in Jewish life and make Jewish choices, and encourages Jewish communities to welcome them. People in interfaith relationships are welcomed and embraced by Jewish communities and contribute to Judaism’s enduring strength and continuity. You can donate to this organization that works to create an inclusive Jewish community here.