Festivals offer lots of great opportunities to cut your teeth as a music photographer. Big-name headline acts share the stage with lesser-known groups and singers, and as well as the performers there are all manner of sights that are worth capturing with your camera.
There are a few things you'll want to consider, however. You really don't want to be carrying a bagful of lenses around with you all day, let alone having to change them in the chaos of the mosh pit. And security-wise, you don't want to leave your valuable kit unattended in your tent. So if you want to shoot a festival, a compact camera with a single lens is the way to go.
A standard zoom lens, like a 2470mm, enables you to take everything from wide-angle to moderate telephoto shots, but these are generally on the slow side with relatively narrow maximum apertures. and faster f/2.8 variants are bulky and expensive. With so much of the action happening in the evening, or inside tented arenas we opted for a relatively inexpensive wide-angle 35mm prime with a fast f/1.8 aperture. This would enable us to maximise low-light performance and shoot in the dingiest of venues, while the medium-wide focal length would allow us to get the entire ensemble in the shot. You'll have to get in close and zoom with your feet, though...
We spent a summer weekend at the Green Man festival in the beautiful Brecon Beacons of Wales. Whatever your musical tastes, and wherever you find yourself, here's how to capture shots that rock...
This story is from the June 29, 2023 edition of Photography week.
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This story is from the June 29, 2023 edition of Photography week.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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