Marv Goldschmitt, one of our BCA Photo Group founding members, gave a terrific talk on Concert Photography for the first Technical Series presentation of the season (September 24). Marv is an accomplished concert photographer, having shot live performances by living legends such as James Cotton, Buddy Guy, J. Geils, Judy Collins, and many others.
Besides showing lots of impressive photos, Marv gave us an A to Z rundown on everything you’d need to know, but didn’t even know you’d need to know, about shooting musical performances. He started out by relating how he got started doing concert photography in the first place, and what it takes to move up the photographic ‘food chain’ as one’s work gets better known among performers, venue staff, and promoters. His presentation was then divided into what you do ‘Before’, ‘During’, and ‘After’ the shoot, covering permissions, security, scouting the locations, studying acts in advance (YouTube!), working with and around performers and audiences, his post-processing workflow, and much more. He also went over recommended equipment, lenses and exposure settings.
Here are some resources that Marv recommended, and a link to the source of the convenient dual camera strap that he uses:
Creative Live: Getting Started in Concert Photography, by Chris and Todd Owyoung (online course)
Tips for Concert Photography, from the Manfrotto School of Excellence
Concert and Live Music Photography, by J. Dennis Thomas
Monte Yoho - The Outlaws (c) Marv Goldschmitt