So, You Want to Shoot Concerts? - Multiple Shooting Positions

Aside from the "pit", or "buffer", mentioned in the So, You Want to Shoot Concerts? - Primer piece, there are, in some instances, multiple shooting locations, especially for large concerts. The credential to the left says "FOH", which means "Front of House", so, from that vantage point, you can actually photograph what's going on on stage.

The credential below is just for working in the press tent, but you wouldn't know that until you got to the venue, and were stuck in a press tent for the entire show/festival, waiting for the artists - at their own whim - to come back and take a few questions, ususally from the FWC's, who got a credential, but will never see the stage.

(Continued after the Jump)

For this performance, FOH meant 100' away, not in the buffer/pit. Meaning, if you didn't have a 400mm lens, you didn't get anything. Sometimes, you're required to shoot only from the sound board area, sometimes, the show is also being videotaped for a later broadcast, and so you'll get no room in the pit/buffer, and only be allowed to shoot from the sides.

Whatever the circumstance, you'll need to be prepared. Make sure you, or your assigning editor asks - especially for large events - if there are multiple locations to shoot from, and what the distance is from the postion your credential allows you to be in, so you can bring the right equipment. Better yet, bring the long lens and teleconverters, so you're prepared for whatever happens. One of the nice things is that, if everyone is in the pit, you can ask to be back at the soundboard, which will give you much more of a straight-on shot, and far fewer of the "up the nose" images.

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So, You Want to Shoot Concerts? - Primer
So, You Want to Shoot Concerts? - Multiple Shooting Positions
So, You Want to Shoot Concerts? - VIP Credentials
So, You Want to Shoot Concerts? - All Access Credentials
So, You Want to Shoot Concerts? - Getting Started, The Right Way

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