Do you record entire concerts on your phone? Then, listen up
In the old days, the audience raised lighters to show how much they revered the performers on stage. Nowadays, cellphones and iPads create the light spectacle during concerts. But these aren’t used to give props to the band but ways to document the entire show.
As a professional music photographer, I understand the importance of taking photos or videos of an event so that others can relive the moment. But in my job, I am usually allowed by concert producers or the band’s management to shoot only three songs during the course of a concert. Honestly, I prefer it that way.
Of course, other photographers may wish otherwise. Others would rather document a show from intro to encore. But I like that I only have 10 to 15 minutes to do my job. That means I can just enjoy the rest of the concert. Though taking photographs of concerts for a living sounds like a pretty cool job, I do sacrifice my personal experience to get the work done.
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Missing out on a lot
I had to give up enjoying “By The Way” by Red Hot Chili Peppers and “Supermassive Black Hole” by Muse when I shot both groups live because the songs were the first three on the setlist.
Let me assure you: viewing a concert through a camera is nothing like experiencing it without the filter of the lens.
I’m not going on a crusade to tell people to put their phones and cameras down. I only want to remind them that if they find themselves watching through their phone, it means they’re missing out on a lot.
They may have a video of the event when they get home and enjoy it in the playback but that’s a filtered experience. And unless the concert surroundings were quiet (??), they would probably end up hearing their own screams or a fan beside them singing out of tune.
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‘Why aren’t you taking pictures?’
The other day I was watching a gig, and someone asked me, “Why aren’t you taking pictures?”
My usual excuse was that I have a backlog of pictures to sort and adding more would mean giving myself more work. I know this is completely unaligned to what I would always advise amateur photographers, which is always to bring their camera so they can never miss moments.
That said, I know that as much as I value capturing those moments as a professional, I also realize that sometimes putting my camera down makes me see even more.
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Photos can only capture so much
It was difficult to explain this, especially as I was being asked in the middle of a noisy gig. To be caught without my camera is baffling to some given that my work is taking photos that make people feel as if they were there.
The truth is that as much as I try to capture moments through my camera, photos can’t compare to the real thing. I find myself telling friends the story about how moved I was by an event that I could never be able to fully translate in pictures compared to how I personally saw it.
At best, photographers can only come close to their goals. But when it comes to the live event, we all have our own personal imprints that no writer or cameraman can fully translate.
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Instagramming our lives
I know that everyone has been rallying for people to put their phones and tablets down during live gigs because, obviously, these devices obstruct the view of other people.
I know, too, that our habit of documenting every single thing we experience is now part of our daily lives. I understand the urge of sharing snaps of the places we go to and the fab meal we’re just about to dig into. They’re our public diary, a way to share our day and our experiences with friends and family.
But, when it comes to concerts, there’s one other advice I can give other photographers: you only really need one photo. For the rest of the evening, just enjoy the show. There is no greater memory card than the one inside our heads.
