How to get credentialed for concerts etc.

[Forumghost516]

Hey guys I am a hobbyist that is trying to build a portfolio to go professional. The problem is to get these incredibly shots you need access. I would love to know how to get credentialed for concerts sports games etc to start catching some of these incredibly moments.

Thanks so much in advance.

[CosmoKid]

Concert credentials are very difficult to get, and the level of difficulty depends on the area you are in. In NYC, there are a ton of publications/photographers wanting to shoot events.

You need to be shooting for a publication. In order to shoot for a publication, you need to build a portfolio. Start shooting smaller bands in clubs/venues that dont care if you bring your equipment in.

Check out the performing arts talk section for more info. You'll also need to upgrade your lenses a bit. 2.8 zooms are almost required.

I don't shoot sports so I can't tell you much there.

[SnapLocally.com]

The easiest way is to just reach out to a few local bands, unless you know someone in management at a venue. Most bands don't have any good photos of themselves. But then most local musicians aren't making much money, so unless you're doing this for "art sake" I wouldn't expect many paid gigs.

I used to work for a large venue doing security, and I was surprised how few of these "photographers" were making anything, and I'm talking about shooting well known bands. The photographers that were making real money were hired guns that when on tour with them.

[jacuff]

Well to get access you really need to be a working professional photographer associated with some kind of news outlet.

The best thing for a hobbyist that wants to go professional to do is to attend workshops where you'll be able to create those starting portfolio images. Otherwise, you'll just end up working for free and getting taken advantage of.

This is also a topic that comes up frequently in the Sports Talk section as well. Hang out there and utilize the forum's search engine.

[DC Fan]

Hey guys I am a hobbyist that is trying to build a portfolio to go professional. The problem is to get these incredibly shots you need access. I would love to know how to get credentialed for concerts sports games etc to start catching some of these incredibly moments.

To get credentials, you need to work for a publication that covers events. To get a job with a publication, you need several years' experience in photojournalism, and need to be able to deliver images to a photo editor "on deadline," immediately after the event happens.

But who needs a credential when all you need is the right location and a clear view of the action?

http://www.kevinlillard.com/racing/20100515a0000a.jpg

http://www.kevinlillard.com/racing/20100622a0003.jpg

http://www.kevinlillard.com/racing/20100308a0001.jpg

http://www.kevinlillard.com/racing/20091024a0005b.jpg

These images came from sporting events where the only "credential" was an admisson ticket. They were events where a hobbyist either had a chance to get close to the action, or had a good view of the show with some searching. The action was just as good as at a big-time event, but the atmosphere was so laid-back that no one cared if you got close, as long as you didn't get in the way.

Instead of bugging organizations for credentials, find small-time events where you can develop your craft. Use the next few years to get experience at high school and small college games, and concerts featuring local bands. Then, use the portfolio from that experience to work your way into a publication that can get you a credential - but realize that the credential isn't a license to hang out at an event and brag later. The publication that gets you the credential is going to expect pictures when they need them, and not when you feel like creating them. If you miss a deadline, you lose your job - it's that simple.

[ImCBParker]

There are a million and fourteen threads on this topic in the Performing Arts section.

As others have said, it is tough to get credentials without a solid portfolio and ability to turn around quality photos fast. Go to smaller clubs with local and smaller national acts. Most do not have camera restrictions. Build a portfolio. Then start sending your work to publications. Here is the reality I have seen countless times, with publications ranging from small to large.

If they like your work, you might get asked to cover a shoot, but most do not pay you a cent. The largest publications do, but they are tough gigs to get without the right contacts and being in the right city. In addition to not getting paid, most want a full copyright grab. If you do not care about working for free (I do not count admission as getting paid) and giving your rights to your work away, you might make it. I get this proposition almost weekly.

Do it for the love of the music and photography. Get to know a few bands and venues. You will have more fun.

[BreitlingFan]

I've been doing live music photography for a little over five years.

I started shooting local bands in small clubs. While my initial results were, well, complete crap, I kept shooting. I remember the first time I got a "good" photo; it felt great. I kept at it and, before long, I got to know a lot of the club managers and security personnel at various clubs around town. The small clubs didn't require credentials, and they didn't care how often I showed up.

A friend's band was playing at a local House Of Blues, and I got in with them as their "band photographer". They played there a few more times and, each time, I got credentialed to shoot. The cool part was that when they played, it was usually on a bill with about four other bands, and I'd shoot them, too. If nothing else, I was becoming known as one of only three or four photographers who you could expect to see at local clubs, big and small, on any given night.

A friend of mine is friends with a video producer who was involved with The Temptations. The producer wanted stills of a concert they were playing here at one of the premier venues in town, and he hired me after seeing my portfolio. This same friend also happened to be friends with the Editor of a magazine published by a private, but large, musical instrument company in southern California. I started shooting for their quarterly magazine, and more credentials followed, and continue to come. I'm shooting Barenaked Ladies tomorrow night.

Someone said you should do it for the love of music and the love of photography. I'd absolutely echo that. If you do it for those reasons, you'll be producing your best work for yourself and, hopefully, people will then start to take notice.

I look at "making it" as a concert photographer in the same way I look at "making it" as a musician. It's tough. It's damn tough. If I were relying on my photography to pay my mortgage, I'd be living in a tent. Yes, I often get paid (sometimes well), but those kinds of paying gigs are, all to often, few and far between. Most of my paying gigs these days are studio sessions with bands; either the recording studio or the photo studio.

Do it because you dig it. Get a good portfolio together. Get out and meet the right people in the clubs. Network. Network. Network. I always thought that being a concert photographer would be an adversarial existence with other concert photographers, but in the time I've been doing this, I've only met one guy who needed a swift punch in the neck. I find that concert photographers can be pretty damn accomodating to each other.

Okay, so that's probably a bit more than you needed to know, but you should know that "making it" is going to be a tough road. It can be done (or so I've heard!), but it won't happen overnight.

Good luck!

[ChrisRabior]

Easiest ways to get credentialed
1. Know someone in a position to hook you up
2. Work for a publication that can request for you
3. Shoot shows that don't require credentials. Local venues typically don't care.

Most of us got our start doing exactly those three things. Shoot as much as you can, at as many venues as you can, for as many shows that will let you.

Let's clear up some stuff about music photography.
First, it doesn't pay crap. The money is in the promotional shoots. You may get lucky and get paid to shoot a show, or paid for images from time to time, but for the most part, there is no money in it. Bands aren't willing to pay, and way too many 'concert photographers' are willing to give work away for free.

[BreitlingFan]

Easiest ways to get credentialed
1. Know someone in a position to hook you up
2. Work for a publication that can request for you
3. Shoot shows that don't require credentials. Local venues typically don't care.

Most of us got our start doing exactly those three things. Shoot as much as you can, at as many venues as you can, for as many shows that will let you.

Let's clear up some stuff about music photography.
First, it doesn't pay crap. The money is in the promotional shoots. You may get lucky and get paid to shoot a show, or paid for images from time to time, but for the most part, there is no money in it. Bands aren't willing to pay, and way too many 'concert photographers' are willing to give work away for free.

What he said.

A thousand times, what he said...