Concert Photographers Against the 'Three-Song Rule'

I think I have found out why this "three song rule" has come about, there are some performers who are camera shy and can't perform to their best when lenses are stuck in their faces...yes, most are not camera shy, and yet this 3 song rules apply because they felt that it was good enough for every performer

I say that Idlewild lead singer is camera shy, when I was covering a festival they were act, he just wasn't looking at the camera that were pointing at him, I am not a performer (musician) myself, and I am deadly against photos of myself being taken. I just shudder

Regardless of the reasons, if you can't get your shots in 3 songs you should be shooting landscapes. 3 songs is plenty of time.

assuming good light and a pit to move in, yeah.

for club shoots, it's not always that easy.

90c4 wrote in post #11109467
Regardless of the reasons, if you can't get your shots in 3 songs you should be shooting landscapes. 3 songs is plenty of time.

Makes sense to me.
Being forced into stopping to enjoy the music is plus for me as well.

My one silly idea that would be too difficult to implement from a logistics standpoint is: the 15 minutes/3 songs of shooting could be in the middle of the set. I think there is often more emotion as a set builds up.

I fully agree but I guess most of the small dark club shows I go to don't have 3 song rules.

narlus wrote in post #11110351
assuming good light and a pit to move in, yeah.

for club shoots, it's not always that easy.

90c4 wrote in post #11110560
I fully agree but I guess most of the small dark club shows I go to don't have 3 song rules.

agree, but i didn't see the term 'rule' in yr first post

90c4 wrote in post #11109467
Regardless of the reasons, if you can't get your shots in 3 songs you should be shooting landscapes. 3 songs is plenty of time.

I agree, it is plentiful for me

andydunlop wrote in post #11074110
and chances are you never paid for your ticket.

So what? Neither did the other people working at the show. I do agree that because the audience paid for their ticket, you shouldn't be in their way more then you have to. Same as other personnel.

Chances are I wouldn't have paid for the ticket if I weren't shooting, simply because I wouldn't have been there. I shoot bands I don't like as often as I shoot bands I do like.
If I really want to see a show, I don't bring a camera, or at least put it away as soon as I can.

andydunlop wrote in post #11074110
Get over yourself if you think you "deserve" to be in there.

True. But I am there doing my job, and I'd like to do it as good as I can. Without being hampered by restrictions if possible.

andydunlop wrote in post #11074110
No pictures the first three songs, after that, no restrictions

Sounds great

If there's a photo pit, then the 3 song rule is fully justifiable... especially at large shows.

I ran into a situation last week where there was a 3 song rule and I had to shoot from the crowd. Now THAT is entirely different, and completely unjust. You can't get good photos from twenty people back, period. Especially in the first three songs. I was in the middle of the crowd after the headliner's third song, packing up my equipment, and security came and yelled at me until I put everything away.

i still maintain the type of shots you can get outside the pit should be enough reason to allow at least a couple extra songs after the third from anywhere in the venue.

thankfully, some bands think the same, i recently shot Bliss N Eso and was quite surprised by their email and photo policy which i posted over at my site: http://www.bjwok.com/

With DJs like Tiesto, there is a 20minutes rule, the only problem with that is there is nothing really of note to photograph, plus he is hidden behind a desk where all his stuff is....another thing is, he isn't doing much other making the odd facial expression

I have had that problem with Pretty Lights. When I shot him last, the stage isn't that high of the pit, so I could use his turntables and samplers in the pictures. This time though, as he has become more popular, he is playing a larger venue. The stage is notably higher so I won't have the same opportunities. That's next Wednesday.

I llike the 3 song rule...everyone who already said it before me is correct...if you can't get the shots you need in 3 songs, you shouldn't be shooting concerts...I usually never run into any issues with shooting just 3 songs, but 99.9% of the time, I shoot 2.5 songs or so and get out of the pit and get my other/long/etc...shots​. You *can* get great shots outside of the pit, if you know what you are doing...and the bands usually love seeing themselves on a stage with a huge crowd in front of them...so you need to get these shots anyway...which you CAN'T get in the pit. Furthermore, i usually NEVER have any problems shooting outside the pit for the rest of the show...where I get the crowd inside the shots.

I understand the rule etc, but its annoying when you go and shoot someone like Linkin Park who's three songs total about 8 minutes max!

Also, I recently shot the Fun Loving Criminals, and they demanded that all togs only shot 3...the only problem was that there was no press pit or barrier, so when I had to leave, the guy with the lumix next to me at the front row of the crowd, continued to shoot them...

Having shot large festivals, I understand the ruling, especially when there are 40 or more photographers in the pit at once

I can see this being a good rule in certain situations were your blocking the view of the audience for too long. I am shooting my first large festival tomorrow(possibly 8-10k, like 10 bands back to back) and as far as i know, me and another guy(who i think is a professional) are in charge of taking pictures...there will be barricades in front of the stage which allows us to take pics without fighting the crowd. I am hoping there is enough room to kneel in front of the barricades cause I am not one to block anyones view. If that is possible i stay there a while..but if i must stand and block someone..i would def stay up long enough to get my shot and get out of the way...it should be fun!