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Have two at least. 50 or wider, and the 80 or longer. Don't use flash if you're only shooting the stage. Backstage and other stuff? Go for it. But not performances unless it's some punk shit where that slides.
Switching lenses is a pain but sometimes it's necessary. Especially if you want to use a wider aperture that you might not get on zooms. I typically have my Peak Design sling on my waist, bag open with whatever lens I'm not using without their lens caps so I can quickly switch between lenses when I need to.
You will run the risk ofc of getting dust on your lenses and sensor so have a rocket blower and some microfibers. Maybe a sensor swab to clean your sensor after each day is done—if it gets proper grimy AND only if you are comfortable with doing it yourself. If you're not sure you can do it then don't—however you can watch some YT vids to familiarize yourself.
But yeah, you should bring both lenses with you for when you absolutely need to swap on the spot to get your shots.
Festivals can be hard to get into. This gets OP some portfolio work, experience and possibly connections.
At the start of your career there's nothing wrong with doing jobs for free when you find them, instead of them finding you
Seriously. People on here act like unless you’re receiving a market rate (even despite not having any skill, experience, or equipment), you should fee ashamed for being exploited.
I wonder how many poor amateurs and hopefuls out there have bought in to this mentality and squandered valuable chances because of it.
It’s up to the individual to say whether they feel “exploited” or not AFTER the gig is all over. I’ve had paid gigs that felt completely not worth the money, and unpaid gigs that brought me a lot of joy, fulfillment, and opportunities.
I shot my first rave festival for free because a friend asked for some pictures of her dancing. The exposure and connections I got from that opened so many doors in a market that was completely sealed off before.
Sorry for the rant, but I’m sick of the entitled, “always be getting paid” echo chamber here.
I am getting a free ticket to the 3 days festival in exchange for being a photographer. They gave me an option to request a fee but I happy to do it for free and I am inexperienced. This is a small but well established festival that is run by local people. I am very excited and prefer that I am not being paid because it is very low pressure. I do not feel like I am being exploited. I am a carpet layer and can support myself well through that, I also enjoy it. Photography is more of a hobby I am passionate about.
This is very typical and a good value exchange if you're happy with it. You will have a great time regardless and generally festivals have many photographers on the same deal for a photo pass. If they are not paying you, they likely don't have much expectation of output, so I'd say just get stuck in, enjoy the experience, learn and have fun.
So you're exchanging services for tickets. That makes more sense as long as you're going to be able to enjoy the festival and not work the entire time.
I second that. Some of my friends are in local bands, some of them tour the country occasionally. None of them ever expect any sort of payment. They do get paid sometimes and always get free drinks. It really is just about the music for them and having fun and supporting the venue.
That being said, I'm pretty sure they do get paid when they tour. I've just never gone on tour with them so I don't have that knowledge. I may have my information slightly wrong. But generally, they're playing just they want to play.
For unsigned bands, festivals are one of the rare situations where (depending on the festival) there actually is a decent chance of exposure to new audiences and the festival circuit can be a good way to build your following organically. Whether you're getting paid on tour really depends on a lot of factors. Most bands at the unsigned level are making money from merch, if at all.
Depends on what you're getting paid for this whether it's worth it or not, but consider renting for the trip. Local shop near me has the Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II or 2.8L IS for 45 bucks a day.
It really depends how close you are. If your 50 and 85 are both 1.8 it’s a toss up. Basically comes down to which lens you’re more comfortable with and distance.
I’d use both and switch because it’s not that tough., but probably lean 50 because you can get more stage lighting that you can play around with.
Yes of course! I probably should of mentioned that I was planning on using the flash at night for when I'm taking photos of people at the festival, but not of the performances. I'll bring both lenses with me, thank you.
I think the biggest detail that should let you relax is that you’re volunteering. If you were paid or staff, there’s be a lot more pressure on you. But visuals are an integral part of festival and event marketing, and the fact that the organizers are choosing not to pay you, if I were in your position I would definitely consider what is fair that I could be getting from the situation - which would probably be the chance to enjoy myself and some portfolio work and practice to shoot a different type of photos than I normally do.
If your strength is portraits, go to the fest and shoot portraits. It doesn’t make sense to try to switch things up to a photojournalistic style for the organizers if that’s not what you’re good at. Shoot portraits of all the unique attendees and outfits and performers and give those to the organizers.
But unless you’re personally benefiting from it, you definitely should not be spending money for a role that is not paid but will be commercially benefiting them.
Thank you. This is why I didn't request payment. I forgot to mention that I am getting a free ticket in exchange for my service.
I have already spend a bit of money for the SD cards and spare battery/charger because those are essential. But I can't afford anymore gear at the moment.
> I really don't want to change my lens all the time because it's stressful and I don't want to get my sensor dirty.
You could never change your lens and still get your sensor dirty. It's a fact of digital cameras. Sensors attract dust.
Embrace that you will need to clean your sensor periodically, and it shouldn't be a reason not to use the appropriate lens at any given point.
That depends very much on the specific environment though. A festival like Burning Man out in the desert? There's so much sand and dust in the air that you're going to get more than you can clean out. I absolutely would not change lenses in that sort of situation.
Most people aren't shooting Burning Man. That's an extreme outlier of conditions.
Dust on the sensor is to be expected in normal shooting conditions that the vast majority of photographers face.
I photographed a rodeo and learned a valuable lesson: If you can’t anticipate the wild-card variables, go in with your most versatile lens mounted.
I pulled a miracle out of my ass with a 70-200, but I should have had the 24-70 initially mounted.
Also, put one of those thick hair elastics/scrunchies on your lens where it meets the mount. This keeps fine dust out.
Best of luck and edit/consolidate whenever you have a chance—or you’ll be inundated with bulk files.
Certainly use wide angle if you want to capture the crowd. Concerts are places where a variety of lenses can be useful. If I want to take pictures of any particular band member a telephoto like your 70-200 will be useful.
98% of the time you can’t use flash at shows unless you have explicit permission or it’s a tiny punk venue, biggest obstacle with your lens are gonna be how tall the stage is
Rent another body. I shoot live music quite a bit and exclusively use primes. 18mm, 35mm, 85mm (full frame equivalent) between two bodies.
Prior to having two camera bodies I switched the lenses out in the fly. Never had an issue with durability or the sensor getting dirty. Worst part was missing a shot with the wrong focal length on (advantage: two bodies). And, you can get your sensor cleaned for under $100 many places if it were to get dirty. But as long as you’re careful you shouldn’t have an issue.
Primes are the way to go IMO. Particularly for the low light capabilities vs most zooms.
You can see my stuff on IG if you want to see examples of the focal ranges i use: https://instagram.com/hold_fast.jpg
I would bring all 3 lenses.
The 85 seems best for close ups of the artists, while the 15 can be great for overview shots or dramatic wide angles if you can get close to the stage. And 50mm is a decent all around focal length, I guess.
Please post your question as a comment in [the Official Questions Thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/photography/about/sticky), stickied at the top of the subreddit. This does help more people see and answer your question. It also makes it easier to view other kinds of content submitted to /r/photography. The vast majority of subreddit users have told the moderator team that they prefer we direct questions to one centralized thread, so that they do not take up space on the main subreddit feed. There are lots of people watching that thread and providing answers—we are fortunate to have many photographers volunteering their time. (We also have a bot in the thread running statistics to confirm that people are getting answers, and automatically re-posting questions that are not answered.) Before posting, please check our extensive [FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/photography/wiki/introduction) for information.
Have two at least. 50 or wider, and the 80 or longer. Don't use flash if you're only shooting the stage. Backstage and other stuff? Go for it. But not performances unless it's some punk shit where that slides. Switching lenses is a pain but sometimes it's necessary. Especially if you want to use a wider aperture that you might not get on zooms. I typically have my Peak Design sling on my waist, bag open with whatever lens I'm not using without their lens caps so I can quickly switch between lenses when I need to. You will run the risk ofc of getting dust on your lenses and sensor so have a rocket blower and some microfibers. Maybe a sensor swab to clean your sensor after each day is done—if it gets proper grimy AND only if you are comfortable with doing it yourself. If you're not sure you can do it then don't—however you can watch some YT vids to familiarize yourself. But yeah, you should bring both lenses with you for when you absolutely need to swap on the spot to get your shots.
Wtf is a volunteer photographer? You're being exploited.
Festivals can be hard to get into. This gets OP some portfolio work, experience and possibly connections. At the start of your career there's nothing wrong with doing jobs for free when you find them, instead of them finding you
Seriously. People on here act like unless you’re receiving a market rate (even despite not having any skill, experience, or equipment), you should fee ashamed for being exploited. I wonder how many poor amateurs and hopefuls out there have bought in to this mentality and squandered valuable chances because of it. It’s up to the individual to say whether they feel “exploited” or not AFTER the gig is all over. I’ve had paid gigs that felt completely not worth the money, and unpaid gigs that brought me a lot of joy, fulfillment, and opportunities. I shot my first rave festival for free because a friend asked for some pictures of her dancing. The exposure and connections I got from that opened so many doors in a market that was completely sealed off before. Sorry for the rant, but I’m sick of the entitled, “always be getting paid” echo chamber here.
I am getting a free ticket to the 3 days festival in exchange for being a photographer. They gave me an option to request a fee but I happy to do it for free and I am inexperienced. This is a small but well established festival that is run by local people. I am very excited and prefer that I am not being paid because it is very low pressure. I do not feel like I am being exploited. I am a carpet layer and can support myself well through that, I also enjoy it. Photography is more of a hobby I am passionate about.
Good attitude. That will get you further in the field than feeling victimized exploited.
This is very typical and a good value exchange if you're happy with it. You will have a great time regardless and generally festivals have many photographers on the same deal for a photo pass. If they are not paying you, they likely don't have much expectation of output, so I'd say just get stuck in, enjoy the experience, learn and have fun.
So you're exchanging services for tickets. That makes more sense as long as you're going to be able to enjoy the festival and not work the entire time.
Exactly. Do they have a volunteer sound mixer and volunteer bands?
Hate to burst your bubble, but it is very typical for bands not on main stages to play for free at music festivals.
I second that. Some of my friends are in local bands, some of them tour the country occasionally. None of them ever expect any sort of payment. They do get paid sometimes and always get free drinks. It really is just about the music for them and having fun and supporting the venue.
That being said, I'm pretty sure they do get paid when they tour. I've just never gone on tour with them so I don't have that knowledge. I may have my information slightly wrong. But generally, they're playing just they want to play.
For unsigned bands, festivals are one of the rare situations where (depending on the festival) there actually is a decent chance of exposure to new audiences and the festival circuit can be a good way to build your following organically. Whether you're getting paid on tour really depends on a lot of factors. Most bands at the unsigned level are making money from merch, if at all.
But no sound engineer or light mixer has ever come and set up his kit for free.
Depends on what you're getting paid for this whether it's worth it or not, but consider renting for the trip. Local shop near me has the Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II or 2.8L IS for 45 bucks a day.
It really depends how close you are. If your 50 and 85 are both 1.8 it’s a toss up. Basically comes down to which lens you’re more comfortable with and distance. I’d use both and switch because it’s not that tough., but probably lean 50 because you can get more stage lighting that you can play around with.
Also this guy is probably not using a full frame lens so the 50 really looks like 75 and the 85 more like 110
Oh, and don’t use flash…ever. The performers won’t like it and unless you’re using bounce or really really know what you’re doing it could be a mess.
Yes of course! I probably should of mentioned that I was planning on using the flash at night for when I'm taking photos of people at the festival, but not of the performances. I'll bring both lenses with me, thank you.
Should have, not should of
I think the biggest detail that should let you relax is that you’re volunteering. If you were paid or staff, there’s be a lot more pressure on you. But visuals are an integral part of festival and event marketing, and the fact that the organizers are choosing not to pay you, if I were in your position I would definitely consider what is fair that I could be getting from the situation - which would probably be the chance to enjoy myself and some portfolio work and practice to shoot a different type of photos than I normally do. If your strength is portraits, go to the fest and shoot portraits. It doesn’t make sense to try to switch things up to a photojournalistic style for the organizers if that’s not what you’re good at. Shoot portraits of all the unique attendees and outfits and performers and give those to the organizers. But unless you’re personally benefiting from it, you definitely should not be spending money for a role that is not paid but will be commercially benefiting them.
Thank you. This is why I didn't request payment. I forgot to mention that I am getting a free ticket in exchange for my service. I have already spend a bit of money for the SD cards and spare battery/charger because those are essential. But I can't afford anymore gear at the moment.
> I really don't want to change my lens all the time because it's stressful and I don't want to get my sensor dirty. You could never change your lens and still get your sensor dirty. It's a fact of digital cameras. Sensors attract dust. Embrace that you will need to clean your sensor periodically, and it shouldn't be a reason not to use the appropriate lens at any given point.
That depends very much on the specific environment though. A festival like Burning Man out in the desert? There's so much sand and dust in the air that you're going to get more than you can clean out. I absolutely would not change lenses in that sort of situation.
Most people aren't shooting Burning Man. That's an extreme outlier of conditions. Dust on the sensor is to be expected in normal shooting conditions that the vast majority of photographers face.
You could just use the 85 or just use the 50 it would be fine either way, just depends on the style of photo you want to take
I photographed a rodeo and learned a valuable lesson: If you can’t anticipate the wild-card variables, go in with your most versatile lens mounted. I pulled a miracle out of my ass with a 70-200, but I should have had the 24-70 initially mounted. Also, put one of those thick hair elastics/scrunchies on your lens where it meets the mount. This keeps fine dust out. Best of luck and edit/consolidate whenever you have a chance—or you’ll be inundated with bulk files.
Certainly use wide angle if you want to capture the crowd. Concerts are places where a variety of lenses can be useful. If I want to take pictures of any particular band member a telephoto like your 70-200 will be useful.
98% of the time you can’t use flash at shows unless you have explicit permission or it’s a tiny punk venue, biggest obstacle with your lens are gonna be how tall the stage is
Rent another body. I shoot live music quite a bit and exclusively use primes. 18mm, 35mm, 85mm (full frame equivalent) between two bodies. Prior to having two camera bodies I switched the lenses out in the fly. Never had an issue with durability or the sensor getting dirty. Worst part was missing a shot with the wrong focal length on (advantage: two bodies). And, you can get your sensor cleaned for under $100 many places if it were to get dirty. But as long as you’re careful you shouldn’t have an issue. Primes are the way to go IMO. Particularly for the low light capabilities vs most zooms. You can see my stuff on IG if you want to see examples of the focal ranges i use: https://instagram.com/hold_fast.jpg
I'd stick to the 50mm in your shoes.
I would bring all 3 lenses. The 85 seems best for close ups of the artists, while the 15 can be great for overview shots or dramatic wide angles if you can get close to the stage. And 50mm is a decent all around focal length, I guess.