Behind the Scenes: A Day in the Life of a Gig Photographer

My typical shoot day would look something like this if I’m shooting in Dublin which is where I usually shoot:

I would wake up around 12, make sure to eat a healthy breakfast as more often than not that’s the only thing I’ll eat for a while, I would start getting ready by ensuring I have my camera battery fully charged, bring 2 128GB memory cards, usually 1 would do however 2 is more of a safety thing, just in case. I would grab my camera and all other equipment I’d need aka short tripod in some cases. I would arrive usually an hour before the gig, often times eating something or having an energy drink. I would meet with my promoter roughly 30 mins before to talk about the gig, asking if there’s any specific shots they’d want as sometimes bands would ask for specifics. Then when the gig actually begins it’s locking in time, you would not believe the focus it requires to shoot for 2 hours straight as often times you need to change camera settings dependent on lighting or how the performers move and it’s decisions you need to make in split seconds to ensure you’re not missing a good shot while changing settings, I usually rely on my instincts in these times. You need to have good knowledge of your camera for gig photography, after the gig my head is usually pretty fried as I would come back home and get to editing, in some cases, depending on how many bands there is I would spend even a week straight editing. Then I’d send them off and usually I’d get paid by band themselves after that but sometimes the promoter themselves would pay you.