Photographing events and festivals presents a real challenge. Amidst a flurry of activity it’s a real art to seek out moments which help to define what’s going on. Robert Keeley offers some helpful tips.
Photographing a large public event or festival is a tough assignment, but if you want to expand your ability to shoot a variety of subjects, there’s almost nothing else which can test you out so thoroughly. And the bigger the event, the better! That’s because large festivals, concerts, and exhibitions usually attract a diverse range of participants and observers, many of whom can be amenable to being photographed, and they often have activities, exhibits and stalls that lend themselves to great imagery.
But the toughest challenge with these events is usually the most obvious – how to go about covering them effectively and comprehensively. Here’s a few strategies you can try.
When this trio of brightly dressed actors wandered by I asked to take their photo. They readily hammed it up, so I quickly moved in for a series of close ups.
01 SET A PLAN
Before you set out to shoot an event or festival, preferably do as much research as you can. Find out exactly who might be attending the gathering, what it is supporting (if anything), and who is organising it. Depending on the size and professional nature of it, there may be some interest from the organisers in receiving your images. To start with you might have to offer them free use, but if your work is good enough you might seek payment.
The advantage of making yourself officially known to the organisers is that they may give you accreditation, which will usually allow you access to people and places that a member of the public won’t get to. If accreditation isn’t available, don’t despair. Most festivals and events remain open to public photography, and you’ll see lots of other photography enthusiasts wandering around photographing interesting performances or stalls. In any case, as with any genre of photography, preparation pays off.
I soon scored some extreme close-ups which added plenty of colour to my coverage of this event. Shot with a 16-35mm lens at 16mm focal length, 1/250s @ f/10, ISO 200. Minor sharpening and saturation to cope with the bright mid-afternoon light.
You might find stage performers are on at specific times, or some stalls are only open at certain hours. Programs are often available via websites, and they may also have maps, which are particularly useful in planning your strategy. Pre-planning works!
02 WORK OUT YOUR KIT
Your equipment needs can be quite diverse at big events. The people, stalls and shows which might be part of any festival can all be photographed in different ways, but the other key factor you’ll need to think carefully about is how much gear you can comfortably lug around before it starts to wear you out! The sooner you get tired, the sooner you’ll start to lose interest in being creative.
I tend to shoot with a moderate to wide angle zoom lens because it offers great flexibility, letting me get in close to any action, but also stand off a bit when necessary, and it’s relatively light. Telephoto lenses are great for isolating individuals or parts of subjects, but in busy festival settings they can be a bit limiting. If you’re far enough away to use them effectively, you’re far enough away for unsuspecting visitors to walk between you and your subject. You need to be aware of their limitations in crowded venues. It can also be a lot easier (and less noticeable) to walk around without a bag full of gear.
This stage performance by drummers attracted a large audience. Fortunately the stage was against the sun, so the light was even. It soon became apparent I could only score close ups with a telephoto lens.
Versatile travel zooms can perform a useful role in these environments, though their small apertures at maximum zooms can be problematic. These are some of the reasons professional street photographers often work with smaller compact cameras. Think carefully about the approach you want to take, and try to minimise the gear you carry.
With a 70-200mm telephoto zoom lens at ISO 1000 to cope with the low even light, I shot this close up at 1/640s @ f/4.5 to freeze the fast drumming action. The image received minor sharpening and a slight boost in saturation.
03 KEEP FLEXIBLE
Even if you have a plan worked out to shoot the major elements of any festival or event you’re covering, you still need to build in flexibility in case circumstances change. Whilst scheduled events at festivals may be the key moments of your coverage, the real colour of any event can be entirely unexpected. Whether it’s a participant behaving outrageously, wandering street musicians or spontaneous street theatre, a photographer needs to be ready to shoot any highlight as it occurs.
These two attendants at a food stand during a Chinese New Year festival were more than happy to pose for a quick photo.
A photojournalistic approach – being ready for anything – can pay dividends. That’s another good reason to keep a wide-angle zoom lens fitted to your camera. You can move in quickly to get close-ups, or back off a bit to get shots which include some of the surrounding atmosphere. Flexibility with your kit gives you a greater range of options.
Next week Robert Keeley looks at some of the technical and human challenges you need to face in shooting fast-changing scenarios at major festivals.
As I walked amongst the stands at a Chinese New Year festival a raucous noise signalled the arrival of some dragons. Frenetic and fast moving, they were hard to capture. I shot with a wide-angle lens and moved around them quickly to stay out of their way.
Amongst the crowds I saw these enthusiasts of Japanese cartoon characters. They clearly wanted to be noticed, so I asked if I could take their photo, and they obliged. The key in these situations is to be ready to shoot, make more than one shot to allow for blinking, and shoot at a 'correct' exposure, then under-expose on your next image. As well, it sometimes pays to shoot with flash to allow for the dark shadows caused by bright sunlight.
To get a good feel for an event, keep an eye open for interesting trinkets and other details like unusual food and drink when you're developing your photographic coverage.