If you want to get into music photography, access is key. Permission is needed for many artists once they reach a certain level and at venues at the club level and larger. Enter the photo pass. In this article, we'll look at how to start out as a music photographer and dive into all the aspects of photo passes: who they're for, what you need to do secure one, how to search for the contact info for the gatekeepers and more.
How to get started in music photography
A common question I see from aspiring concert photographers is how to get started photographing live music. The best way for most people is to start out photographing local bands. For these artists and the venues they play, there are often few if any restrictions on photography. Photographing local bands will help you build a portfolio and let you learn technique in arguably the most challenging conditions, but if you can make images in small clubs with basic lighting, everything else is easy.
But at a certain level, bands and larger venues will require photo passes.
What is a photo pass in music photography?
A photo pass is a type of credential that is issued by a concert venue or a band. It's most often a fabric sticker that may be from the venue or from a tour, though they can also take the form of wristbands, laminates or other types of ID signal to venue security you have permission to photograph.
A photo pass will often have the date or city, band. Some tours use one pass that has photo, video, all access, VIP, backstage access and more, and everything but the applicable access is crossed out.
What does a photo pass let you do?
A photo pass grants you permission for special access that normal fans and attendees of a concert don't have. A photo pass lets you bring in professional cameras, while most fans are limited to only small cameras with non-detachable lenses. In addition, a photo pass will often give you access to the “photo pit,” the area between the front of the stage and the general pit, separated by a barricade. The photo pit is where security are positioned at concerts and festivals as well.
Normally, a photo pass will let you photograph for the first three songs of a concert from the photo pit. Flash is not generally allowed with a photo pass.
Who are photo passes for?
Photo passes are largely intended for photographers working for publication. The reason is that photo passes grant special access with professional equipment, so the exchange for this is editorial coverage. While some publicists might give out photo passes to individual photographers, this doesn't really serve a purpose.
The main purpose for photo passes is to enable this relationship between music publications and bands for publicity through reviews, live music galleries and generally helping promote an artist.
Who gives out photo passes?
Publicists are the gatekeepers for photo passes in most instances. After all, photo passes are used to generate press for artists, so it's in the domain of the publicist to work with publications to secure coverage and buzz for their clients. Tour managers or artist managers can be involved in assigning photo passes, but for most people working as press, the publicist is the main point of contact.
For large tours, sometimes promoters like Live Nation can act as an intermediary gatekeeper for photo passes. The Live Nation media portal is a streamlined system for applying for photo access for shows LN promotes.
Festivals are also an exception, where instead of individual artist publicists, a festival will assign credentials for press. In this instance, the goal is still the same, to give special access to publications in exchange for coverage about the festival.
How do you request a photo pass?
To request a photo pass, you need to find the publicist handing a tour or show. Using Google to search for the appropriate contact info is a super useful skill to have. You can search for some combination of the artist name, “publicist, “pr contact,” the name of the tour or “press release.”
Once you have the right contact info, the most important part of a photo pass request is working for a publication. This could be everything from Rolling Stone to a blog you start yourself or with friends.
For templates on requesting photo passes, see my post on how to request photo passes.
What if you're not with for a publication?
If you want a photo pass to a show but you're not with a publication, you can still make a request. However, most publicists want something guaranteed in exchange for the access they're giving with a photo pass. Photographing for your portfolio or to post on your personal Instagram doesn't really do anything for an artist or publicist, so there's very little reason for most publicists to accommodate personal requests.
My advice is to start your own publication. It's some work, but it's something you can do by yourself or as a collective with friends or fellow music photographers. This is honestly something that I'd recommend to anyone. It gives you control over your own work and rather than giving your images to someone else (if you're not being paid). And it's easier than you think.
