How to Take Great Photos at Music Festivals

Chicago’s largest live music festival is here, and there’s no doubt concert-goers will be bringing a camera to capture their time at Lollapalooza.  Whether it’s through a cell phone or a small point and shoot, I’ve put together 10 helpful tips for attendees to make their photos rock.

First, here is the Lollapalooza camera policy:

Allowed:

• Basic point and shoot consumer-grade cameras without detachable lenses and other accessories
• GoPro cameras without accessories

Not Allowed

• Professional cameras (any camera with the option to detach a lense)
• Any and all camera accessories, such as selfie sticks, tripods, monopods, GoPro mounts and attachments, detachable lenses, or other commercial equipment

• Drones or any other remote flying device

• Any and all professional video equipment – no video recording will be allowed

Music Festival Photography Tips & Tricks

Enjoy the experience

Take photos of the bands you want to see, but don’t forget to enjoy actually seeing the bands perform with your own eyes.  Take an adequate amount of photos, but put that camera away to create memories in your mind.

Don’t forget to focus

You may want to snap a picture right away on your device, but focus the frame/screen first and you’ll be destined to take clear(er) photos.

Experiment with angles

It’s great to have that perfectly squared photo, but tilt that camera down right or left, up or down… you may be surprised by the results.

and Black and white

Color photos are always standard and great, but turn down that saturation and get a whole new look with your photos when you turn them black and white. 

The other details

Capture more than just the bands.  There will be plenty of vendors, activities and people attending the festival.  Go for it all!

It’s all about the apps

Download apps.  There’s a plethora of photo apps on the market, my favorite FREE ones to use are: Snapseed, VSCO Cam, Pixlr-o-matic and Instagram.

Bring extra batteries

There’s nothing worse than running out of juice on your cell phone or point and shoot when it’s only halfway through the day.  Avoid that with extra batteries or external chargers.

Have lots of memory:

I’m not talking about your brain power.  Bring memory cards with lots of space for your camera or have enough storage on your cell phone.  

Be aware

Keep your eyes open for those amazing photo opportunities, be respectful to those around you and keep your camera close to you at all times to avoid possible theft.

Me, myselfie and I

Lastly, don’t forget to take pictures of yourself at Lollapalooza!  Take a combination of selfies and don’t be afraid to ask people to take your photo. 

 

Janelle Rominski has attended over 600 concerts both as an attendee and as a professional photographer.  She is currently the house photographer for The Rave/Eagles Ballroom in Milwaukee.  Check out her music photography HERE.