-
Joseph Nicéphore Niépce
Joseph Nicéphore Niépce began shooting concert photography. He was tested his every changing technology of photo paper when it came to live performances. He would often take photographs of concert pianists. -
Period: to
Concert Photography
-
NME
New Musical Express (NME) was introduced to the market. IT was one of the very first music journalism magazines in the world. It helped showcase not only bands but photographers photographs. -
LED Lights
LED lights were introduced to shows. These often caused a problem with photographers as it would throw off the coloring of their final exposure. Also, the LED lights were much harsher on film than normal stage lighting. -
Zines
Zines would introduced heavily in the punk scene. These would focus on more of the photography of underground punk bands and artists. Not only would it showcase the art of the photographer, but other artists as well. -
Paul Natkin
Paul Natkin—one of Chicago’s most famous music photographers—started making his debut in the scene. He captured the beginning of many rock legends’ careers such as Bruce Springsteen, Prince, and Ozzy Osbourne. -
Konica
Japanese camera company, Konica, put out the first autofocus, point-and-shoot camera. This gave the opportunity for anyone and everyone to become a photographer at any performance. -
Three Song Rule
Bruce Springsteen started to enforce the ‘Three Song Rule’. This rule made the photographers only shoot for the first three songs in a set because Springsteen could not handle the constant flashing. This rule has stuck around until today and is widely and heavily enforced. -
Independent Work
Photographers started working independently with individual artists. As Rock N’ Roll expanded so did the need for photographers. Musicians like Lou Reed, David Bowie, and The New York Dolls all started hiring personal photographers to follow them around daily. -
First Internet Image
First ever photograph was uploaded to the internet. This opened up a new door and market for photographers, whether musical or not, to get their work out to the public as it did not restrict them to only print. -
DSLRs
DSLRs were introduced to the popular market and ultimately replaced SLRs. This helped photographers take much more pictures in a short amount of time opposed to film. It also gave a live preview of what the photo may turn out like. -
GoPro Aerial
GoPro was one of the first companies to launch mini HD cameras used for the public. Hooking these up to aerial drones, concert footage could be shot in places only planes used to be able to reach. -
Smartphone Takeover
Smartphone cameras took over the traditional point-and-shoot. This put a camera into the hands of almost every single person in a crowd. Some do not know to not put the flash on, and many performers have vocalized their irritation with cell phone use during their set. -
Aelie Luca
Photographer Aelle Luca became an internet sensation when he singlehandedly broke almost every single rule of concert photography. He became the poster child of how to not be a photographer at a show. He constantly was in the bands’ face, used flash, and constantly annoyed the entire crowd. -
Band's Personal Photographers Now
Photographers such as Jessica Flynn, Ashley Osborn, and Adam Elmakias tours with various bands and are used as their ‘main photographer’. This has recently become a very common practice as it captures the bands not only on stage, but also off stage and in their everyday touring lives. It is different from the 1983 ‘personal photography’ because the music scene is no longer focused on things such as drugs, sex, or rock n roll. -
Freelance Photography vs Taylor Swift
Freelance photographer Jason Sheldon calls out Taylor Swift on the improper use of photographer’s pictures on her tour. Much like many pop artists in modern day, the photographs taken and used can only be used once. Also, the management team of many artists now own the rights to these photographs and can further use them however they want.
