An honest, lived-in account of what the job of a professional concert photographer is really like.

The moments that make it, and the realities that test it.

The kudos, the thrill, that old rock and roll magic. It is all there.

Picture it. You are stood feet from your musical idols, surrounded by thousands of fans, as one of the biggest bands in the world walks on stage. You are a professional concert photographer, and the job is to capture all of it.

Why wouldn’t you want to be there? The buzz of shooting live music never dies.

It is a seriously cool job, and music photography has been a real part of my life for years. But behind the lens, behind the kudos and the anecdotes, there is a world of hard work that few people see.

This is the honest version, the highs and the lows, from over a decade doing it.

A quick signpost before we start. This piece is about what the career is actually like.

If you want the practical route in, I have written that up separately in how to become a concert photographer. And if you want the detail on contracts and who owns your images, that has its own guide too, who owns your gig photos.

How I got in: a bit of luck and a few good people

I am Lee Blanchflower, and I have spent the last decade as a full-time commercial photographer, video producer and concert photographer. Through my company, Blanc Creative, I had already built a name as a Norwich commercial photographer, and I won the SWPP Travel Photographer of the Year award back in 2013.

A good portfolio helps, but so did luck.

Twenty-five years ago I worked in a shop with a mate called Steve Barney. Steve went on to become a world-class drummer, touring the globe with the likes of Annie Lennox, Anastacia and Mike and the Mechanics, playing the global Live 8 concert and recording alongside the likes of Nick Mason of Pink Floyd.

In a twist of fate, I reconnected with Steve while he was drumming for The Wanted, and he invited me to spend a day with the band, shooting their set at Love Luton.

Around the same time, I called in a favour from another friend who was picture editor at a local paper. Paul Weller has always been my music hero, and he was playing Forest Live at Thetford Forest in 2013. I got the assignment. I have been the official Forest Live photographer for the eleven years since, and I photographed Weller for a third time in 2023, on my tenth anniversary of shooting those concerts.

I would love to paint a picture of a rock and roll lifestyle, hanging out with the bands for iconic shots that get remembered forever. The truth is those moments are rare. The job is mostly graft. But when the good moments come, they really come.

The moments that stick

It is not every day you get to tell people how soft the hands of Dan Reynolds from Imagine Dragons are.

How do I know? Because at Radio 1’s Big Weekend in Norwich in 2015, he came out singing to the crowd, and after I slipped over on the wet ground right in front of him, he reached down and picked me up off the floor, live on BBC TV. All I remember is trying to hide the embarrassment and look like I had meant it, while another photographer in the pit happily captured the whole fall.

Then there is Danny O’Donoghue from The Script, who I have shot a number of times.

During a sound check one afternoon I asked him whether he would be heading into the crowd during his first three songs, since that is what I had shot the last couple of times. He told me my images were on the wall in his dressing room, and that this time he was planning to go right out into the audience later in the set.

Then he said, “come with me,” walked me backstage to his production manager, and told him to give me a pass for the whole set, not the usual three songs.

That kind of generosity is rare, and it is a reminder that plenty of artists still value the people documenting their shows and now, every time they play at the same venue, I always receive the same treatment. It’s so humbling as a concert photographer to revive this kind of respect. It doesn’t always happen though.

But the highs… They outnumber the lows. But the lows are real, so let’s be honest about them.

The dreaded contract – The worst nightmare for a professional concert photographer

The words “there’s a contract to sign” can make the difference between a photographer shooting a concert and giving it a swerve. Restrictions stifle the work, and at big festivals it is not unusual to reach the press tent and find the pit is closed for the headliners and half the main acts.

Some contracts go further, asking you to agree that images will not be syndicated, or can run only in named publications, or must be sent to management for approval after the show. At the extreme end I have been told to shoot from one fixed spot, head to toe only with no close-ups, and once, shooting from the side of stage, to avoid making eye contact with the artist entirely. The most damaging clauses ask you to waive your rights and hand ownership to the artist.

This is the part of the job that has changed most, and it deserves its own space, so I have written about it in full. If you want the detail on what these contracts do and how to protect yourself, read who owns your gig photos, and for a live example, the Oasis Live 25 rights row.

The weekend warrior problem

At the risk of upsetting a few people, there is a growing number of what I call weekend warriors. They have full-time jobs outside photography and offer to shoot concerts for free in exchange for access. Their enthusiasm is understandable, but the practice has quietly devalued the profession.

When venues and promoters can get images for nothing, it becomes much harder for skilled professionals to charge fair rates. It erodes the market for anyone who relies on concert photography as their living. A weekend shooter might suit some venues, but the consistency a seasoned professional delivers is a different thing entirely. We invest in high-end gear, carry public liability and professional indemnity insurance, and know how to deliver under pressure where pit protocol matters.

Long hours and physical graft. The mindset of the professional concert photographer

This job is physically demanding. The hours are long, you are on your feet all day, and it is not unusual to walk ten miles between stages at a big festival, in whatever weather turns up. You travel long distances and work late into the night or the early hours.

Syndication adds another layer. You are shooting, captioning and uploading to the agency’s server as fast as you can, because the quicker your images are up, the better the chance a publication buys them. A wiring assistant who can take your cards and upload while you move to the next stage is worth their weight in gold. Without one, you are running between stages and processing images at the same time. Plenty of people who think this is a breeze get a serious wake-up call at their first multi-stage weekender, with acts clashing across stages.

The cost of getting there

Travel is expensive, and a lot of the budgets that used to cover it have been cut as costs rise. Unless you are in-house for a concert or festival, you usually cover your own travel and accommodation, and it adds up fast.

On top of that, agencies have changed how they work, often paying less and taking a bigger cut of syndicated sales.

That shift has made it harder than ever for newer photographers to make a living from concerts alone. It’s ok  if you;re bad in a major city like London, where you can shoot maybe 2 or 3 venues in a night if your timings are good or you ‘re out 5 nights a week.

Working as a professional concert photographer and shooting Norfolk Music Photography as a staple, means those costs sky rocket, but that’s what you have to do if you want to work in the trade and build a proper, solid portfolio.

The highs still win for a professional concert photographer who loves their career.

For all of that, this is a phenomenal job, and the highs comfortably outnumber the lows. The access, the moments, seeing your work in the press, watching artists up close and sometimes behind the scenes. It gets under your skin. The more you shoot, the more you want to.

More Than Just Music is the concert and music arm of Blanc Creative, where I work as a commercial photographer, video producer and press photographer for the music sector. If you want to see the work, the bands and the festivals, head to our More Than Just Music page.

And if you are planning a show, a tour date or a festival and want a crew who knows the pit inside out and shoots on fair, clearly agreed terms, call Lee direct on 07871 364041 or email: studio@blanc-creative.com