The world of music has changed in so many ways that even related businesses such as events and concert organizers, as well as photographers have been greatly affected. Currently, music photographers are experiencing greater challenges as the social distancing restrictions led to a decline in business opportunities for their field of photography profession.
Nonetheless, commercial photography for the music industry can still thrive as it is just a matter of looking for performing artists who also need to promote their talent. One change in the music industry that could prove advantageous to music photographers is that most artists no longer limit their choice of photographers to a single contact person.
Rather than rely solely on high-end photographers whose reputation influence the fees they charge, promoters are now into optimizing their budget by hooking up with photographers who offer high quality photos at reasonable prices. After all, most marketing and promotional launches are taking place online, which creates higher demand for digital photographs. Selling music at physical stores is nearing an end, as marketing support is now more focused in selling and promoting singles and tracks in online music stores and streaming sites. ..
What Music Photography Experts Recommend as Best Ways of Researching and Finding Clients in the Music World
Even before the pandemic, many expert music photographers have shared tips on how to research and find clients in the music industry. We have compiled some that interested readers may find doable and useful.
Get Connected
When involved in the music business, knowing someone who knows everyone can help you work your way to being part of the right crowd for your music photography business. Start getting connections by taking photographs of local performers who are determined to draw greater attention from the music industry. .
Contributing photographs in digital music magazines is also a good way of getting exposure for your music-related photographs, especially the live kind of photography. Many artists notice excellent live photography work when they see one, and have invited those that they consider could do well for photoshoots of their live performances. If they find your work worthy enough of recommendations, they will pass the word to other musicians.
Mind Your Attitude as a Professional Photographer for Music Artists
The most useful advice that we took note of is that great photography job is not only about creativity and innovation in one’s photography work. Since you will be working with performing artists, your personality and attitude also count as a deciding factor. Avoid eccentricities as you might end up working with someone who is just as eccentric as you.
What you need to be, to become an artist’s favorite photographer is to be a someone who will make them feel comfortable and completely at ease when posing during photoshoots. Since most artists have to work in tight schedules so they can optimize their time for creating music, they want to work with professional photographers who make photoshoot sessions not only enjoyable but quick and easy as well.
Constantly Work on Your Photography Skills and Gears
That goes without saying that you need to work on your photography skills as well as make your equipment as reliable as they should be. You can’t expect your music clients to waste their time waiting for you to change lenses or freeze their smiles when it’s taking you long and often to adjust your camera’s viewfinder.
Presumably, you already know that when it comes to professional photography, especially for live music, you need to use different types of cameras. When researching on photography gears, our advice is to not limit your resources with those that give reviews on sponsored brands. Devote your research time on photography blogs and YouTube videos created by experienced photographers.
As a matter of fact, there’s also a website called Photoseminars, run and maintained by professional photographers, not to sell cameras; but mainly for the purpose of furnishing useful information about cameras, camera lenses and other accessories.