5 | PHOTOSHOOT
Rock in a hard place
Steven Christie explains what it takes to shoot bands and get eye-catching images
Two of the main problems faced when photographing bands are location and time. Bigger budgets bring more options for location, but time is usually allocated by management or record companies. You may need to introduce pragmatic solutions so that those key problems don’t stop your creativity –fantastic images can be created in the most unusual of locations, at little, if any, cost and within most bands’ available time.
Almost all bands start by playing live gigs, so the venues they use can be your new studio. Whether it’s through friends, acquaintances or using social media to contact a band, it’s easy to get permission to take some backstage or behind-the-scenes photographs with the right approach and a little determination.