SHOTS THAT ROCK

We throw a budding music photographer lens-first into the photo 'pit' with pro Matt Higgs

THE PRO

MATT HIGGS CAMERA: NIKON D780 Matt has never strayed far from music or photography. He started his career in music PR but soon moved onto Practical Photography magazine and its sister title Digital Photo.

All the while he was pursuing his passion for gig photography, and following a brief stint in content marketing, he finally embarked on a career as a freelance pro. He's toured with rock royalty, worked as an official photographer for Download Festival, and served on sets as a camera operator.

https://bit.ly/3R5CJOF 

THE APPRENTICE

CHARLES PALMER

CAMERA: NIKON Z 6 Charles is a UX designer for The Open University. His interest in photography dates back to his childhood, when he was gifted a Kodak Instamatic.

He bought his first SLR at college, but it wasn't until the past few years that he decided to start taking his hobby more seriously.

He's stayed within the Nikon ecosystem since buying a D50, and was an early mirrorless adopter, picking up the Z6 at launch. He's had lots of experience shooting his local music scene, and is looking for some pro tips so that he can step up to larger venues and gigs.

TECHNIQUE ASSESSMENT

Matt showed Charles how to set up his camera to help him capture great gig shots

TAKE CONTROL

Matt says... Stage lights are constantly changing, so I need consistency, and for that reason I shoot entirely in Manual mode. I tend to shoot wide-open, and I never dip below 1/200 sec. Modern cameras and editing software makes high ISOs more palatable and more preferable - to a blurry shot.