I sort of fell into the genre of music and over the last seven years, I’ve shot more than 300 artists and taken more than 50,000 pictures as a music photographer. I shoot all types of music, but mostly jazz. I am currently the official photographer for the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra (SNJO) and my pictures have been featured on album covers, tour posters and magazine publications. At the time of writing this post, I am putting the finishing touches on a book featuring the last 7 years with the SNJO.
THAT WAS THEN
There was a time when I shot Nikon alongside my Fuji’s, but with the release of the Fujifilm XF50-140mm f2.8 my D800 (amazing camera) ended up staying at home, and after six months or so of no use my full Nikon kit was sold. I also used a Lowepro backpack for a long time, but as I often have to pull my camera back out of the bag just as I am about to leave a venue, a shoulder bag is the way I go these days (mostly).
THIS IS NOW
These days I am using a Domke F2 (black canvas) bag. It’s not a massive bag, but it’s not small either. What I can fit inside the F2 is about as much weight as I want to carry and as it is packed full, I have to take out a lens if I want to include a different one. This works well for me as I would end up carrying way to much gear otherwise. If I know I’ll be shooting a lot of backstage pictures I might wear my belt-pack to the gig and put an X-Pro2 body in one of the side pockets as I prefer a rangefinder-style body for that sort of shooting.
SIDE POCKETS
Starting at the F2’s side pockets. I have a BlackRapid Yeti double harness strap, a Manfrotto Pixie mini tripod and a Spider Holster in one pocket, and a small pouch that attaches to my belt in the other pocket.
BLACK RAPID YETI
The BlackRapid strap takes up a lot of room and I have thought of getting rid of it and using regular straps many times, but this harness works well and is easy to adjust quickly for one camera or two.
SPIDER HOLSTER
The Spider Holster is rarely used but can be handy when using a third camera. I keep the spall spanner/wrench in my belt pouch for attaching the little stud to the bottom of the camera.
BELT POUCH
These tactical pouches are available on Amazon for very little money and are essential for what I do. I put this on my belt as soon as I arrive at the venue and it saves me from having to get to my bag (which can be at the side of the stage) for essentials. I keep a notebook, pens, spare batteries, SD cards, business cards and a lens cleaner in this. It also has a section on the outside for my iPhone, which I insert upside down, face inward (and muted) so that it doesn’t light up on its own.
LOWEPRO PADDED WRAP
I have had this green Lowepro padded wrap, that came with another bag, for years. It is folded like an envelope and mostly just lies on top of my gear as the F2 doesn’t have any padding. I keep an iPad mini in the zippered pocket on the lid of the F2, which protects the screen on the back of my camera, but the wrap is just added protection. It can also come in handy for kneeling on or a number of other uses.
INSIDE THE BAG
FUJIFILM X-T2 AND XF 16-55mm F2.8 WR
The Fujifilm XF 16-55 f2.8 lens is attached to my X-T2 most of the time and this the camera and lens combo that I keep handy at the top of my bag so that I can pull it out or put it back in the F2 easily. It sits in the bag with the lens facing down. This comes in handy when leaving a venue as I often have to pull a camera out for a few shots, or if I keep it out it means I can slip it back in at the venue door without needing to remove the bag from my shoulder. Something the backpacks are not functional for.
THE FUJIFILM X-T3
The amazing 50-140 f2.8 lens is my concert workhorse. It can’t fit in the Domke attached to my X-T3, so the camera body fits inside the F2 square insert. These inserts are divided into 4 sections for lenses, but unlike the older versions that were sewn, the newer ones have Velcro so the section can be adjusted to take the X-T3 with the battery grip attached. This also creates a space for my Zoom H1 audio recorder (more on that later). I attached a spare Billingham Velcro insert above the X-T3 that acts as a hinge and folds over to protect the X-T3 and X-T2 from bumping into each other.
SWITCHABLE LENS
Still on that square Domke insert (this one is included with the F2). I have the 23mm f1.4 lens in the photo above, but this is where I keep my switchable lens. By switchable, I mean that if I need to bring another lens, it will go in here and the 23mm will stay at home. This stops me from carrying too much equipment and weight (more on these extra lenses later).
Front pocket contain audio equipment (left) and white balance tools & business cards (right)
LENSES
I have a 16mm f1.4 and a 56mm f1.2 stacked in a tall square Domke insert I bought on Ebay. I use the JJC square metal lens hood on both these lenses (and the 23/1.4), so they can be stacked safely as they have flat plastic caps. I highly recommend these lens hoods. They are equal in quality to the Fuji optional ones, but less expensive.
The 50-140mm f2.8 workhorse lens sits inside a Domke insert that comes with an F-4AF bag. This insert is a bit wider and has the space required to include the tripod mount on the lens. I attach the BlackRapid strap to the tripod mount instead of the camera as the weight of this heavy lens would put too much strain on the camera’s lens mount.
NISSIN i40 FLASH
I rarely use flash for music photography (never ever for shooting during a concert), but sometimes I might need to use it for a backstage portrait if the light is really bad. The Nissin i40 is small and slips in the F2 between the sidewall of the bag and the smaller of the lens inserts. It sits in there and I forget about it until I need to remember. The i40 runs on 4 AA batteries and has enough power for anything I need on a music shoot. If I am required to shoot promotional portraits or promo shots, I will take a bag full of Yongnuo YN560 IV’s, stands and modifiers. But that’s another story.
AUDIO EQUIPMENT
After being asked to shoot some after-show video clips and interviews without any notice, then having to cobble a less than ideal setup to get by with, I now always keep a small audio kit with me. You have already seen where I keep the Zoom H1 inside the main compartment of the F2, and the Manfrotto Pixie that can be used as a tabletop tripod for shooting video. I use one of the front pockets to store a Rode lav microphone and extension cable (including an adaptor to allow it to fit the X-T3 or my iPhone). I also have a set of Apple earbuds for monitoring sound and a spare 3.5mm to 3.5mm cable that can be used to attach the Zoom H1 to the X-T3’s headphone socket. So I can record audio in camera, lav mic to Zoom H1 or both at the same time.
WHITE BALANCE
The other front pocket of the F2 is used for business cards and white balance tools. I have a Color Checker Passport, ExpoDisc and a set of white balance cards on a lanyard. Overkill? Perhaps. I also use this bag for portrait shoots so the Color Checker is invaluable.
OPTIONAL LENSES
The three lenses that I often swap out when needed are the 12mm f2.8 Samyang, the Fuji 10-24mm f4, and the awesome Fuji 90mm f2. These lenses all have their use, but it can often depend on the venue or the job. For instance, The 12mm Samyang is useful if I can get on stage behind a band or orchestra and shoot toward the audience.
CARDS AND CLEANING
I also take a JJC SD card holder (stored in with the white balance tools) and both the RocketBlower (F2 side pocket) and a Lens Pen. I also have a lens cloth in my belt pouch. I don’t use lens caps so like to clean my lenses before a show.
iPAD
It’s not shown in the photos, but I also keep an iPad Mini inside the zipped pocket in the top lid. I often send a couple of pictures during the interval from a camera to the iPad using the built-in wifi feature. I edit these using Snapseed and then send them to the client so they can be used on Facebook to promote the following night’s performance. It saves me having to do it when I get home.
Lowepro CompuTrekker 350 backpack, Domke F2 and the Domke F-1x
OPTIONAL BAGS
If I really must take extra gear I can use the larger F-1x (bottom right in the picture above) which can hold a massive amount of gear but can get too heavy. Or I might opt for the LowePro Computrekker 350 backpack if I’m travelling by train and have a long walk to the venue.
A FEW LAST TIPS
Always have more than one camera.
Always have at least one camera with a lens attached in your bag.
Always keep spare batteries and cards on your body.
Use a belt bag or pouch to carry your spares and phone.
Make sure you get a photo pass from the venue or the client.
Lock in your white balance, it will save you hours of editing time later.
Shoot completely manual. I tend to shoot at f2.8, /125th of a second and adjust my ISO using the front command wheel.
Clean lenses before a show.
Sync camera clocks before the show (see below if you forget).
Make sure you have enough space on SD cards for the full show.
SYNCHRONISING CAMERA CLOCKS AFTER THE SHOOT
It is crucial to synchronise the clocks on all cameras used on a shoot. It’s always better to do this before the gig, but it’s very easy to forget. So here is a method I use when I get home. I use a world clock app called ClockZ which constantly updates the time and is extremely accurate.
Shoot a photo on each camera of your phone while it displays the world clock time.
Ingest all the pictures from your shoot into Lightroom.
Press G on your keyboard to enter Library Module Grid Mode.
Click on Metadata above your pictures.
In the camera section, choose one of your cameras.
Now go to the last picture you shot (which should be the one of your phone).
Click on that picture.
Hold down Command (Ctrl on Windows) and press A on your keyboard to select all.
Now ho to the Metadata menu at the top of your screen and choose Edit Capture Time.
Make sure ‘Adjust to a specific time and date’ is checked.
Input the time & date from the picture of your phone into the ‘Corrected Time’ section.
Click ‘Change’. It will warn that this can’t be undone but don’t worry about that.
Now repeat the process for your other cameras and all your pictures will be in sync.
If you have found this post helpful and you are thinking of buying any of the gear I use? You could help me out (at no cost to yourself) by buying from Amazon UK using the links below. Thanks.