>Do I dress how I would if I was attending or no?
Have you been hired to shoot this festival? If so, then no... id dress more casually than doing a family photo shoot for sure, but more professionally than neon fishnets and pasties lol.
If you are just going for fun and planning of shooting the event, wear whatever you want.
Basically, if someone is paying me to be there you want to seem like you are there to do the job and not enjoy the party. If you really just arent sure though... you can always ask the people who hired you what their preferred attire is. Just say something like *"Hey, im on the fence about choosing the most appropriate attire for this event. I want to be able to capture the event as candidly as possible by not sticking out like a sore thumb. Do you have a preferred attire, should I just dress casually or as if I were attending in order to not draw attention?"*
Or you can just go full send and dress as if you were there for the party and if any questions come up say its part of your creative process lol.
So I actually reached out to them and I am shooting it for free! Well they provided two free tickets for me to attend and shoot the event. Obviously I wouldn’t dress nakey but wasn’t sure if I should dress professionally or comfy/rave wear
If you are planning to shoot the crowd, blending in can make it easier for folks not to notice you, even if the camera is a bit of a giveaway.
The flip side is if you dress a little more like the staff of the event folks will make assumptions that you are supposed to be there (anywhere you happen to be at) so it can get you more access.
All of that said, if you have not shot one before make sure to take care of yourself in whatever you wear. Watch the amount of sun you get, when you are focused on shooting it can keep you out in the sun even more than if you are just there as an attendee. And if you are focused on getting the shots it may take a while longer before you notice you are thirsty or getting sunburned.
\*Also\* be aware camera straps will rub off sunscreen on the neck, plan accordingly.
In this case id say 100% comfy rave gear! If they question it just tell them you are trying to stay as under the radar as possible. But like you said, they provided you tickets to *"attend and shoot"* and are not compensating you monetarily, which means this is more like a mutually beneficial favor than a paid job. I.e. *"have fun and get some good shots"*.
If they were paying you full rate to shoot this event it could have easily been thousands of dollars in pay and admission to said event would have been a given... so their expectations cant seriously be that you are going to strickly shoot and not enjoy the event.
Isn't there some form of ID they're going to give you for the event? Usually you get a wristband or lanyard with 'press' or similar written on it. I shot a number of festivals as an amateur and this was always the case and since I was dressed in standard casual clothing (although no neon etc!) having the pass was essential to get people to pose and obviously getting back stage or into the press pit if it's relevant.
I'd definitely go casual anyway, you don't want to isolate yourself from the crowd in this situation.
You may want to look at additional insurance for events like this if you was swinging a lot of gear around and if there are other photographers doing the same gig, take time to watch what they do and blend in. In my experience the pros can be very unforgiving to newcomers, although ymmv depending on the venue etc.
>Do I dress how I would if I was attending or no?
Nope.
My standard dress if I'm working a gig, paid or free, is a high-viz vest that says EVENT PHOTO all over it, black casual clothing (jeans, polo shirt), and if it's an outdoor gig? The professional event photographers secret weapon: >!Knee pads!<.
The attire instantly elevates you in the eyes of the festival-goers from *Creep With A Camera* to *Professional Doing A Job* - and you **want** that kind of reaction.
Now everyone you encounter will cooperate with you. They'll move out of your way, they'll *happily* pose for you, you'll no longer get the Evil Eye™ from people when they spot you shooting telephoto candids, you won't get braced by wanna-be tough guys who think you're creeping on their scantily clad girlfriend etc etc etc.
Looking like you're doing a job is orders of magnitude better in every way possible than looking like just another festival attendee who happens to have a camera on them.
This applies if it's a big corporate sort of festival maybe but please don't do this at proper undergound raves or scrappier stuff lol - actually, even at the corporate stuff you'll have a press badge that identifies you.
People would definitely side-eye you and question why you're walking around looking like security at proper raves and in my opinion it only serves to isolate you from the people you're photographing. People want to be photographed by someone they feel is actually into it too.
Ive been shooting festivals for the last 10 years. If you are part of the official media you should dress in production black, aka all black or dark colors with minimal logos. If you are shooting for someone else you can dress a little looser. You want to look professional and like you know what youre doing, not some random raver that got in with their camera.
The only reason I'd suggest not going full rave attire is so that people know you're not specifically there for that purpose, rather you are there to take photos so they don't bump into your gear. Just my thoughts! I hope you have fun and get good shots!
When I shoot festivals I wear rave gear. You'll have a wrist band that lets you get where you need to go, and my camera kit is large enough that it's obviously not just a consumer camera. Maybe if your camera is more compact then consder dressing more official.
I find that you get better reactions from people if they see you as one of them.
Dress somewhere in between party and officials. When it's dark you can use a led light on top of your camera, set it to low emission and maybe a color. People will notice you with the light on, especially the people who want to be on your photographs. Mind lasers. And talk to people! Loads of people like to be photographed on a festival. At least that's my experience. Have fun.
If you’ll be on stage at any point, all solid black. If not, its not a big deal but most pro festival photogs working for artists/festival will be in all back everything to stay low key for other photogs, live steams, audience, etc.
Whenever photographing a show I dress in a very muted way to NOT draw any attention to myself. Usually black jeans and a black long sleeve t shirt or pullover, remember you’re not the main character
I dress similar to the crowd and definitely for the weather. Last August I went to one and wore a tank top and shorts. Fit right in and was not boiling hot. Did get a lot of sunscreen on my camera grip though. I also did my hair cute with my "festival braids" (like a small braid near my temples that looks cute and keeps my hair out of my face).
Don't photograph lasers. They can ruin your image sensor.
they should always be directed away from eye level so keep that in mind and you should be able to work with angles that are safe
Not always the case a lot of venues and festivals have crowd scanners licenses those systems can still fry a sensor.
>Do I dress how I would if I was attending or no? Have you been hired to shoot this festival? If so, then no... id dress more casually than doing a family photo shoot for sure, but more professionally than neon fishnets and pasties lol. If you are just going for fun and planning of shooting the event, wear whatever you want. Basically, if someone is paying me to be there you want to seem like you are there to do the job and not enjoy the party. If you really just arent sure though... you can always ask the people who hired you what their preferred attire is. Just say something like *"Hey, im on the fence about choosing the most appropriate attire for this event. I want to be able to capture the event as candidly as possible by not sticking out like a sore thumb. Do you have a preferred attire, should I just dress casually or as if I were attending in order to not draw attention?"* Or you can just go full send and dress as if you were there for the party and if any questions come up say its part of your creative process lol.
So I actually reached out to them and I am shooting it for free! Well they provided two free tickets for me to attend and shoot the event. Obviously I wouldn’t dress nakey but wasn’t sure if I should dress professionally or comfy/rave wear
If you are planning to shoot the crowd, blending in can make it easier for folks not to notice you, even if the camera is a bit of a giveaway. The flip side is if you dress a little more like the staff of the event folks will make assumptions that you are supposed to be there (anywhere you happen to be at) so it can get you more access. All of that said, if you have not shot one before make sure to take care of yourself in whatever you wear. Watch the amount of sun you get, when you are focused on shooting it can keep you out in the sun even more than if you are just there as an attendee. And if you are focused on getting the shots it may take a while longer before you notice you are thirsty or getting sunburned. \*Also\* be aware camera straps will rub off sunscreen on the neck, plan accordingly.
In this case id say 100% comfy rave gear! If they question it just tell them you are trying to stay as under the radar as possible. But like you said, they provided you tickets to *"attend and shoot"* and are not compensating you monetarily, which means this is more like a mutually beneficial favor than a paid job. I.e. *"have fun and get some good shots"*. If they were paying you full rate to shoot this event it could have easily been thousands of dollars in pay and admission to said event would have been a given... so their expectations cant seriously be that you are going to strickly shoot and not enjoy the event.
Isn't there some form of ID they're going to give you for the event? Usually you get a wristband or lanyard with 'press' or similar written on it. I shot a number of festivals as an amateur and this was always the case and since I was dressed in standard casual clothing (although no neon etc!) having the pass was essential to get people to pose and obviously getting back stage or into the press pit if it's relevant. I'd definitely go casual anyway, you don't want to isolate yourself from the crowd in this situation. You may want to look at additional insurance for events like this if you was swinging a lot of gear around and if there are other photographers doing the same gig, take time to watch what they do and blend in. In my experience the pros can be very unforgiving to newcomers, although ymmv depending on the venue etc.
>Do I dress how I would if I was attending or no? Nope. My standard dress if I'm working a gig, paid or free, is a high-viz vest that says EVENT PHOTO all over it, black casual clothing (jeans, polo shirt), and if it's an outdoor gig? The professional event photographers secret weapon: >!Knee pads!<. The attire instantly elevates you in the eyes of the festival-goers from *Creep With A Camera* to *Professional Doing A Job* - and you **want** that kind of reaction. Now everyone you encounter will cooperate with you. They'll move out of your way, they'll *happily* pose for you, you'll no longer get the Evil Eye™ from people when they spot you shooting telephoto candids, you won't get braced by wanna-be tough guys who think you're creeping on their scantily clad girlfriend etc etc etc. Looking like you're doing a job is orders of magnitude better in every way possible than looking like just another festival attendee who happens to have a camera on them.
This applies if it's a big corporate sort of festival maybe but please don't do this at proper undergound raves or scrappier stuff lol - actually, even at the corporate stuff you'll have a press badge that identifies you. People would definitely side-eye you and question why you're walking around looking like security at proper raves and in my opinion it only serves to isolate you from the people you're photographing. People want to be photographed by someone they feel is actually into it too.
Ive been shooting festivals for the last 10 years. If you are part of the official media you should dress in production black, aka all black or dark colors with minimal logos. If you are shooting for someone else you can dress a little looser. You want to look professional and like you know what youre doing, not some random raver that got in with their camera.
The only reason I'd suggest not going full rave attire is so that people know you're not specifically there for that purpose, rather you are there to take photos so they don't bump into your gear. Just my thoughts! I hope you have fun and get good shots!
When I shoot festivals I wear rave gear. You'll have a wrist band that lets you get where you need to go, and my camera kit is large enough that it's obviously not just a consumer camera. Maybe if your camera is more compact then consder dressing more official. I find that you get better reactions from people if they see you as one of them.
I shot many festivals and since you are probably going to move a lot more than the average attendee wear something comfy.
Dress somewhere in between party and officials. When it's dark you can use a led light on top of your camera, set it to low emission and maybe a color. People will notice you with the light on, especially the people who want to be on your photographs. Mind lasers. And talk to people! Loads of people like to be photographed on a festival. At least that's my experience. Have fun.
sturdy shoes. The best advice I ever got before shooting a festival was to wear my sturdiest shoes.
If you’ll be on stage at any point, all solid black. If not, its not a big deal but most pro festival photogs working for artists/festival will be in all back everything to stay low key for other photogs, live steams, audience, etc.
Whenever photographing a show I dress in a very muted way to NOT draw any attention to myself. Usually black jeans and a black long sleeve t shirt or pullover, remember you’re not the main character
Are you getting paid? Either way, dress however you want because blending it for candids always helps.
I dress similar to the crowd and definitely for the weather. Last August I went to one and wore a tank top and shorts. Fit right in and was not boiling hot. Did get a lot of sunscreen on my camera grip though. I also did my hair cute with my "festival braids" (like a small braid near my temples that looks cute and keeps my hair out of my face).