I told you it could be a while, we actually ended up in France with no internet and not really much of a care in the world… eating cakes, walking through nice chatteu… um… chatteu.. err, large houses that rich people own?

France has many rock gods and some cheese...

So, Part one touched on what you are here reading this for, part two was “yeah, but what do I photograph a band with” part three was getting that commission and what happens when you’re there, shooting it – exciting times.

Today, part four, we’re all about now that you’ve got 67,000 images of rocking related stuff, what the devil do you do with them?

This is going to be part technical and will brush over what I’ve previously talked about with regards to backing your stuff up, and it’s also going to move into the bit you’re actually after – selling, making cash and still loving music photography!

So, yes, you’ve shot your first gig… you’ve broken out of the pub circuit – though, don’t ever let that go, it’s what made you, remember! – and you have your first folder full of images from “The Squawking Gherkin” (That’s a band name I just dreamed up, right) You had permission from the venue, you had your three minutes, the lighting wasn’t awful and you have a handful of shots that could be used for promotion or for an article… but how?

So, let’s think back to when I told you to find out who these bands are and to stalk the fellas on Facebook and MySpace? yep… did you do it? Did they add you back? — Yes, what a shock, that’s because they, like you, are after getting known about and adding people on MySpace and FaceAche is free and builds your fan base… So, get busy on those images – make sure they look as good as they possibly can!

TIP: Shoot in RAW. You don’t have to, if you’re awesome and your white balance is always bang on etc etc – shoot in jpg… but I never do… I always shoot in RAW. Why? It’s a lot easier to concentrate on your composition, what the band are doing and when to fire if you’re not super worrying about your WB …and a few other things! Exposure is important and tough! I most always shoot in “SPOT” exposure meter mode…

So, you’ve made those images shine – cropped out random crowd heads, mic stands sitting on their own – sometimes they add, mostly they don’t… Ultra bright lights shining back off the front of the stage, sometimes they add, sometimes they don’t… It’s all about what you like as a photographer, and what the band that you’re photographing are after doesn’t it! – Great, you’re now ready to get in touch with the people you photographed and offer them some images, but there are two schools of thought here…

1. You’re new, so you offer the images free to help you build up a name (This is what I did, but…)
2. If you don’t start charging from the outset, you’re going to have a very hard time charging later on in the piece (This is what I should have done!…)

So, do you charge or don’t you? nobody can decide this for you – it all comes down to having a product worth charging for, do you?

The Specials | London 2009

You email, they like your stuff, they reply… WHAT NOW! How much do you charge? Well, we’ll look at this next time! I just have to post this, it’s been too long… I need coffee!!… arghhh!!

Go listen to some music – see you in a few days! – Part Five will be a dedicated “How to rake in the cash” post… OK…