#ShootFromThePit
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to shoot a sold out concert in a packed arena?
If so, what feelings came along with this thought?
If you’re anything like me and most others that I’ve spoken with, you probably had feelings of excitement, awe, and wonder… immediately followed by a cocktail of feelings including key ingredients such as anxiety, doubt, and fear.
“Could I pull it off?” … “Do I have what it takes?” … “Where would I even start?” … “What if my shots aren’t good?”
* Let me stop you right there. *
Whatever you’re currently doing, open a new tab in your browser and go to www.shootfromthepit.com right now and add this page to your favorites.
This past weekend, I had the pleasure of attending a “Shoot From The Pit” workshop with David Bergman in Sunrise, FL at the FLA Live Arena and I was frankly blown away with the entire experience.
Here’s a simplified look at what you can expect:
Check in.
Security briefing with Ken (He’s a bad ass, by the way.)
Intros with David and the other workshop attendees.
Spend a couple of hours talking basics, equipment, advanced concepts, and business.
Tour the venue to get a better feel for what will be happening and where you should position yourself throughout the night.
Last minute questions before the opening act hits the stage.
Cue the music, get pumped, it’s GO TIME!
After all is said and done, head back to the photo room, debrief, and head home. You’re tired but still wired!
David Bergman is an absolute wealth of knowledge and a phenomenal photographer. As is with most of us, his work speaks for itself. He’s worked with a myriad of people and companies over the years that quite frankly are too long to list. His credentials rival Santa Claus’ naughty list in terms of sheer length. Currently, he is the tour photographer for country music superstar Luke Combs. Luke is in the middle of his “What You See Is What You Get” tour and David is simultaneously covering that tour while putting on these once in a lifetime workshops. However, beyond being an absolute pro, David shines in his ability to make everyone feel welcome and comfortable as if just conversing with friends. This is huge and can’t be understated.
Now, let me be upfront and transparent when I say this; I have never attended a photography workshop before so my sample size is entirely too small to make any sort of comparison to others, however, I can say without a shadow of a doubt that the “Shoot From The Pit” workshop is worth every single penny. I entered the workshop with a strong foundation and great working knowledge of photography and I was still able to put on my “student cap” and learn a bunch from David. Some of it was conceptual, some of it was more “tricks of the trade” type things, but all in all it was a great time. Also, as a big bonus, David is hilarious. Nothing would have ruined this experience faster than a stale teacher, but David (or Bergman as everyone on the tour calls him) is definitely not stale. He’s knowledgeable, professional, funny, engaging, and most of all… willing to help!
To see more photos that I made at this workshop, head over to my Instagram and check them out!
Keep an eye on the blog as I am going to revisit concert photography and share some tips with you that I picked up as the night roared on!
-MA
