Music Photographers?

I have been branching out into music photography over the last year. I would like to start getting assignments and paying gigs from bands.

How do I get my name in the door at music publications? What should I submit? What publications are friendly to new photographers?

Your best bet would be to build up a music-related portfolio, first... go to some gigs, take some great shots, then go to more gigs, and take some more shots, then go to some more gigs, and show the band/management/label the shots you took at their last gig.

Thanks Tim. I have been persuing that path and done exactly what you said. I am now to the point I want to get assignments from the music industry magazines and online sites. I wasn't sure whether any members here get work from those sorts of places. You can see a lot of my music photographs on my web site. Ryan Cabrera at the Rams Head Live in Baltimore was my latest shoot. I got a photo pass from Atlantic Records.

Have you been able to sell some shots to the mags and sites yet? Once they're buying from you on a semi-regular basis, that's your "in". ;)

So far no sales. I have been adding the images to my stock collection. I now need to contact music mags. Do they accept unsolicited submissions? Do they hire new freelancers they don't know already?

There's only 1 way to start. ;)

You may want to consider cutting down the number of photos you have on your site to include only the absolute best portion of your work. Having blurry, poorly lit photos on your site will only detract from your other work. For a professional site, I'd suggest posting only images you'd expect a client to buy. Which would eliminate any photo that is not critically sharp or poorly lit, unless for completely obvious artistic purposes.

Hello Mr.Rowe, the first thing I would do is get some decent pictures. Most of yours are blurry, out of focus and have every "no no" in the photography rule book. I would study up on composition and not just bullseye every shot. Overall your images look amateur and thats probably why you aren't getting paid. I'm just trying to be honest, hope I didn't offend you too much!:lol:

Hi Mr. Rowe,

Im kinda new to the world of Photographing, so i dont know if this is the place to ask but ill go ahead anyway...

I was looking at your website, your pictures of the Bon Jovi concert;

how do you take the picture where hees sitting down with his guitar, with Richie on the background?

The room is very dark, and some lights are pointed at the stage, how do you take such a picture without it getting unsharp? i take it you cant use a tri-pod, because your in the crowd... I was just wondering that

Thanks
Sebastiaan

Check out a book called "The Photographer's Market"

It has listings of thousands of magazines along with their submission guidlines. It should be available at your local bookstore, or at Amazon.

Hello Mr.Rowe, the first thing I would do is get some decent pictures. Most of yours are blurry, out of focus and have every "no no" in the photography rule book. I would study up on composition and not just bullseye every shot. Overall your images look amateur and thats probably why you aren't getting paid. I'm just trying to be honest, hope I didn't offend you too much!:lol:
Best, most honest advice ever given. Much appreciated! I have thick skin. Your honesty is valuable. I have been meaning to prune down the images on my site. The most recent ones are the best technically (sharp, colors, etc), but I am still honing my composition and "right moment" skills to try and keep the mike away from the mouth, capture the eyes open, etc.

Thanks much for the feedback!

Check out a book called "The Photographer's Market"

It has listings of thousands of magazines along with their submission guidlines. It should be available at your local bookstore, or at Amazon.
Thanks. I have that. I will look for music outlets in there. In the past, I primarily used it for nature, wildlife and travel outlets.