Concert photography with your phone
Most concert venues don't allow professional equipment — but your smartphone is enough for beautiful photos.
Basic settings
- HDR off — can distort under concert lighting
- Flash off — ineffective at distance anyway, and it's distracting
- Video stabilization on — if you're also recording video
Composition
Lighting
- The best moments come during lighting changes
- Look for high-contrast scenes
- Catch the singer's face in the spotlight
Video
- Maximum 30-60 second clips — nobody rewatches 5-minute videos
- Hold horizontally — not vertically!
- The audio will be bad — but the video is about the memory
Sharing
- Use the event hashtag
- Tag the venue and the artist
- Share the best shots immediately — freshness matters
The most important thing
Don't watch the entire concert through your phone! Take a few shots, then put it away and enjoy the experience.
