My first ever proper pit show – The Amity Affliction back in 2020. As soon as the lights went down, standing in anticipation between the screams of the fans and the feet of the artist, I knew I’d never want to do anything else. The adrenaline, the constant challenges, the absolute need to be present and hyper-aware of everything around me… it unleashed a side of myself as a creative I never knew existed until then.

Yungblud would be absolutely incredible! His presence both off and on stage, relentless energy and fierce passion for everything he does would be a dream to capture.

@ashndhk !!

@paigeinfilm

@sociallydesigned

My interest in music photography brings together two passions that have developed at different stages of my life. As an amateur classical musician, my background gave me a deep appreciation for live performances, the dedication of musicians, and the atmosphere of concerts. During the COVID-19 pandemic, I took up photography as a hobby and used the
time to learn how to operate my camera. As my confidence grew, I found myself enjoying the challenge of photographing concerts in low light while capturing the excitement, emotion, and atmosphere of each performance. Music photography has since become a rewarding creative outlet and a way for me to relax while enjoying concerts from a different perspective.
It has also introduced me to a wonderful community of people, including artists, lighting designers, production crews and fellow creatives, allowing me to continue learning while contributing to the live music scene.

I’d love the opportunity to work with artists from a wide range of genres and backgrounds. Every performance has its own story, creative vision, and unique atmosphere to capture. While photographing the performance is exciting, what interests me just as much is capturing the work that happens behind the scenes. I enjoy working alongside lighting designers and production crews to understand the creative vision behind each tour and how lighting, staging, and visual effects come together to create an unforgettable experience. I’ve come to appreciate how much the production team shapes the atmosphere and experience of every concert. Every concert presents new creative opportunities, and learning the thinking behind the lighting and stage design helps. For me, concert photography is about telling the complete story—not just the artist on stage, but also the atmosphere, emotion,
and teamwork that bring each performance to life. If I had to choose one dream artist, it would be Coldplay. Beyond their music, I admire their commitment to making large-scale concerts more environmentally sustainable through innovative production and touring practices. I also respect their transparency in publicly reporting their sustainability progress and sharing both their achievements and the challenges of reducing the environmental impact of live touring.

@dlwebbsmith

@julie_kimpton_artist

@sarahevisuals_

I loved music growing up as if it was my entire personality, and in year 10 when I had to focus my subjects a bit more seriously, I dropped  Visual communication Design in favour for Studio Arts – Photography, fell in love, it became my obsession. A few months into that year 2010, my friends all started these underground gigs in Thornbury out the back of a community co-op kind of thing and one thing led to the next and I became that music photographer girl and have carried that to this day. The sense of community, the fun vibes and the nitty gritty of it all is why I love it so much.

I would absolutely love to work with Paramore,I’ve been a big fan forever, but their live performances are incredible,I’ve seen them every time they’ve been in aus since 2010, ( my first festival, Soundwave) watching the show grow and change and move through the venues around Melbourne, has been a delight. To capture a band who mean the world to me would be just awesome but also to capture people doing their thing that makes them happy, is literally what I wake up every day to do.

My work sista Tiffany Garvie @TJGarviePhotography we’ve been friends for a long time now and we always bounce ideas and collaborate on a variety of work, both in the live music space covering festivals together and the indigenous community space, could have a better friend in my corner for support! 

Another beautiful Deadly photographer I want to highlight is Grace Auld, @graceauldphotography they cover alot of music but also theater and creative arts performances as well as also being mob, they are a friendly face in the room at many events, also having the pleasure to work alongside them on many shows! 

I recommend Lucinda Goodwin – total babe, good soul and does some absolutely amazing work, mentoring, hosting workshops, talking at panels and making some fantastic images!  @lucindagoodwinphotography 

Honestly, I kind of fell into it. I’d spent about six years shooting portraits and weddings when a friend from school started a band, so I started photographing his shows. I quickly realised I loved the energy of live music and how unpredictable it is. You never really know what’s going to happen, and I love being in that fast paced environment, trying to anticipate and capture a moment that might only exist for a split second. The pulsating energy in the room, the lights, the movement, the artist feeding off the crowd, I found myself really drawn to trying to translate all of that into a single frame.

I think the funny thing is that I never really set out to become a music photographer. I just kept finding myself drawn back to it, and the more I did it, the more it felt like it was exactly what I was meant to do.

5 Seconds of Summer ! I was first introduced to them in 2013 when they were the openers for One Direction and I have been listening to them ever since. Their latest album/era heavily leans into a boyband motif, which could be interpreted as a little tongue in cheek, poking fun at their own image in a maximalist style. I like the aspect of them embracing the pigeon hole people have put them in over the past 14 years of being “the boyband that wants to pretend they’re so edgy and punk rock” and creating a concept album that is satirical and a caricature version of themselves. To me they are artists using their creativity to the max without thinking of commercial success and not being afraid to take risks and switch things up. They seem the most confident they’ve ever been, whilst at the same time still being 4 best mates having fun.

https://www.instagram.com/kjdoyle?igsh=MjlsejF6bnNtdnc=

https://www.instagram.com/darcygossmedia?igsh=NW41dng2b3U0OXIy

https://www.instagram.com/eliseabotomey?igsh=MW1laGx3ZnRqd2JlZg==

I was always into photography but had no clue what I could do with it so after school, I went to study graphic design in Perth. I moved from a small town three hours south of Perth, but moving helped me discover the world of live music. I started going to music events as a fan at first, and I loved it so much that I felt inspired to capture the energy of the performers and the enjoyers. I started bringing my point and shoot film camera to gigs and people started liking the photos I was taking. I remember discovering perth photographer Dan Hildebrand, who used to photograph for Spacey Jane primarily using film photography. He was closely involved with the film lab that I started going to. I loved his photos so I bought his magazine and i felt really inspired to start doing music photography more and to learn more about it. I love to capture the energy of these live events. It was from there that I started to explore music photography myself using my sisters old camera, and here we are about four years later, doing it as a full time gig! 

This is a tricky one! There are so many incredible artists that I would love to photograph. Artists like Harry Styles, Olivia Rodrigo, Chappell Roan and Olivia Dean. These artists would be so incredible to photograph, their costumes/outfits, stage design and lighting I just know would be so special and fun to capture. As well as the fans, they add another dimension to these shows. I just know these artists would be so incredible to work along side.

This is so hard, there are so many amazing female photographers out there!! (apologies this is more than 3!)

AUS:

Eloise Coomber – http://instagram.com/eloisecoomber/

Kelsey Doyle – https://www.instagram.com/kjdoyle/

Jess Gleeson – https://www.instagram.com/jessgleeson/

Jenna Elson – https://www.instagram.com/jennaelson/

INTERNATIONAL:

Amanda – https://www.instagram.com/amandabfilms/

Music, to me, is magic. I’ve been a singer-songwriter for as long as I can remember and writing and performing music has always made me come alive like nothing else. At the same time, I have been throwing cameras in people’s faces and have been obsessed with documenting life in images and words since I was a small child. We had a dark room in high school and taking and developing photos opened up a whole new, beautiful world. The thought had never crossed my mind that I could combine these two loves. Despite carrying a camera with me everywhere, I never saw myself as a “real” photographer. I moved to Darwin in 2017 and for the first time became a full-time creative and didn’t give myself the option of a back up plan. I was at a Horrorshow gig, overcome with emotion, and for the first time, really noticed the guy running around with a camera. It was like a cartoon lightbulb moment. I ran over and asked him who he was shooting for and how he got that job. When he replied it was for a media company called Foldback Magazine I took a bit of liberty with the truth and confidently told him I was a music photographer and asked if they needed another photographer. Despite knowing absolutely nothing about music photography, I booked my first job the next week. The first of hundreds of “jump first, ask questions later” moments in this career. The very first show I shot was Birdz and Omar Musa and it took that one gig to find that the joy of capturing the feeling, emotion, connection and energy of a show is on par with actually making music myself. It makes me come alive. I recently found a note that I wrote when I was 8. It outlined what I wanted to be when I grew up. 1- Singer-songwriter 2- Photographer 3- Actor and 4- Go to the Olympics for 3 Day Eventing (horse riding). Pretty cool that (despite not getting remotely close to my Olympic dream and only dabbling in my acting throughout my life) I’m lucky enough to have made a career out of both music and photography and genuinely love every part of what I call work. 

Doechii or The Weeknd for the huge, spectacular, cinematic lighting, music and choreography. Sophia Isella for the absolute masterpiece that is her live performance. Dermot Kennedy or Lizzie McAlpine for the chance to capture the pure magic they emit. But honestly my favourite thing is being part of the journey of up-and-coming artists. @chloegillmusicc, @haranamusicc and @elmineisa to name a few. I love the feeling of watching people play the smallest stages they will ever play and the excitement of knowing the heights they could scale to.

There are so many photographers that inspire the hell out of me in this industry. But 3 you should check out are:

@sunflower_sessions_photography – Exudes love, passion, light and art

@byravyna – Beautifully cinematic photographer, videographer and film production designer

@sociallydesigned – Hugely creative graphic designer, illustrator and photographer

@gxbriellemxry – Gorgeous photography of music, moments and sparkle 

@riah.jaye – Lovely storyteller via photo and video in both the music and travel space

Sorry, hard to limit to three when there are so many talented women to choose from 😉