How To Create Concert Photo Books (And How To Make Your Concert Photographs Better)

Concerts are the best way to get up close and personal with your favourite artists. Oftentimes, they are an ethereal experience, filling you and thousands of other people with an almost delirious joy. This is a joy that resonates long after the gig is finished, too. It lingers in the vibrations in your bones, the ringing in your ears that remains for hours after the encore. They are an event unlike any other, and photographs are the best way to keep that ringing in your ears alive. 

But what do you do with these photographs once the experience is over? Whilst some people go to the effort of printing them out and sticking together a concert scrapbook, others are merely content to let social media platforms like Facebook or Instagram do the talking. Both ways have their own merits, but there is a third option which combines the two and can allow you to give those memories the special treatment that they deserve. 

How To Create A Concert Photo Book

Concert photo books are essentially a middle ground between scrapbooks and social media. You can have all of the comments and likes from Facebook and Instagram printed into a physical book, which can be placed on the coffee table and flicked through whenever you want. What’s more, they’re easy. You only need 2 clicks to create a photo book, and there are plenty of ways to make them similar in style to the traditional, PVA glue-scented scrap books if you’re passionate about the format. 

For instance, one of the best parts of any gig scrapbook are the concert tickets that are stored inside. While you can’t exactly glue your tickets into your photo book, you can make sure to take pictures. In terms of organising your photo book, you can then section every concert into chapters, each of which are introduced by the appropriate tickets. This is a great way to give your book some coherency and order, allowing you to know exactly what concert you are looking at as you turn over the pages.

Apart from that, all you need is some good gig photography. Something that will wow the reader and really capture the atmosphere of the whole experience. For those of you who are not the best at this, here are a few tricks to get your photography ready for the glossy treatment:

Take Pictures Outside The Venue

A big part of what makes gigs special is the collective atmosphere and energy amongst the concert goers. A great way to photograph this energy is to actually start snapping before the gig has even begun. Take pictures outside the venue. Try to capture the excitement in the queue and, if you’re feeling brave, ask some fellow concert goers to have their picture taken with you. You’ll be sure to capture the bubbling tension, and you might even make a few more friends when you’re doing it!

Get As Close To The Front As Possible

When it comes to gig photography, you don’t want to be left with something that demands imagination. While you can claim that the vague, hazy blur in the distance is Ed Sheeran, you’ll be far better off getting closer to take a picture which is beyond all doubt. Try to get into the venue as early as possible to nab the front row. Move close to the centre, too, as this will give you a wide range of photo opportunities during the whole set.

Utilise Your Phone Settings

The best gigs feel like they fly by, so be ready to capture moments you may otherwise have missed by utilising your phone settings. Turning your camera onto “burst mode”, for instance, is a great way to snap multiple shots at once, alleviating low-light issues and ensuring at least one photograph will capture a perfect moment.

Take The Crowd Into Account

It’s not just onstage-antics that are so exciting about gigs, but what’s happening in the crowd. Try to turn around every so often and capture the energy and passion of the people around you. This is also a great way to break up onstage photographs and give every scene a bit of context in your photo book.

Put The Phone Down!

This may seem a bit left field for an article like this, but it’s important that (when you’ve captured all the photographs you need for your photo book) you remember to put your phone away and enjoy the moment. The whole point of a gig is to watch your favourite artist perform and feel the buzz of the music. This is best achieved without watching it through a screen, so remember to enjoy the gig in the present so you can revisit the emotions in the future.