1. The document discusses an interview with Christie Goodwin, an acclaimed British music photographer. 2. It describes how she captured an iconic live image of the heavy metal band Lamb of God's frontman pouring water over himself in only 3 seconds during her allotted time to shoot three songs. 3. Christie discusses the challenges of live music photography like unpredictable lighting and movement on stage, and emphasizes being prepared while also instinctual and flexible without plans to capture the essence of live performances.

1. 60 PRACTICAL PHOTOGRAPHY PRACTICALPHOTOGRAPHY.COM 61
Pro Insight
noise
Feelthe
How this shot
was created
Not even deafening volume and kicks to the head
were enough to stop Christie Goodwin from grabbing
this iconic live music image. Here’s the inside scoop...
Christie Goodwin is an acclaimed British
photographer whose career spans over 30 years.
A graduate of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, she
now works as a tour and portrait photographer, and
her images regularly appear on CDs and DVDs.
christiegoodwin.com

2. Christie talks kit
“I know my camera like it’s a part of my body. I use
it, but couldn’t explain how it does what it does…”
Cameras & lenses
For an editorial shoot like this, which is usually only
three songs, I’ll pack my two Canon 5D MkIII bodies,
24-70mm and 70-200mm lenses, and some extra memory cards and
batteries just in case one of them fails. Oh, and earplugs! I like to travel
light to gigs like this as there isn’t usually
a lot of space to safely store your gear.
When I shoot a full show for the artist I’ll
pack some extra lenses.
62 PRACTICAL PHOTOGRAPHY PRACTICALPHOTOGRAPHY.COM 63
Pro Insight
F
ast,creativeandalittlebit
crazy is how Christie describes
herself in her online biog. And
given her line of work, we’re
guessing all three of these
attributes come in very handy,
especially when dealing with
thebiggestrecordingartistsontheplanet.But
eventhebestmusicphotographerssometimes
havetoconformtothe‘threesongs’rulewhen
shooting bands in the flesh, a time-honoured
limitation that draws on every last ounce of
talentandintuition.Especiallywhentheband
in question specialises in pure aggression...
How long have you been a music
photographer?
I’vebeenaphotographerforover30yearsbut
made the move into music photography in
2005. I started in fashion and then editorial,
but music was always something I wanted to
shoot.AfriendpassedmynametoStatusQuo’s
managementandtheirmanagercalledme,but
Ithoughtitwasajokeandhungup.Goodthing
he called back! They gave me a chance, and I
slowly built my new career from there.
What’s the story behind this rather
sweat-soaked image?
Lamb of God are an American heavy metal
band and shooting them is a challenge. Their
musiccertainlyisn’tforthefaint-hearted–it’s
like a machine gun tripping on bludgeoning
bass kicks that leave you partially deaf. Their
frontman, Randy Blythe, jumps across the
stage like a maniac, hyping up the crowd, and
in response you get crowd surfers kicking you
in the head while you attempt to keep up with
whathappensonstage.Randyregularlypours
water over himself to cool off and then shakes
it off like a wet dog. On this occasion I was
shootingforpressandhadthreesongssothere
was no guarantee that I’d be able to capture
him doing this. I was focused on Randy from
thefirstnote,butbasicallyhad3secondstoget
the shot and then it’s all over. I got it!
To what extent can you plan this kind
of image?
There are no guarantees when it comes to live
music.IwaspreparedinthesensethatIknew
ifRandypickedupabottleofwater,therewas
a chance this would happen.
What are the main challenges of live
music photography?
The constantly changing lighting means you
have to make educated guesses all the time.
Theon-stageclutterisalwaysadistractiontoo.
But mostly it’s the unpredictability; you never
know what’s going to happen next, or where
andwhenthemusiciansaregoingtomove,and
security when they have to pull rowdy people
out of the crowd while you need that same
space to shoot what’s happening on stage.
Do you shoot with editorial in mind?
I aim to take 50% portrait and 50% landscape
if possible, and I try to get a couple of good
headshots of the singer, where the head fills
only part of the frame so there’s space for text
or a title. There are times when I shoot both
editorialandfortheartist,andwhenthat’sthe
caseIoftenusethefirstthreesongsforeditorial
and switch to more creative angles after that.
What people consider editorial often limits
creativity;fortunatelywhentheartisthiresme
they give me complete freedom.
What camera techniques were involved?
In the pit I work on instinct. Overthinking
shotsusuallymeansyou’llmissthebestshotof
thenight.Mymaintechniqueisneverfightthe
lighting conditions; I try to work with what’s
there. I start with aperture at f/2.8 and ISO at
1600, and only in extremely dark conditions
will I change that. What I do change often is
the shutter speed, and every couple of frames
I’ll change the focus points. This is the total
oppositeofastudioshoot–there’snotime,and
youhavenocontroloverthepeopleyoushoot,
the set or the lights. There’s no magic camera
settingforconcertphotography,soyouhaveto
know your camera, and only then can you
constantly adapt without having to think.
How much time do you typically get to
shoot a band?
You usually get the annoying ‘three songs, no
flash’ deal, but there are artists who usher you
outafteronesongandotherswho’rehappyfor
you to shoot five songs. When I work for the
artist I shoot the whole show from all angles,
which is the ideal situation. The ‘three song’
deal has no valid reasoning behind it. I always
give Jimi Hendrix’s guitar burning as an
example.Noonewouldhaveknownaboutitif
at that time the ‘three song’ rule had been in
place, as that happened at the end of his show.
Themostlivelyandiconicpicturesareusually
takeninthesecondhalfoftheshow–the‘three
song’ rule doesn’t do anybody any favours.
Do you research the bands you shoot?
Almost never. I like to approach it with a
childlikeinnocence–whenyouknowtoomuch
you tend to forget to really see what is there.
What do you look for in a live music
image?
You should be able to hear the music and feel
the excitement; it should transport you to the
show,tothemoment.Ithinkallofthatisinthis
shot.Thatsaid,Idon’tlikeoveranalysingashot
andlyricallydescribingmyownwork.Ilikethis
one, but people who know me well know I’m
extremelycriticalofmyownphotosandmove
onveryquicklytothenextshoot.I’mstilltrying
to get the perfect shot; it’s what drives me.
Was there any post-processing?
InthisparticularpictureIjustaddedatinybit
ofshadowinLightroom.IhatePhotoshop,it’s
tooaggressive,neveruseit,Idon’tevenhaveit
on my computer. For music photos I try to be
verygentle–Igenerallyjusttouchwhitesand
shadowsinLightroom,unlessit’soneofthose
gigs where they only brought blue and red
lights because they think it looks cool. For a
photographerthoseareaheadache–youhave
to fiddle a lot with the colours to get a decent
picture when it’s blue or red light.
How can Practical Photography
readers get a shot like this?
Whenshootinglivemusicyoumustbepatient
despite the time constraint – feel the music,
understand the artist, become one with the
performance. People often ask me how to get
started in music photography. Thing is, the
rules have changed. It’s tougher and tougher
togetaccess.Everythingstartswithbuildinga
portfolio and being extremely critical of your
work. Apply for passes, look for venues with
half-decent lighting rigs, find a new local
young band and ask if you can follow them
around and maybe offer them some free shots
for their social networking. Just find ways to
shoot and build a portfolio and learn the craft,
then get paid for what you do as soon as you
can. And just like any other job, keep learning
and improving if you want to succeed.
Three key techniques Christie uses in her shot
1 Push ISO to the extreme
The image quality v sharpness dilemma is one that all low light
photographers face – do you push ISO and increase noise, knowing that
shutter speeds will be faster, or do you keep ISO low and chance your arm
with slower shutter speeds and less noise? Christie opted for the former.
2 Shoot wide open
At your lens’ maximum aperture – f/2.8 in Christie’s case – depth-of-
field is shallow and focusing has to be precise, but your lens will allow more
light to hit the sensor. This is essential for live music/low light situations.
3 Use single-point AF focusing
Practise changing AF points without looking at your camera and
familiarise yourself with the buttons so that selecting AF points becomes an
intuitive process. When the lights go down, you won’t have time to look!
1 2
3
What Christie is shooting now
It’s been an exciting year! I’ve toured with Katy Perry and shot Ed Sheeran several
times, while also working with legends such as James Taylor and Jackson Browne. I
love that variety. Early next year I’ll be back on the road with Joe Bonamassa, who I’ve
been working with for 5 years. I love being on the road. It’s the most rewarding and, at
the same time, toughest part of the job because you don’t sleep much. There’s this
romantic, adventurous notion about life on the road, and very little of it’s true. Two hours
after the show you’re on a bus to the next city, editing photos, maybe getting a couple
of hours of uncomfortable
sleep in a small bunk. You
get to the hotel in the next
town at 5 in the morning or,
if it’s a long drive, you head
straight to the next venue.
There’s a lot of sitting
around waiting, and
because you never know
when the iconic shot will
present itself, you can’t
really switch off. Nobody
parties wild because
there’s no time and we’re
all too knackered. But I
love it. I’ve been fortunate
to spend many bus rides in
very good company.
“I basically had
3 seconds to get the
shot and then it’s all
over. I got it!”
Top & above Christie has toured with singer/songwriter
Katy Perry and blues rock guitarist Joe Bonamassa.