My Photography at the fringe
I know that I may get it in the neck from the professional photographers here at the fringe but I believe that in general terms a show does not need a paid photographer. There are quite a few photographers in Edinburgh during festival time and probably more than you know.
The way I work is by offering to sit in a performance and take photographs of the show. I will normally take between 200 and 500 pictures in 50 to 60 minutes. I process these photographs, which can take quite a while, and then publish relatively low resolution pictures in my FringeReview gallery.
These are then available for anyone on the web to view and also for the production to use for social media and elsewhere for publicity purposes. There is also a high resolution version available for purchase online from my website. I work this way so that I can take photographs that they can be freely use without payment.
I am not paid to be there to take photographs so I’m not required to produce a particular picture, all the photographs are mine and remain so. These are photographs which I licence without payment, for use by those pictured or part of the production. On the other hand if anyone buys one of my pictures it’s because they want to, having seen the picture. In short I sell what I produce not offer a paid service.
This approach means there’s a lot of work for me of varied subject matter which I enjoy. I almost always choose what I photograph based upon the subject matter and the nature of how I’m approached. However, I’m not saying that it is wrong to pay someone to photograph your show. If you have a budget for show photography, yes engage a photographer and instruct them on what you want, and make sure you get what you pay for. There a some great photographers around. My message is that if you’re here struggling for money you don’t need to pay for a photographer, be open to the other options.
