Every year the barrier of entry for music photography seems to get lower. This isn't a bad thing, in fact I think it's awesome. But what it means is that the number of people working toward becoming music photographers is much higher. It's not an uncommon thing to be a music photographer these days, and there are thousands upon thousands of us.

Cameras that can perform in low-light are no longer super expensive, starter prime lenses can be bought for cheap, and it's easier than ever to start working for a publication of any size and get photo passes for shows. Boom! You're in.

I often hear photographers complain about other photographers who are undercutting their prices or offering to do jobs for free to get the experience. It's a very real issue but the fact of the matter is that there are people out there willing to pay music photographers. If you're being undercut for a gig, yeah that sucks, but if you're working with the people you want to be working for - the ones that value your work - you can meet your personal definition of success and also create work that you will be proud of.

The artists I work for don't just value having "someone" out there to take photos, they want the right person. Every musician has an artistic vision for how they want their band to be represented, and some have higher standards than others.

There are thousands of aspiring music photographers out there and standing out from the crowd isn't easy. This isn't a tell-all blog post for how to become successful but I wanted to share a few things that helped me get to a place where the bands I work for see me as a valuable asset of their team.

Oh, and in this post I'm talking about working directly for bands. That was my goal and that's who I typically shoot for, so I just want to make that clear!

#1 - Make it Art

It's photography! If you want to stand out, do it differently. There's obviously huge subjective arguments as to what makes a good and bad photo and you can spend years at an art school becoming knowledgable about this. But fact of the matter is you should be proud of your photos, and hopefully they will feel like they are uniquely yours. I try to be a really good photographer. I try to get unique angles, catch the most exciting, fun, and memorable moments, and edit in a style that I not only love, but also hopefully makes my images recognizable.