Respect the Artists, Respect the Press

Tori Bilcik, ’17 / Emertainment Monthly Staff Writer

“I didn’t pay $20 to stare at the back of your head all night.”
“Try paying for your tickets like everybody else!”
“I wonder what she had to do to get that photo pass.”
“I bet I can do her job. It seems easy enough.”
These are just a few of the completely outrageous remarks that were shouted at me from behind my back as I photographed The Story So Far’s set at Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel earlier this month. They stopped in Providence on their tour with The Wonder Years, and let’s just say the crowd was less than pleased with how many photographers were allowed between the barriers and the stage that night. It got to a point that the people at the entrance to the photo pit linked arms and formed a barrier to block photographers from entering.
Guys, I get it. It sucks to see people waltz up to the front of the stage when you have been waiting in line for hours. I’ve been there. But you know what else sucks? Only being allowed a press pass if you agree to pay for your tickets, which means you can’t experience the show from a fan’s perspective. We’re responsible for hundreds, even thousands, of dollars of equipment, so we can’t mosh, or crowd surf, or participate in other pop punk cultural trademarks like you can. On top of that, the show doesn’t end after the headliner’s encore. The fans go home, post about it online, and that’s that. Photographers, however, have hours upon hours of editing and watermarking to look forward to. And chances are, bands are going to steal your photos anyway. You’re paying the price of a fan to attend a show as a professional. It’s totally worth it, but the road to the guest list is tough.
I, along with just about every photographer I’ve ever met, had to do this for years before I built a photography portfolio that established enough credibility to be eligible for the guest list. So don’t ever think that a photographer doesn’t deserve that front-row spot for 10 minutes. We work a lot harder than you think, and most young concert photographers don’t get paid.
But what made me the angriest was when these ignorant comments were followed by the same group of girls shrieking at lead vocalist Parker Canon to “make my babies” and “please take your shirt off.” The problem is, some girls like this actually will go and start reaching out to publicists and try and build a photography portfolio. But a lot of times, they can’t shake the frenzied fan girl mindset. This makes it extremely hard for women to be taken seriously in the music industry. Fan girl as you wish, but please leave it out of the photo pit.
At the show, the aggressive comments behind our backs got so intense that security asked all of the press to stand behind a closed bar for the rest of everyone’s performances. This was upsetting in itself, but what was even more frustrating was that security was allowing dozens of girls to shove past the barrier and take photos and videos with their phones for songs and songs at a time. If a guy shoved past, security grabbed them by the shirt and got them back in the crowd in a heartbeat. But the girls were allowed to stay, screaming the same sexualized comments at Canon and blocking everyone’s views with their phones. First of all, the professionals were being sent away to an area where we could not see the show even though we did nothing wrong, yet these frenzied girls was allowed to break the rules to get a better view. Second, security’s decision to allow these girls to behave this way and invade the photo area only perpetrates the idea that fan girls can get whatever they want without any consequences (remember that time a girl shoved passed security, got on stage, and kissed Canon?). This is off-putting to a lot of artists when it comes to booking meet-and-greet events, interviews, or any scenario that makes them easily accessible to the public.
At the end of the day, my whole point in telling you about my worst experience photographing a show is to try and make you understand. I want you to understand that photographers didn’t just magically wind up in the front row. I want you to understand that our passion for concert photography sparked while we were standing in a crowd just like the one you’re in. But I also want you to understand that unless you can snap a photograph of your favorite band members without sexualizing them, no, you can’t just decide to do my job.