How I Became A Concert Photographer

When I was little, I was surrounded by music. My dad’s side of the family was always musical, so I was taught to continue that legacy.

Growing up playing guitar made me fond of music, and I performed occasionally with the bands in my school district. Photography was always a passion of mine — capturing people, moments, or even squirrels in a park.

I always joked about having a bad memory, and my desire was to eternalize the moment. I wanted to keep these moments and memories forever, capturing every striking detail and every passing second for eternity. Especially music and the things I’m passionate about or love.

I felt like I was born to be a concert-goer, but was never allowed to because my parents wouldn’t let me for a couple of reasons. Usually, it was a school night and I had to be home early to get rest for the day ahead. I saw videos of concerts and asked myself: “What if I put my love for music and photography together?”

I borrowed my aunt’s camera (a Canon T3I) and started going to thrift-store pop-ups, taking pictures there — or, as I mentioned earlier, more pictures of squirrels. Around this time, I was exploring more and more how “actual” cameras worked. But I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with this newfound power. So, I practiced with this DSLR for a while.

Fast forwarding after a while of practice, and then the day came when I bought the camera I use now — the Sony A7IV.

Literally the day after I got my hands on the A7IV, some staff at ZUMIX (a youth non-profit I participated in) told me we had media credentials to some shows in Boston. I built up the courage and said yes. I shot my first concert less than a month after getting my own first camera.

That show was Teddy Swims. The first concert photography rush was pushing against my fears, and the energy of the crowd blending with the raw power of the music made everything ease my nerves. Every second counted down as my last three songs ended. I stayed for the rest of the show, as I liked Teddy Swims and it was one of my first couples of concerts I’d ever been to. This gave me a glimpse into how photography could capture the soul of a live experience, turning noise and motion into a powerful visual story.

So I set out to cover more shows and gain more experience. ZUMIX gave me passes to go and cover three more shows: Justice, Khruangbin and Out Loud Boston 2025. This experience was not only surreal, but led to an article being written about my experience here.

But I needed to self-advocate for press passes. So with the help of some of the work I previously did and really sweet conversations with new friends and those close to me, I began to do press work for Allston Pudding.

Up to publishing this, I’ve now shot 10 concerts in the span of ≈5 months and continue to do press work with both of them, actively contributing.

I look forward to seeing what’s coming up next, it’s just the start. Hope you follow along and catch up while we move!