My first gig.

I said I wouldn't shoot any shows until I was done my babysitting job, but I took a chance to ask around which venues would allow me to shoot with a DSLR. One of the venues to message me back was Maxwell's in Waterloo, where Dooly's was a few years ago. They said I could only shoot unsigned artists that usually play at their "Indie Music Nights". One of those nights was March 31st and another wouldn't come for a couple months, so I decided to say "fuck it" and go. That day I also decided to create my photography Instagram account (@vickibmphotos). I had just bought 2 new lenses for my concert photography expedition the previous weekend. A Tamron 17-55mm f2.8 and a Tokina 11-20mm f2.8. I packed up and also brought my 50mm 1.8 lens and went around 7pm. The shows started at 8-ish pm. As I started to shoot, I felt a familiarity with shooting at a stage. In high school, I shot the school plays (mostly because my friends were in them) and did that for 3 years in a row. My confidence grew throughout the night. I was able to make contact with a band member of each band who were more than thrilled to hear they had a pro photographer that night. One band, MaLuna, then asked me if I wanted to shoot another show they were having at a house turned venue the next Saturday. Sign me the fuck up!! So that's what I'm doing on Saturday April 8th. Over all I've had more confidence because I have signed up for a course created by self-taught concert photographer Matthias Hombauer called "Shooting the Rockstars". In his course, he provides videos for shortcuts on how things work like cameras (which I'm pretty good with) and networking (which I need lots of work on). He also has a little secret community on Facebook for his students. One of his students is actually my friend from Camp Mars (30STM hosted camp in Malibu)! Small world, eh? She's a concert photographer based in England, Samantha Stott . So this community just makes me feel less alone in striving for this dream job, very encouraging. I really hope this is something I can have an income from and have as my job, I feel like I have no other way to make a living. ​ So have a look at my favourite shots from the show! (Bands: The James Downham Band, MaLuna, The Burn Ins, and Tipping Point)