DWELL Conference - For Creatives, By Creatives
A couple nights ago, I got the privilege of shooting at the DWELL Conference - A Christian creative conference. My faith is an important of my life and my creative practice.
Actually.
The most important part of my life.
It comes before my creative practice and all other parts of my life. So when I got the opportunity to serve/volunteer at DWELL, it was a no-brainer.
Typically, you’d think that your website is all about marketing yourself in order to get work. It’s weird to say on my website that something comes before what people will hire me to do.
Does it make me more appealing? Probably not.
Is it honest and authentic? It sure is. That’s what I’m all about here.
Whilst I could sit here and write about my faith and the impact the Lord has had on my life, I’ve decided to reflect on one of my first times shooting a medium-sized live music event.
In 2021, maybe 2022, I got the chance to shoot at an event called Youth Alive. It was another Christian event, but specifically for youth (people under the age of 18). I was in the infancy stages of my photography journey. I’m not even sure if I had invoiced someone by that point. For privacy reasons, I can’t share photos on this page however, to help you imagine the results, I was using a Fujifilm XT3 with a kit lens. Two words. Floating aperture. If you know, you know.
Since then, I’ve shot one more live music event. That one was for my good friend, Kate Robinson. It was at the Catfish Hotel in Fitzroy, Melbourne. This venue was small and dimly lit, adding to the cosy vibe. It was fun, but difficult to shoot in.
Kate Robinson, The Catfish Hotel.
I’ve always been a passionate music listener. Don’t ask me what type of music because I’ll listen to anything.
Maybe not country music though. Just that one.
If you’ve had me shoot your wedding before, you may remember me asking you to send through two songs that best fit the feeling of your upcoming day. Songs that you listen to and it makes you imagine your wedding day. It’s a weird request but there’s a reason for it. I truly believe that music is a universal language and we can deeply connect through song and worship. Not only is it a point of connection, but it helps me with creative visioning. Before weddings, I’ll listen to the songs that couples have sent through to help me imagine my shots. It’s a mental practice that get my creatives juices flowing.
And so, for the images you’re about see, I want you to listen to the song “House of Prayer” by Mitch Wong.
Not only is it because Mitch Wong happens to be in a few of these images, but it’s a song that would best sum them up.
Shooting at DWELL was a powerful experience. Moving through the crowds of people passionately worshipping, waiting for the quiet moments where singular spotlights covered the musicians and being in the right place for the emotional responses in the crescendos was all a part of learning how to shoot a live music event.
Whilst it’s my first time shooting a live music event that had quite a crowd, I hope it’s not the last. As someone who loves listening to live music more so, the atmosphere that’s created through a large number of people collectively singing at the top of their lungs, I can’t help but hope that I get to shoot more of these events in the future. It was an awesome experience to be creative amongst people who were being creative themselves. I get inspired and encouraged to create more work through events like these.
For all of the technical people out there - I used a Fujifilm XT5 with a 24-70mm lens for this event (at least the APS-C crop sensor equivalent). It’s perfect for wide shots of the entire venue plus the close intimate ones. That’s if you can get close enough. Most of the time I was shooting between ISO 2,500 and 6,400. Finding the sweet spot was dependant on what I wanted my aperture to be. I found that shooting at a lower shutter speed like 1/125 allowed for there to be motion blur in times of movement. A photographer I am inspired by is Lloyd Wakefield. Especially his work for Harry Styles “Love on Tour”. When Harry would kick his legs, throw some water or jump up and down, there was some blur. The slower shutter speed Lloyd used helped signify movement.
For DWELL, there were about 9 photographers floating around the room hence, I had a specific task to capture the moments that hadn’t been documented already. After scrolling through the small gallery below, you’ll start to understand that my job was to capture a panel of guest speakers and musicians (not the vocalists).
Enjoy.
