The Best Venues to Shoot At: A Photographer‘s Review!

 As a live music photographer, I have had the pleasure of shooting at various venues, each offering unique experiences that impact how you capture the moment. Two of my favourite venues to work at are the Corner Hotel in Richmond and Stay Gold in Brunswick. While both are excellent in their own ways, they present different challenges and advantages that affect the quality of the photos and overall experience.

Corner Hotel Pros:
The Corner Hotel is one of Melbourne's iconic live music venues, and it offers several advantages for photographers. One of the standout features is the accessibility of backstage areas, where photographers can store their gear, freeing you from having to lug heavy equipment around the crowd. This is particularly helpful for longer gigs where you need easy access to lenses, batteries, and other essentials. Another pro is that there's enough room to move around the crowd while shooting, giving you the flexibility to find the best angles and capture unique perspectives. This ability to move around without feeling cramped adds to the dynamic energy you can bring to your shots.

The presence of a dedicated photography pit is a huge benefit for professionals. The barrier not only keeps the crowd at bay but also ensures you have a clear view of the stage without having to worry about getting jostled by eager fans. It also gives you space to experiment with different shots, from wide crowd images to close-ups of the musicians.

Additionally, the atmosphere at the Corner Hotel is often electric. When the band is great, the crowd’s energy matches it, and this synergy translates into more compelling photos. You can almost feel the music through the lens, and it adds an intangible but essential quality to the images you capture.

Cons:
The biggest challenge with the Corner Hotel, as a photographer, is the lighting. The venue tends to favour red, orange, and purple lights, which can be tricky to work with. These colours are difficult to shoot because they often wash out details and create a flat look in the images, especially if the lighting setup is too harsh or too concentrated on one area. Bright white lights, when used sporadically, can also blow out your shots, leaving little room for postproduction corrections. These lighting choices can force you to shoot in manual mode, constantly adjusting your settings to find the right balance. If you're not prepared for it, this can lead to frustratingly inconsistent shots.

Stay Gold Pros:
Stay Gold is another fantastic venue that I have a soft spot for. One of the biggest pros is the stage setup. The stage is a great size—not too big, not too small—allowing for intimate but energetic performances. As a photographer, the stage layout gives you a variety of angles to work with, from tight close-ups to wider, crowd-inclusive shots. This versatility is crucial for creating a diverse portfolio of images from a single gig.

Another advantage at Stay Gold is the lighting. Unlike the Corner Hotel, Stay Gold offers lighting that is much more forgiving for photographers. The lights are generally well-balanced, and you don’t have to worry as much about harsh reds or purples dominating your shots. This allows for more natural skin tones and better contrast in the images, which reduces the amount of post-editing needed.

The atmosphere at Stay Gold is always vibrant, and it's a place where both bands and fans seem to feed off each other's energy. This, combined with the venue's intimate setting, makes it easier to capture those raw, emotional moments that make for great live music photography.

Another plus is security. They know me well here, and this familiarity adds a layer of comfort and safety while working. It makes navigating through the crowd and accessing different parts of the venue easier, without worrying about equipment or personal space.

Cons:
Honestly, I haven’t found any major cons at Stay Gold. It’s a venue that ticks all the boxes for me as a live music photographer.

Conclusion
In summary, both the Corner Hotel and Stay Gold have their strengths and challenges. The Corner Hotel’s spaciousness and professional setup make it ideal for larger gigs, but the lighting can pose a challenge. On the other hand, Stay Gold offers better lighting and a more intimate atmosphere, making it an easier, more enjoyable venue to shoot at. While the lighting at the Corner Hotel requires more technical finesse, both venues deliver in terms of atmosphere and crowd engagement, which are vital for capturing the essence of live music.

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