As music photographers, we all experience the positives and negatives! I've been a music photographer for about a year now and I experienced everything you can possibly think of. Between being sexually harassed at shows, musicians not crediting my work, being denied for shows through publicists, or learning the hard way that not every photographer out there is rooting for your success. I also experienced many positives, such as photographing well over 600 bands in one year, meeting amazing people in different states (photographers/attendees), and learning more about who I am as a person and that I actually have a creative aspect to myself! With all considered, let's talk about some common discrepancies I face, especially being a woman photographer, in this industry!
First off, I didn't realize how toxic this industry actually was until my art became better and better. I realized who my friends are and who supports my photography career. I also learned that being a woman in this industry is NOT easy at all and we have to fight way harder to be noticed compared to males. Let me give you an example.
When I photographed Erra when they were on tour with Void Of Vision and other bands, an attendee there automatically assumed I was sleeping with a musician on the lineup because I got the photography opportunity. I did NOT see this man asking the male photographers these questions at the show, but since I am a woman, I guess I can only get opportunities like this is by having sex with someone. It's 2024, why is people sex shaming ANYONE? And why do people think its okay to ask such inappropriate questions? This was not the only time I experienced something like that at a show.
I have also been sexually harassed by other male photographers, deciding they wanted to educate me on my camera equipment while at the same time telling me my chest looks great. And shoved me countless times in the photo pit. I also experienced a male photographer, during Knocked Loose, shoving me out of the way with his shoulder to get the shot I was attempting to get at the time. You don't know how many blurry photos I had at that show during the typical three-song photo pit access because he decided he wanted to shove me.
I've also had musicians message me after shows when I edited their photos and tagged their bands automatically ask, "So when am I seeing you on this tour again? We can have a drink." Mind you, they never even met me before and only know me by the photos I took of them. And they have the audacity to scroll through my Instagram and not even like the photos of their band, but my SELFIES only. I want to be noticed because of my PHOTOGRAPHY and 99% of the time at shows, I dress homeless, like I haven't taken cared of myself at all, because I don't want to be harassed at shows. And men at the shows still want to grab me and ask how I became a photographer. You can ask questions without touching someone.
Another thing that irritates me the most in this scene is the fact that I can photograph the same show as a guy friend and their photos get noticed more than mine even though we all have the same friend groups. I see this happen all the time on social media with my female friends who are photographers. Musicians will look at the male photographers photos and comment inspiring things but when my female friends tag them, they don't even look at their photos.
When stuff like this happens, we all get discouraged at times because we want to be noticed and we want people to appreciate how hard we work to create art in the form of photography. We don't care about likes or anything, but when females notice males are not even engaging with their art, but we engage with their stuff, we ask ourselves, "is it worth even being supportive if we don't get the same thing back?" Do we appear rude and unprofessional if we don't support them? But at the same time, do they even support us?
I also talked to other female and LGBTQIA+ individuals about their hardships in this industry and here are some responses:
Elissa "Based on my own experiences, there are quite a few things I've encountered as a female photographer that I feel are significantly different from what a male photographer would experience." "I get a lot of men trying to tell me how to use my gear even though I didn't ask for tips, advice, or any questions. It's one thing if I ask, it's another entirely to treat me as if I know nothing about photography. I think, thankfully, that this is more of an "outside" photographer issue and not a music photographer issue. Most of the music photographers I've met, despite the competitive nature of the industry, tend to be very warm and welcoming. I personally believe that music photographers know that (mostly) only the really good photographers who know what they're doing make it into the pit because it's such an exclusive space... especially when it comes to nationally & internationally touring acts. Out in the world, however, almost everyone has a camera on them at all times, and I think there is a lot more variability in the skill and talent of people out there taking photos. It is some of those people I've met that have been condescending, "mansplaining," or otherwise talking down with unsolicited advice or criticism when it is them who don't know what it's like in the pit. Most of my other negative experiences have been with either members of the audience, or more commonly, with venue security." "I would say about 50% of the time, I find it much harder to access a venue that I most certainly have permission/credentials to shoot in. It's become better in recent years, however, one instance in particular stands out to me. I was working a show of local artists at a medium-sized venue. Three of the four acts performing were friends of mine, and had specifically asked me not just to be there, but to be there early so I could get some behind-the-scenes shots. Despite being on the list, and having texts and email exchanges at the ready, security refused to let me in. I basically had to call my male friend, one of the acts, to ask him to come escort me inside because of how hostile security had been." "One of the most recent experiences I've had left me feeling very icky. I was the only photographer in the pit this day, and, by proxy, the only female photographer there, surrounded by five or six (male) security guards. I didn't feel threatened or anything of the sort, but I did feel severely uncomfortable once I saw that they were each passing nude photos of a woman amongst each other. It's certainly possible that they might do that regardless of who is in the pit, but it felt especially more disgusting because they either did not care that there was a woman among them watching them objectify, or they didn't care to notice and read the room."
Anonymous "As a woman in the music industry, I have seen so much inappropriate treatment! I have been shooting since I was about 14 and now I am 25, so about 10 years." "Whenever I am in the pit generally I love meeting new people and making friends and just being friendly because I feel like kindness can get you farther than being closed off or arrogant. Most times this works in my favor but there have been times where it doesn’t." "As a woman in the music industry, I never believed there was a lot of sexism in the industry until it happened to me. Some of the things I have been told were “Alex only gets big shows because bands find her hot and wanna sleep with her,” when bands never even see what I look like until I get to the show and, even then, most times have no idea who I am, I was 18 when this happened!" "Another guy around this same time, who I used to consider to be a friend, once told me straight to my face, “You’ll never shoot the big shows/arenas/festivals, your just not a part of the IT crew.” Honestly, it super hurt my feelings because I used to look up to this person and also considered him a friend, I was 19 during this." "Lastly I've experienced just straight bullying. I had a guy who I was nothing but nice to make fun of the way I write because I have autism and dyslexia so writing is not my strong suit, but I still try to improve. During this, I was on the verge of tears, took a step back and came back a little later just for him to laugh at my face and yell, “look she is such an outsider in this group.” This was a festival in Michigan and the guy is a well known Michigan photographer so it was sad and just humiliating, during this I was 19 or 20." "I have also been sexually harassed. I had a male photographer who was intoxicated, grab me close and try kissing me on the lips, thankfully I was able to move my face so he only kissed my cheek but I felt so violated and grossed, it truly threw me off my game that night. It was my 24th birthday that exact day and that man was turning 45 or 46." "After that, I had a male photographer tell people in the pit recently that I was “a porn star and if you ask her nicely she’ll take her clothes off for you.” I sat there, mortified and so embarrassed. I was 25 when this had happened. And, of course, that was one of the times I was the only woman in the pit." "Another time, I had people harassing a friend of mine because a band had hired me to do a small intimate show at their venue, and people said a band can’t hire me. My friend started getting asked if I was having sexual relations with him or if he wanted me and that’s why I got this bigger show. It was so bad and he kept saying, “No, she was hired because the band picked her name/website/Instagram from a list of 10 other people.” It was once again insane and showed that, as a woman, I can’t do or get anything without someone thinking I am sexually promiscuous, I was 24 during this." "Now this is all male photographers towards me, now security at venues used to be bad but has more recently gotten better, thankfully, but when I first started, security used to grab me a lot when I was doing nothing wrong, plus I don’t like being touched. It makes me incredibly uncomfortable and it also felt uncalled for." "One show, I remember this vividly, and thankfully the venue had fired that staff, was at Cage the Elephant in 2019. We were told we could photograph the whole set from the pit then got changed to three songs in the pit but you could shoot the rest of the show from the crowd. Second song in, I am shooting and minding my business, and all of a sudden I feel someone grab my arm and start dragging me out of the pit saying it’s been three songs get out and I sat there like, "no it’s only been two." I am also panicking and freaking out because I never had a security guard drag me out. Thankfully a few other photographers saw and defended me saying it is only the second song or the second song just ended and we have three. After a minute he let me go but I was freaked out to high hell and wanted to start crying because I just felt a little violated and just so small. Mind you, I was 19 when this happened too."
Anonymous "I was sexually assaulted by a musician at a show once. And that made me stop photographing. They asked me to come out to photograph their set (local band) and I agreed because I'm all about supporting the scene. The guy in the band who asked me to come out was very nice and professional! I thought this at the time, but when it was the day of the show, he bought me a drink and after a bit I started to feel really sick and I went outside to sit down for a bit. He came outside to check on me, which I thought was really sweet, but then when he hugged me, it felt weird and he like squeezed my ass and pulled me closer to him and that's when I felt his manhood. I tried to get away, but he grabbed my pants and decided to put his hand down my pants and told me If I wanted to get paid for the gig tonight that I needed to let him do it. I let him. I didn't stop him because I was scared and I drove 3 hours for the show, so I wanted the money. I just stood there and let him touch me. I understand that I should've said no, but I needed the money and after since that night I stopped concert photography. I still have my camera to this day and I can't even look at it." So lets take a moment and really think; do we treat women in this industry with respect at all? By the looks of these stories, including mine as well, everyone in this industry needs to do better. We want the same opportunities as everyone else. We want to make those connections like everyone else. We want to be able to not have fear of losing those opportunities if we state if we feel uncomfortable in a situation. I hope women in this industry start to gain more respect. I know a lot of them already have that respect, but the same people that respect YOU should also be respecting everyone else around them. We all start from nowhere and I think people tend to forget that. Respect is earned, I understand that, but being told we don't know our equipment or if we are having sexual interactions with bands before even knowing a person is nonsense and something that should NOT be happening. Be supportive of one another. Everyone needs to do better.
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