European Broadcasting Union content team at Eurovision

What does it take to create incredible content, seen by millions of people around the world? Photographers Corinne Cumming and Sarah Louise Bennett and videographer Chris Fox are members of the MPB-supported European Broadcasting Union (EBU) Content Team, who covered the 2022 and 2023 Eurovision Song Contest. 

In this interview, Corinne, Sarah Louise and Chris discuss their experiences covering Eurovision and share their advice for aspiring live event photographers.

Eurovision Song Contest 2023

MPB: What does Grand Final day look like?

CC: We had a late night the night before, after the first rehearsal with an audience. So we caught up on a bit of sleep in the morning and then walked onto the site to get our bags checked. We then headed to the auditorium, where we had the European Broadcasting Union team photo. 

We went and had lunch, which is incredible for morale. Earlier in the week, I promised Sticky, the Stage Manager, that I’d take photos of his crew bringing props on and off the stage throughout the show. So I took the afternoon rehearsal as an opportunity to do that. 

It was the first time I’d been on the stage during a show, so that was amazing. They know where to put all of the props because it’s mapped out on the LED floors. They’re wheeled in, secured and wheeled away within 30 seconds.

Between 17:00 and the start of the Grand Final, I used Photo Mechanic to go through those shots, choosing the best ones and editing them. My team and I went over our plan of action for the show, discussing everyone’s positions and how to get the reaction shots as the points came in at the end of the show.

Next up, we had a meeting with all the stage managers and all the digital leads from our team about how and when to access the stage as the winner’s announced. A quick break for dinner, more mouthwatering food.

I send out Chloe to get some crowd shots and Sarah to get some photos of artists getting ready. The start of the show is at 20:00. 

As we shot each act during the show, we edited the photos at lightning speed, got them up online and sent them out to the press. The most intense part was the reaction shots. Chloe was sitting at her laptop, editing, just behind the Green Room. Sarah and I were taking the photos. We ran the memory cards back to Chloe so that the reactions were as quick as possible. 

Photography is a non-contact sport, we had to do all this while dodging TV cameras and delegations.

Eventually, Loreen was brought over to the stage and presented with the trophy. We took the photos, and then the stage crew reset the props so Loreen could perform once more. Once that was done, the stage crew removed the props again and we joined them on the stage, where I took a photo of Loreen holding the trophy.

We got the photos out to the press, and then took photos of all the revellers backstage, capturing some emotional photography as everyone hugged and talked.

We then shot Loreen’s press conference, got everything from that up and ready, dropped our bags back at the hotel, and got out to celebrate with the team. Another year well done.

Eurovision Song Contest 2022

MPB: What does a day as a photographer at Eurovision look like?

CC: For me, the great thing about Eurovision is that no two days are the same. In the first week, I was shooting portraits in a makeshift studio with ProPhoto lights while also shooting the live rehearsals. 

The second week, we had the turquoise carpet event, which was more high-pressure for some photographers in the team. Their photos had to go out to press live. My portraits in the hallway were being held to post the next day as I needed to do some retouching.

But the really busy week was the finals. We woke up early in the morning to finish editing our photos from the day before. Around 13:00, we were picked up at our hotel and taken to the venue to shoot the first rehearsal of the day. 

Between the rehearsals and the live show, we did more editing and covered the press briefings. And maybe we had enough time to shove some pasta in our faces! Then we shot the show in the evening. 

On finals night, we didn’t finish working until 3:00, at which point I went back to the hotel. And promptly went back out to Sam Ryder’s after-party! From there, I went pretty much straight to the airport to catch a flight home.

SLB: I joined the Eurovision crew a week before the 2022 final. First up for me was capturing the action at the opening ceremony. It was hosted at the stunning Venaria Reale, and took nearly four hours for all 40 countries to make their way down the red carpet. 

For the other days, we were shooting two shows a day. Each live show had two dress rehearsals the day before, followed by a third rehearsal and the actual live broadcasted show—so we covered each show four times. We actually used the rehearsals to try to capture as much of the action as possible—banked to go out as the live show was happening—as there’s simply no way to edit everything that quickly. 

There are so many artists, they only perform for three minutes each—and the changeovers between them are only about 40 seconds long. Instead, we used the live shows to capture the atmosphere and action in both the crowd and the artists’ green room, which couldn’t be documented before.

However, even if some of the photos were taken in rehearsals, they still had to be true to the live show. If artists changed their stage outfits, hair and makeup, or would do something slightly different in their live performances, we’d edit and upload those images immediately from the green room.

They were long shows to photograph, too. The semi-finals were both two-and-a-half hours, and the final was four hours. To put that in perspective, a normal live music gig is normally 90 minutes! So Eurovision was truly a music photography marathon.

What is it like shooting a live event watched by millions of people worldwide?

CC: Shooting a live event like Eurovision, one of the biggest televised events on the planet, is incredible. After Ukraine had finished their winner's performance, I was the first person on the stage so I could take their photo. As soon as I’d edited that photo and sent it off to press, I just broke down in tears. I was so overwhelmed by the enormity of what my team and I had achieved.

SLB: You can’t think about the exact scale of an event like Eurovision. Just the things you can do in that room, doing the best job you can, or it’d be overwhelming. Of course, you’re aware that the photos will travel widely. 

But we had no idea that Eurovision 2022 would also live in the history books, given the heartbreaking events in Ukraine and their entry Kalush Orchestra winning the contest. President Zelenskyy even posted my photo on Instagram, which was incredibly surreal and humbling.

The team's advice for live event photography

MPB: Capturing live events requires a particular set of skills. What would be your top tips for event photography?

CC: Prepare as much as you can beforehand. We make folders ready to import and export our files. And, to help speed up our workflow, we use photomechanics to prepare our metadata, ready to be applied to the files. We also make presets in Adobe Lightroom to handle any lighting we’ll work with again.

Everything about shooting live events is out of your control, everything from the stage lights’ colour schemes to your subjects’ location on the stage. By shooting RAW, you have a lot more to play with in the edit. Obviously, it won’t help you get the ‘perfect’ shot, but it’ll give you a lot more data to help your shots look as good as they can.

For anyone doing live event photography, I’d say the most important thing is get to know your equipment. Truly understand how it works so that you don’t have to think about the technical stuff at all. It should eventually become muscle memory. Of course, it takes a lot of time and practice, but it means that you can then focus entirely on what’s happening in that room and how to best document it—and not your settings.

Looking after your body is so important. For our team, Eurovision is a two-week event. One single camera and lens alone can weigh around 7kg [15lbs], which gets heavy after extended periods of time. So make sure you invest in a good harness. If you have a big and heavy lens, try using a monopod to take the pressure off of your shoulder while supporting it. Take time to stretch and move to reduce the chances of getting injured.

Look after your ears—get yourself some earplugs! We all started shooting music because we love it. But standing in loud rooms, especially close to the speakers, can damage your hearing.

Custom-moulded earplugs offer the best protection. But ear protection doesn’t have to be expensive. You can get foam or wax ones from most pharmacies, and music shops often sell mid-range and better-sounding alternatives too.

Shooting live events is a lot more than the technical settings and kit specs. Being a professional live music and event photographer is a lot to do with how you conduct yourself on the shoot. Be respectful of the other photographers in the pit, don’t obstruct their view and don’t hog the same position for too long. 

To be as discreet as possible, always wear ‘stage blacks’ so you don’t distract the audience and the other photographers and videographers. 

Finally, be respectful of the artists on stage too. Give them space in smaller venues, and don’t interfere with their performance.

Find out about the Eurovision Content Team’s 2023 setups and watch Corinne Cumming on location with RuPaul’s Drag Race UK contestant Charity Kase. Or, discover more interviews on the MPB content hub