Learn: Top 6 Tips for Music Festival Photography

Award-winning editorial photographer Matt Cardy has been featured in news outlets including The Sunday Mirror, The Times and The Sun. With more than 20 years of experience shooting at the UK's iconic Glastonbury Festival, Matt shares his top tips for capturing live music festivals. Over to you, Matt.

I first went to the Glastonbury Festival in 1989, at the tender age of 18. However, it wasn’t until 1998 that I got my first press pass and went armed with a notebook and a camera. Since then, I have returned every year to work as a photographer. In the early days, the festival was a lot more anarchic and was still being shot on film. In my case, with a trusty Nikon F5. Since then, the logistics of working the event have become a little bit easier—but the energy and magic are still there in abundance to capture. I now see it as something of a testbed for both gear and operator. Survive a Glastonbury and everything else seems easy!

1. Use the right camera gear for festivals

In the past, I have taken every camera and every lens I own—and begged and borrowed anything that I don’t—because you never know what you might need at Glastonbury. From an ultra wide-angle lens to a 500mm telephoto lens.

Generally, I take two DSLR bodies. Currently, that is a pair of Canon EOS 1DX Mark IIs, I also pack a Canon EOS 5D Mark IV. Lens-wise, my stock and trade is always the Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L USM. But I love to have a few primes to use, notably the 24mm f/2.8 STM and the 50mm f/1.4 USM. I also have a Canon EOS 5D for when I want to go more lightweight. This year, I am thinking of trading in for some mirrorless cameras—so possibly the Canon EOS R5 or Canon EOS R6. 

I also like to take a GoPro Hero8 Black and a DJI Osmo Pocket as both of these are fantastic for pole-mounted shots or creative video clips. I’m never shy to use my iPhone, on occasion. I now have an iPhone 12 Pro Max, which is great and is another really useful device to have in the arsenal. And, sometimes, as the saying goes, the best camera is the one you have in your hand.

2. Keep up your stamina

Glastonbury is a marathon, not a sprint. Living so close to Pilton, I will try and shoot some of the site build a few days or weeks ahead of the event. But I’ll expect to shoot from the moment the gates open at 7:00 on Wednesday morning to the last stragglers wearily leaving the site, and the start of the marathon clear up on Monday. That’s six action-packed days. And, given some great images can be had at sunrise, which is 5:00 in June, you need to be able to pace yourself.

3. Prepare for the weather

I have seen every type of weather at Glastonbury, barring snow. And given I wouldn’t be surprised if one year that may indeed happen—you need to be prepared! That means pack both the wellies and the sunscreen. And, on some days, you will need both. To be honest, I am not sure what is harder to cope with: a heatwave with limited shade, or torrential rain with no cover.

However, for the gear, rain is always the killer. I had two Canon EOS 5D Mark II fail on me one year, plus the majority of my lenses. I ended up with nothing working, apart from an old Canon EOS 1D and a 300mm f/2.8 L USM. To mitigate the wet weather, I always take a load of hotel-type shower caps that can be adapted to cover the camera and several old leather shammies. While it makes walking around the site ten times harder, muddy years always provide some great pictures. But it’s nice to have the mix. Personally, in terms of weather, the best Glastonbury for me pictorially-wise is for it to start sunny on the first day Wednesday, tip down with rain on Thursday to make the site muddy, before drying out on Friday for the start of the music on the main stages.

4. Nail down logistics

Having a press pass gives certain advantages and privileges. In particular, access to the backstage press tent and secure lock-up. That means you always have somewhere to charge a laptop and camera batteries and use the WiFi to send pictures. But, more importantly, have a welcome cup of tea! If you don’t have access to such things, think about how you are going to keep cameras charged. Modern cameras have significantly longer battery life, but it is worth investing in spares and also a USB charging block. The first few years I shot Glastonbury, I did so on a couple of rolls of 36-exposure film! Not so now with digital, but think about memory and storage. I always take an external hard drive and plenty of hefty memory cards.

5. Expect the unexpected

No matter how many times I have covered Glastonbury, it still has the ability to surprise me. Just when you think you have seen it all, something happens like the Dalai Lama attending or Prince Harry turning up. There are always Glastonbury rumors, both before and during the festival, and I have learned never to dismiss anything you hear—no matter how crazy it may sound.

6. Enjoy yourself

When you are working 16-hour days and feeling sleep-deprived, it is often easy to stop looking around you and remember what an incredible event that you are attending. Being a photographer at Glastonbury can be one of the best jobs in the world. But you don’t need to have access to the pit at the front of the main Pyramid Stage to get great pictures. Often, the best images can be taken out and about in some of the far-flung corners of the site. Every year, I always have what I call a ‘Glastonbury moment’, when you just look around and go “wow!’. After an enforced break of two years, I can guarantee 2022 is going to have plenty of those moments.

I always see Glastonbury as the highlight event of my photographic year. And, being the truly unique event it is, it still remains a privilege to be able to go and capture some of the amazing imagery that the festival always provides. Yes, it can be a real challenge of endurance. But as hard as that may be, I wouldn’t want to miss it for the world.

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