So this is what it’s like in the music industry everything moves fast. Like, stupid fast. One minute you’re rocking the stage, the next minute you’re requesting photos ASAP because otherwise people are gonna forget you even played a show. I’ve been around this long enough to know that when a band or manager says they want pictures “as soon as possible,” they mean business.
That’s why I’ve spent years studying how to deliver a finished, fully edited gallery in three hours from the last song. Not because I’m rushing through shots and cutting corners. Hell no. It’s because I’ve built my entire workflow for speed without sacrificing quality.
Why Everyone's Always in a Rush
The internet doesn’t sleep, and neither does the music industry.
Social Media Won’t Wait: Your followers are already looking at Instagram in the parking lot after your show. They have to re-live it while they’re still pumped up from doing so. Miss the moment, and you’re competing with whatever else is happening in their stream.
Press Deadlines Are Real: I’ve dealt with enough music writers to know that they’re usually writing the review with a 1 AM deadline. If you want your pictures in that story, you’d better get them over in a hurry.
Artists Are Human: Bands put everything into a show, and they care how it looks. They want to pass it along, to commemorate it, to utilise it. Stretching, waiting for photos out by three days completely kills that energy.
How I Pull This Off
It isn’t magic, but just a “healthy obsession” with processes. Everything in my workflow is designed to eliminate bottlenecks and downtime.
Before I Even Pick Up a Camera
The Pre-Show Chat: I do talk to bands before shows. Extreme concept, isn’t it? Seriously, though, I need to know what’s most important. Is this for social media? Do you need certain shots for press purposes? Are there sponsors that must be included? This isn’t small talk it affects the way I shoot and what I pay attention to when I’m editing.
Shot Lists That Work: What we talked about, I take headnotes of shots that absolutely must appear. Not a tight script, but priorities. If you mentioned that you needed to have good crowd shots, I’m getting them ready. If there is a guitar solo that always occurs, I’ve got it ready.
Gear That’s Ready to Go: My gear is organised in the style of an F1 pit crew. Several camera bodies, lenses for every possible lighting condition, batteries that are charged when I need them, memory cards that can handle the occasional rapid burst. All tested and ready before I enter the venue.
During the Show
Shooting Smart, Not Hard: After doing this for so many years, I can read a room. I can sense when the energy’s building, where the good spots are, how to compensate for dreadful venue lighting. I’m not shooting blindly hoping something will work.
Moving On the Fly: In between sets or when we are in slow times, I’m already transferring photographs from cards onto my computer. It isn’t always possible, but when it is, it is a tremendous time saver.
Rating as I Go: If there’s ever any slack time at all during the show, I’m rating those shots quickly as they come in. Five stars for the keepers, one star for the easiest rejections. This saves sorting time later by probably 70%.
The Edit Bay Sprint
Culling Like a Rockstar: I do initial sorts with Photo Mechanic because it’s sodding fast with RAW files. No AI yet, just experience knowing what does and what doesn’t work. I can sort 500 photos in under 10 minutes.
Batch Everything (Except I Don’t): While many photographers rely heavily on batch editing, I rarely do. I aim to get it 90% right in-camera, so most of my final adjustments happen individually in Lightroom. Every shot gets its own attention where it matters because a killer live photo deserves more than a cookie-cutter preset.
Preset Power: I have editing presets for all standard concert lighting scenarios. Red stage wash? There’s a preset for that. Harsh white spotlights? Got it covered with a preset. These aren’t one-size-fits-all solutions, but they’re great starting points that save massive amounts of time.
Metadata on Autopilot: At the time of export, I’m applying captioning, keywords, and copyright information based on templates I’ve created. This matters for searchability and protection, but it has to be done in ways that are not time-consuming.
The Technology That Makes It Happen
Equipment That Doesn’t Give Up: high-speed memory cards, pro card readers, a computer that can really process RAW files without complaining. This gear isn’t cheap, but it’s what it takes to deliver this kind of turnaround.
Software That Gets Along: my editing station is optimized for speed. Lightroom for the bulk of my corrections, Photo Mechanic for sorting through, and delivery companies that can handle uploading huge files without timing out.
Upload While You Sleep: Last galleries go online on pro sites where clients download immediately. No waiting for attachment via email or file size limitations.
What This Actually Gets You
Having images back in hours instead of days isn’t just convenient. It opens up possibilities of how you can work.
Strike While It’s Hot: Post those photos while people are still grinning because of your show. Tag the venue, opening bands, the people who were there. That immediate connection is worth so much more than polished photos posted next week.
Real-Life Press Coverage: Music blogs are quick. Feed them great photos the night of the performance, and you’re much more likely to be showcased. Wait three days, and they’ve jumped to the next show.
Keep the Momentum Going: A performance that’s worth its while isn’t done when you exit stage. Having pro-quality photos instantly available keeps that momentum going into your social media, your press kit, your next gig booking pitch.
It’s All About Being Prepared and Not Rushing
This is my framework. This pace is not attained by scrambling and hastening the photography itself. When I am in that zone, I am producing, sensing the moment, getting the energy. The pace is realised through all else being so dialled-in that creative work can occur without technical resistance.
This only works, though, when we’re on the same page initially. If I understand what you’re going to need and when you’ll need it, I can structure everything around that. Communication before the show is what keeps things from being “pretty fast” and makes people think “holy shit, how did he do that?”
The Bottom Line
Timing is everything in music. Having your pictures at hand when folks are still buzzing about your performance isn’t nice to have; it’s a competitive edge. It lets you be in the conversation rather than struggling to catch up to it.
After years of refining this process, I can promise that you’ll have your whole gallery in three hours from the end of your set. Not because I’m cutting corners, but because I’ve stripped away all the junk that doesn’t need to be there. Your photos. Your timeline. Your flow. All protected.
