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Original poster

Performers not wanting to be photographed

10 replies

Bumbaglina · 26/08/2025 11:11

I was at a festival at the weekend, there were official photographers going around I assume taking photos for social media/to use in press releases etc, of people on fairground rides, watching music etc, fairly unremarkable I thought, but I went to the comedy tent and both of the stand up comedians I saw suddenly became very uncomfortable when they realised a photographer was there and basically stopped the routine and made a point of saying it was off putting and could the photographer leave, not in a rude way but they were both clearly very uncomfortable and were positioning themselves so they couldn’t get a good photo.

I just found it a bit unprofessional, surely people who’re on TV regularly and performing in public can cope with being photographed? Or do they get paid extra to be photographed at festivals and didn’t want to be photographed for that reason?

OP posts:
Iloveyoubut · 26/08/2025 12:57

I think they have every right. I’m sick of seeing pics and videos used to cancel performers, or just people in general … to catch them falling on stage or making a mistake or stumbling over a word or being heckled and it’s gone a bit wrong. Why does it all need to be photographed? Can people not just enjoy it and remember it? I’d hate to be performing and always have to think that every second was being captured and if I put a foot wrong or there was a bad photo or anythng, that it’d be all over TikTok or whatever. Why should what you want trump their discomfort … I really don’t see why you’d feel entitled to photograph them. I hate how normalised it is these days to feel entitled to capture images and footage of people when they don’t want you to.

Original poster
Bumbaglina · 26/08/2025 13:42

I get what you’re saying about people taking photos and videos all the time, and if I was a stand up I wouldn’t want my routine online otherwise why would people come to see you if they already know the jokes, but surely a still photo by the festival organisers is not unreasonable.

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DiscoBob · 26/08/2025 14:13

Was it because they were testing out new material and they didn't want it filmed and leaked? I could understand that. But not if it's just still photos.

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Original poster
Bumbaglina · 26/08/2025 14:43

Maybe that was it, if only one of them had done it I probably wouldn’t have thought anything of it, and the festival has been going for quite a few years so I would’ve thought the organisers would’ve known to tell them in advance there might be a photographer pop in if it’s regularly a problem. If it was a band they could hardly stop halfway through a song to say don’t photograph us!

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RimTimTagiDim · 26/08/2025 14:45

If it was a band they could hardly stop halfway through a song to say don’t photograph us!

Well yes, they could.

ThunderousSkies · 26/08/2025 14:49

Bumbaglina · 26/08/2025 11:11

I was at a festival at the weekend, there were official photographers going around I assume taking photos for social media/to use in press releases etc, of people on fairground rides, watching music etc, fairly unremarkable I thought, but I went to the comedy tent and both of the stand up comedians I saw suddenly became very uncomfortable when they realised a photographer was there and basically stopped the routine and made a point of saying it was off putting and could the photographer leave, not in a rude way but they were both clearly very uncomfortable and were positioning themselves so they couldn’t get a good photo.

I just found it a bit unprofessional, surely people who’re on TV regularly and performing in public can cope with being photographed? Or do they get paid extra to be photographed at festivals and didn’t want to be photographed for that reason?

I'm sure they 'can cope', like they can cope with hecklers or a problem with the sound system. They just don't want to.

Fitzcarraldo353 · 26/08/2025 15:04

I've worked at big festivals and it'll be part of their conditions to perform, but might only be for certain times of their set. One festival I worked at my job was to meet photographers in the press area to escort them into the pit in front of the barriers.on 'my' stage, wait for the first three songs to be played and then kick the photographers out of that area. They were only allowed so the first three songs of each act

LlynTegid · 26/08/2025 15:05

I'm with the performers on this. I'd like there to be notices and for the venue to be prepared to get those who ignore it to leave.

Even if you are seeing Coldplay and they wanted that.

ARichtGoodDram · 26/08/2025 15:08

There was a festival local recently where there was a major issue with the performers and organisers over photography.

The organisers wouldn't allow performers to have proper photographers to take pics that could use, but also had changed the wording of their agreement which meant the photos taken by the festival organisers photographer could be sold and used for anything - not just promotion of future festival events as previously.

Previously the performers were able to buy photos to use from the official photographer (or have their own) at a lowish cost, but this time it was fiercely expensive as they had to buy them from the festival organiser directly. Quite a few felt the changes had been attempted to be sneaked in by the organisers.

Original poster
Bumbaglina · 26/08/2025 15:10

Fitzcarraldo353 · 26/08/2025 15:04

I've worked at big festivals and it'll be part of their conditions to perform, but might only be for certain times of their set. One festival I worked at my job was to meet photographers in the press area to escort them into the pit in front of the barriers.on 'my' stage, wait for the first three songs to be played and then kick the photographers out of that area. They were only allowed so the first three songs of each act

Thank you, that’s interesting, I thought perhaps it was a contract thing, maybe these photographers had gone rogue!

Just to be clear I didn’t photograph them, I wouldn’t do that during a set as I can see how that would be distracting if the audience started getting their phones out. I did ask one for a photo at a book signing afterwards and she was happy to do that, but I said to her I didn’t mind if she said no.

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