With so many great photographers in the Midwest, I am so glad you stopped by to read my content and hopefully learn a thing or two about photographing drum corps and marching band.

Okay, let me start by saying that my intent is to simply share my 30 years of experience as a photographer.  The advice I will be providing is the result of a lot of trial and error.  For every technique that has served me well, there are mountains that “great ideas” that have flopped and were way too costly.  So, hopefully you can learn from my mistakes and save a few bucks in the process.

Madison ScoutsThis image of the Madison Scouts drum and bugle corps was shot on 7/5/2015 at the Whitewater Classic show in Whitewater, WI. #BCGPhotos https://briangregg.zenfolio.com/

Today’s post is titled, “Drum Corps Photography 101: What it is and what it is NOT! -Part 1”. Before I talk about gear, shooting technique, photo editing software, file management, utilizing social media, etc. I feel it is important to talk about the realities of being a drum corps photographer.

Many beginner photographers take positions with world class drum corps as interns with the hopes of jump starting their careers.  While there is valuable experience to be gained, most serious graphic designers and editors do not value the medium as source of valid technical education.  

The main reason for this is that most drum corps do not employ a principle photographer with technical expertise to properly document a full season, let along provide an educational experience that would be comparable to accredited course study.  There is no one to share best practices for shooting in challenging conditions, file management and transfers, proper use of meta data to promote better SEO or use on social media.  Typically intern photographers need to figure it out as they go.

Okay, I know it may sound like I have a negative view on drum corps photography, but nothing could be further from the truth. If you are passionate about the activity, if you are passionate about photography and if you have the chance… DO IT!  However, if you think drum corps photography is a money making opportunity, it most certainly is not.

So, with all of that said it is much easier to start with what drum photography is not.  Drum corps photography is not going to make you rich. Hell, you’ll be lucky to break even.  Drum corps photography is not going to give you the exposure that will launch your career.  Unfortunately photography has become a very cutthroat industry with the best of the best fighting over the few remaining opportunities. That’s not to say that a great drum corps image wont enhance your portfolio, but you’ll need to show a level of expertise well beyond the demands that drum corps can provide to be considered for a top tier position in photography.

Drum corps photography is an opportunity to improve your skills by following your passion.  Drum corps photography allows you to support your favorite organization while doing something you love.  Drum corps photography will provide the experiences that can shape you as an artist and an entrepreneur.

As I stated earlier, the average drum corps photographer intern lacks access to experienced, professional photographers which is why I have created this series.  I am going to share some of my best practices to help improve your daily workflow so you can focus on creating better images.

With the 2021 season rapidity approaching, next weeks post will focus on file management from the road.  I will share some tips for keeping large amounts of images organized, the maximization of storage space and how to share files when internet access isn’t the best.

In the meantime, please feel to check the galleries on my Zenfolio site.  

You can get updates from my blog page by following me on Facebook, Instagram and/or Twitter.

Thanks for reading and if you have any questions, please send me an email.

Have a great a day and keep snapping!

So, why won’t I post original images on Facebook? It comes down to how Facebook manages data to ensure timelines are responsive. On average, 350 million photos are uploaded to Facebook each day which makes it necessary to compress digital images to their most basic digital profile.  In other words, all of the metadata which includes camera settings, copyright information and the photographer’s info is removed by Facebook whenever an image is uploaded to preserve storage on their servers.

You might be thinking that’s not a big deal because you had over 200 “likes” on the last images you shared. Sure, it’s nice to see the “likes” and read the comments, but remember that is for just one image of the nearly 350 million images that were uploaded to Facebook today.  What you want to strive for is a digital signature that spans multiple social media platforms over multiple search engines.  You can’t do that when Facebook strips your images of all identifiable metadata.

I am not suggesting that you stay away from Facebook.  Facebook is too big and needs to be a part of your digital marketing strategy.  However, there are ways to maintain a presence on Facebook while protecting your brand and enhancing your SEO.  Posting links to photo galleries is a good way to manage your digital profile as long as your metadata is properly setup and tied to the text of your post.

The links I share are tied to metadata-rich images and include unique hashtags that are used in combination with other hashtags that are trending on various social media platforms.

As people visit your gallery from Facebook, they interact with your images and the resulting traffic helps improve your SEO.  Although that doesn’t sound sexy, these interactions help establish your brand and get you more easily found on various search engines.

With the inevitable security enhancements that will be introduced by Apple in iOS 14, having your digital profile established on Google/Bing/Yahoo will be necessary if you want people to see your photography.