My First Experience on the Content Team at RADAR Festival
It’s hard to believe that a year ago, I was just another fan, attending RADAR Festival on my own for the first time. Fast forward to 2024, and I found myself returning but this time, not as an attendee, but as a photographer in the content team. It’s been a surreal journey, and I want to share with you the ins and outs of my first experience capturing a festival as part of the official crew.
I’ll be walking you through how I got here, the challenges I faced, and the highlights of working behind the scenes. Here’s a glimpse into what it’s like to photograph a festival like RADAR.
Pre-Festival Prep
Joining The Crew
Let me take you back to where it all started. I first attended RADAR Festival last year, feeling anxious but excited. It was my first time going to a festival by myself and abroad, definitely an adventure I knew I would want to repeat. I loved the festival so much that I bought my ticket for the next edition almost immediately after getting back home.
A couple of months later, I started my journey into concert photography. As I built up my portfolio, covering shows and sharing my work online, I decided to take a chance. RADAR is all about fostering community, and their Discord server is a huge part of that—connecting attendees and crew alike. That’s how I reached out to Joe and Catherine, who run the festival, and asked about joining the content team. Despite the crew being packed, I was fortunate enough to secure a spot. It quickly became even clearer that RADAR is more than just a festival, it’s a place where both attendees and crew come back year after year, not just for the music, but for the sense of belonging that defines the RADAR experience.
Preparations
I packed light for the weekend: my trusty Sony a7IV, a single lens—my Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8, lens filters, extra batteries, SD cards, an external hard drive, and my laptop. I knew from last year’s festival that the pace would be fast, with on-the-go editing being essential. Speed would be key. Plus, since I was traveling from abroad and dealing with security checks, packing as light as possible was a priority. Not fully knowing what to expect once I arrived also played into my decision to bring only the essentials.
My Festival Experience
First Impressions
Arrival At The Festival
I arrived a day early to meet part of the crew, pick up our passes and crew t-shirts, and get a feel for the venue. It gave me the chance to visualise potential shots and familiarise myself with the layout before the crowds came in. One of the coolest perks? We got to watch TesseracT rehearse for their Saturday set. It felt like such a privilege to witness that.
The next day, once the doors opened, the energy ramped up fast. After a quick breakfast, setup, and final briefing, it was go time.
Meeting The Team
The content team is a mix of talented photographers and videographers. We all had our specialities: from TikTok pros, interviewers, to those known for their distinct photography styles. For me, it was my kind of dreamy, blurry, colourful photos. My job was to bring that aesthetic to life at the festival.
We were given the freedom to shoot whichever bands we wanted, as long as a few of us covered each set. There was no need for extensive planning; we could move as we pleased. In addition to capturing performances, we also had masterclasses, the music market, and crowd shots to document.
We coordinated our efforts to ensure that every aspect of the festival was covered. Whenever possible, we aimed to shoot after the first three songs to avoid the rush in the press pit, giving the press photographers their space. Of course, there were times, like with TesseracT that I’ll talk about more about in a minute, when we had stricter conditions and shot simultaneously with the press. But overall, we worked to limit the number of people in the pit.
Content Team
Give the team a follow! (From left to right in the pic)
Working alongside such a talented group of people was an incredible experience. I learned a tremendous amount from them, and their welcoming attitude made everything even better. I was especially thrilled to discover that one of the photographers, Loz, was someone I had admired and followed online for quite some time. What a small world!
Overall, my experience at RADAR was precisely what I had hoped for: wholesome, diverse, and friendly.
The Challenges
Environmental Conditions
The indoor festival was relatively easy to navigate, even when it was crowded. The main stage presented no major issues, but the second stage posed several challenges in comparison. It was smaller and lower, leaving little room in the photo pit to move around or step back for shots.
The lighting on the second stage was another hurdle. It was darker than the main stage, which made it difficult for my shooting style to achieve good focus since I’m already using lenses that introduces blurriness in the shots on purpose. For example, during the Tribe of Ghosts set, the lights went out for a bit, resulting in very muted photos, almost black & white looking which is the opposite of the vibrant, colourful images we aimed for at the festival.
Technical Hurdles
During the TesseracT performance, we faced double challenges as it was a recorded set and had lasers. For those unfamiliar, lasers can damage camera sensors, so we received specific instructions for shooting this set. There were two sets of lasers: one group shot high above the crowd and another set positioned lower. While the lower lasers were considered safe, I remained cautious and held back from taking too many pictures while they were active. After all, I’m still paying for this camera!
Since it was a recorded performance, even the festival crew had strict time limitations for shooting. We were limited to the first three songs. All the photographers, crew and press were briefed by the band’s crew and we divided into three groups that would each have one song to shoot from the photo pit.
I was in the first group, but unfortunately, we had to exit the pit before the end of the first song after just about four minutes, due to a misunderstanding with security. This left me with hardly any time to shoot, and the crowded pit made it impossible for me to move to the other side of the stage, resulting in just a handful of photos from one angle.
Another challenge was the restricted areas within the photo pit. We weren't allowed to stand directly in front of the laser machines for safety reasons, making moving around nearly impossible when the pit was packed. As a result, I ended up shooting most of the set from the crowd, which is something I genuinely enjoy! In Paris, I often find myself in venues without photo pits, so I’m used to weaving through the crowd to capture shots. Interestingly, those crowd photos often turn out to be my favourites.
Time Management
Managing my time was another hurdle. This was my first time working as part of a content crew during a live event, and it required an entirely different mindset compared to shooting a concert as press. When I’m working as press, I’m focused on getting good shots during a limited timeframe, with the bulk of the editing happening afterward.
However, for RADAR Festival, and a lot of other festivals, the workflow is entirely different. We have to edit on the go, delivering photos so that Sam, who managed the social media, could post them as quickly as possible. After each band’s set, we go back to the content team’s office to offload and edit our shots. My process involved copying the images from my SD card to my external drive, selecting and editing the best ones, and then exporting them to the shared folder of the team.
On the second day, I hit a significant snag. The transfer from my SD card to my external drive was excruciatingly slow, forcing me to skip photographing certain bands so I could focus on editing and keeping up with the pace. After realising this was an issue, I adjusted my camera settings to save RAW files in a smaller size, hoping to speed up the process which worked. But to this day, I’m not entirely sure if the slowness was due to my SD card, the drive, or something else.
In hindsight, I could’ve done a quick selection of photos directly from the SD card before transferring, but I had a couple of concerns with this approach. First, I didn’t have an efficient way to preview and select the photos on my laptop, which slowed me down even more. Second, I was nervous about needing to empty my SD cards during the weekend without being able to properly review all the shots first. The last thing I wanted was to accidentally delete a good shot.
This is definitely a workflow I’ll need to refine for next year to reduce unnecessary stress. That said, the beauty of working in a team is that even if I fell behind on a few bands, my teammates had it covered, so we always had fresh content ready to go.
Behind-The-Stage Experience
The atmosphere was bustling and energetic, with friendly vibes all around. It was a bit surreal running into so many artists backstage. This was my first experience like this, and only my second All Access pass ever, so it felt completely new. I was often caught off guard, turning my head to realise, “Oh, that’s this person from that band… I love their music!” It was overwhelming at first, but I quickly acclimated.
Another unexpected challenge was the language barrier. I speak English fairly well, but after three days of conversing exclusively in English within a group, I found it could become isolating and tiring. Engaging in a language that's not your native tongue requires extra effort to focus, respond, and be reactive. However, I know that the more you immerse yourself in English-speaking environments, the easier it becomes.
I must add that the whole crew was incredibly friendly and patient with me, which made the experience even more enjoyable. There were no issues on that front, and their support helped me navigate this new world with ease.
On the festival's last day, the French band Ashen arrived, and it was a small relief to speak French for a bit. It helped reset my brain. It was a nice and comforting change, especially knowing the band a little since they’re also from Paris.
Highlights
Favourite Sets To Photograph
One of the standout moments for me was photographing TesseracT. Despite the challenges, I felt truly privileged to capture their performance. They delivered an incredible show, and the vibes were immaculate. I really enjoyed every moment of it.
I was also thrilled to photograph Cestra during her set on Friday. She was one of the artists I had been anticipating the most, and her performance was both captivating and powerful. I hope she’ll be performing more in the future because I can’t wait to see her again!
And finally, photographing Ashen was the cherry on top. I’ve seen them perform many times, and it’s always a thrill to catch them on stage. This was my third time shooting them this year, but I’m not complaining, watching them move all across the stage is always a guarantee of fun and dynamic shots!
Unexpected Win
Some of my favorite shots from the festival came from Pintglass, which was unexpected for many reasons. They were initially set to play only at the after-party on Saturday. Unfortunately, the after-party venue was a bit far from my hotel, and after a long day of work, I was just thinking of my bed. So, we were thrilled to learn they would be the surprise set to replace Siamese, who couldn’t make it to the festival. Their set was not to be missed, it was an absolute blast! The energy was through the roof, which always makes for the best photography.
If you don’t know Pintglass, they’re a hardcore band from the UK, known for bringing chaos and mayhem wherever they go, and we were all in for it. Capturing their raw energy while mixing it with my dreamy style of photography was a memorable contrast.
Go check them out!
Post Festival Reflections
Last Steps
Once the festival wrapped up, there wasn’t much left for us to do since most of the work had been done on the go. The primary task was to revisit my photos and refine my selections. Due to technical issues during the event, I didn’t get a chance to review all my shots on the spot, but I was still pleased with what I managed to deliver. I focused on editing the bands I had missed during the rush, going back over some edits from the festival to ensure that my final selections truly reflected my style I was brought in to capture.
Feedbacks
It was surreal seeing my photos shared on RADAR’s social media. Special shoutout to Sam for sharing so many of my shots in the stories! It was a moment of pride but also a test of imposter syndrome. Despite that, I’m incredibly proud of my work, especially for my first official festival.
Lessons Learned
Next time, I’m sure it will go smoother now that I’ve navigated all the initial challenges of this first experience. I’ll definitely pack more gear. Since we’re not restricted to just the first three songs or specific shooting locations, I plan to seize the opportunity to experiment with new approaches once I’ve captured my initial shots.
This experience solidified my desire to pursue a career in music photography. I also learned that sometimes, all you need to do is ask. Taking that chance with Joe and Catherine paid off in ways I never imagined. If there’s one piece of advice I can offer aspiring music photographers, it’s this: just ask. You only need one “yes” to open doors you never thought possible.
To wrap it up, I had the pleasure of meeting many wonderful people from the crew. Due to the limited time and the size of the team, I couldn’t connect with everyone, but everyone I did meet was lovely! I was especially happy to share this experience with my friend Scarlett, who was also chosen to join the crew as the festival’s accessibility coordinator.
Entire RADAR Crew
This was the perfect first step into the world of music photography. I’ll be forever grateful to Joe and Catherine for giving me the opportunity to work for RADAR, and I’m ready to take the next step in my career. I can’t wait to see what the future holds!
If you enjoyed this insight into my experience, feel free to follow my work on Instagram and check out my portfolio. Don’t forget to follow Behind The Lens on instagram for more photography insights and features. Thanks for reading, and here are some of my favorite shots from RADAR Festival!
