Today we're going to be talking about how to get media passes for concerts, festivals, and events, what are the different types of passes, and how you can get them to shoot for your favorite artists or brands as a videographer slash photographer. My name is Evan Nguyen, welcome to 11% Tutorials. For the past two to three years, I've been freelancing as a solo videographer and have gotten media passes to shoot for events such as Coachella, ComplexCon, Rolling Loud and more.
I'm going to be going over how I landed these passes and how these events led me to go on my first tour with Lil Baby a year ago as a photographer. Let's go. Now whether you're a photographer or videographer, maybe you just started or you've been shooting for a while, this video is for you.
First, you need to know what not to do. Bad news, most events and venues don't allow professional cameras, hence why you need a media pass. These are typically classified as cameras with detachable lenses, but it's all entirely subjective to what event you're trying to shoot for. It's important to know this because some people have no idea that they're not allowed to bring professional cameras and then they're just not let into the venue because they bring all their pro equipment. There are some exceptions like ComplexCon, for example, which allow you to bring in professional cameras, so just make sure that you read the event FAQ entirely.
Most venues do allow point and shoot cameras or VHS camcorders so if you want to experiment with shooting events first by just buying tickets you can totally bring a point and shoot to most concerts. I know some great photographers who've taken some awesome photos on a point and shoot so you should definitely check it out. Now first up you need to know about the different types of media passes and the reasons they exist. First, there are press passes.
Most people usually confuse press passes and media passes as the same thing but press passes are a little different compared to media. Press passes are specifically for public press and news outlets. Think of CNN, Fox, New York Times.
These are all press outlets and they fall under the press and journalism category. These passes are given to photographers working under an outlet with reach and influence. The events or artist PR teams give these passes to outlet photographers in hopes of getting more eyes and attention on their event in exchange for typically free admission to their events.
Some really big brands such as Coachella won't even give free admission with a press pass so you still have to buy a ticket but like I said everything is subjective to which event you're shooting for and the context so remember. Please read the FAQ. So how do you get a press pass? For a press pass, most people forget, but you first need to be working under an outlet that does news or some type of press coverage. And then you have to either submit a press application form provided by the event or send an email.
Now don't worry and skip ahead just yet. You don't need to be part of like Vogue magazine or New York Times to get one of these passes. There are actually a lot of smaller press outlets you can join in your community, including a school slash university newspaper, a local hometown newspaper, or even a journalism club at your school.
You can usually find them by doing a quick Google search or just asking around your community. Smaller outlets usually always open to more help, so just reach out to them and say something like, Hey, I love your outlet. I'm a photographer.
I can take some great photos. I would love to contribute to your publication. I'm sure most outlets would be thrilled to have you join. Now keep in mind, you probably won't be getting paid for this, but you have a platform now that you can apply for events on.
Now once you join an outlet, you can apply for press applications under them as long as your outlet publishes some sort of content on it. Whether that be an interview. an article, an IG story even, make sure you talk with your editor about covering the event before you shoot it.
Now for finding these press applications, press forms aren't always usually provided, but you can usually find them in an event FAQ or by Googling XYZ event press form. Most of the time it's a Google form. You can just fill out your info, followers, and reason for applying. If there's no form, always send an email to the event's official email address. Now this next part is very important and this is usually where most people fumble back.
So I'm going to be showing you an email template that I use to get my press passes for my outlet, The Sundial, but let me first explain the importance of having a mission statement. You have to have a mission statement for wanting to do coverage on an event. Think about it from the event or artist's perspective. They want to get as much exposure as possible, preferably coverage that puts them in a good light.
In your mission statement for covering the event, be honest and have a message and theme in mind that you want to share. For a press pass, you are not just a photographer, but you're also a journalist and storyteller in a way. For example, when I did Rolling Loud this year for the Sundial, our mission was to inspire other students from our school that they too can build careers in a creative, diverse space such as the music industry.
It doesn't have to be super cringe or anything, but please just don't say that your reason for going is to take cool photos of an artist or to make like a cool highlight video. They probably already have photographers for that and that will not get you a press pass. This right here is an email example template I've used to successfully get press passes for smaller shows in LA. As you can see I state my name, publication, and reason for covering, which is a hip-hop series that we were writing at the time.
And then a clear specific ask for a press pass. Very simple. Of course not every time it'll work, but just try sending this to the venue email, artist manager, venue manager, tour production company, or any party affiliated with the event. This is where you just got to start putting in the reps and start emailing because with repetition and consistency, you'll definitely get some replies. And by the way, I'd find these email addresses by just Googling the venue website or going to the Facebook about pages, which are usually where I find most of my email addresses.
One small tip I do recommend is getting a domain email related to your outlet. This is an email address that ends with blink.com or ends with website address.net. Most people overlook this, but it's the simple things like this and having a professional email footer with a website logo that really helps with looking professional and building credibility. For example, I joined my school university newspaper called the Daily Sundial during my first year, and I used my.edu email address along with the Sundial's editor email address to apply for press application.
It lets the event know that there's a real organization behind you and it's not just some random photographer kid. If you don't have a domain email address for your outlet or you don't want to pay the $6 a month for a Google business account, you can always just start a new Gmail with the outlet name to look more professional and also have a nice footer too. Next up are guest media passes.
Now these types of passes aren't literally called guest media passes, but they do exist and can help you bring a camera in while also usually giving you more exclusive access. Well, I don't usually use this method anymore in my career. This is actually how I got my start in shooting events.
For every event, there are usually a few groups of people who are allowed to bring in extra members of their team. These can be vendors, sponsors, exhibitors, or even artists themselves. Most of the time, their name or logo will be on the event flyer. They usually have some pull when it comes to events because they are either bringing in more money or attendance for the event. So how do you get guest media passes?
For these, I like to use what are called an irresistible value offer. First, find the email address of a vendor, sponsor, or artist who will be on the event lineup right in the subject line of your email. Free photography slash videography for blank for XYZ event.
If there's one thing people will always love, it's free stuff. Then in the email, offer to provide free photos or a highlight reel or something to show them in your portfolio. The goal is to make your offer so good that people just can't say no.
Here's another email example I used to get in my first Rolling Loud in 2023. I offered to take free photos and take a free one minute highlight video for an artist named Glossup for her set. Her manager emailed me back asking to see some of my work and then agreed for me to come and shoot on the day of her set. I got this like day two wristband artist pass and then I also got this like cool lanyard right here and VIP access to the Loud Club which was actually a really cool bonus. That night I got to take photos of Don Tolliver and Travis Scott shooting from the pit for my very first time.
And by the way, this was not the only person I'd emailed offering this. I believe this was like the 220th personalized email I'd sent out for this one event. This is where repetition and consistency comes in again.
You just got to put in the work. Most people say they want to take concert photos, but overlook the countless hours of cold outreach you just got to do. It's work for sure, but it can pay off if directed in the right areas. Six months later, because I had shot that free video for Gloss Up, her manager reached out to me again to shoot a music video while she was in LA for a week. After the music video, Gloss asked if I was available to take photos for her on tour opening for Lil Baby and that's literally how I ended up landing my first tour gig from offering to shoot photos entirely for free.
Last but not least, the infamous house media passes. These are the most sought after photo passes in every event because you basically have all access and better yet, these are paid gigs. By media passes, I'm referring to the passes that the official event media team gets to shoot coverage for these events itself.
These gigs are contracted by agencies and other production companies and usually require a lot of networking to get in. So how do you get these media passes? It depends.
My first media team experience was for Coachella 2023, the same year that Frank Ocean unfortunately pulled out on week two, but whatever. I got that gig by literally just grinding my ass off networking all summer during events and I eventually met a videographer who knew a bunch of festival production connects. I honestly wasn't even like planning to shoot for the event, it just happened like from a combination of like talking and introducing myself to every other videographer I met.
And then I also post my work. The videographer I met saw a concert highlight I did of ComplexCon and was impressed by it. So he ended up referring me up the chain and I got that gig.
Simple as that. Referrals are the strongest form of job applications. To work as an in-house media, I'm going to be honest, there's really no specific set way.
You just kind of have to network and just reach out to as many other photographers and videographers. This again is just a combination of persistence and patience. Be nice and friendly when you're on shoots because you never know who you'll meet.
I think the best thing I can say for advice is just start by going to events through either using press passes or by doing free work and getting the media guest passes. With time and consistency in posting your work, people will begin to notice you and start putting you on. And soon enough, you'll end up landing a media team gig.
With that guys, that is all my advice. I hope that helped in some way, shape, or form. And by the way, all the methods mentioned in this video should work across different types of events.
I know I just talked about like concerts and festivals but if you're trying to do like sports, conventions, or any other different type of events it pretty much is the same process. And last but not least if you're a videographer, photographer, and you're looking for some new visual effect ideas or presets you should definitely check out our website 11percent.net. There we have title card templates, overlays, and a bunch of other crazy video and photo presets.
Like for example if you're doing concert edits or music videos we have this camera shake pack which you can just drag and drop onto adjustment layers and you get some instant camera shakes. It's really dope. If you want to check out all these presets, they're linked below in the description at 11% dot net. That's how you support me and keep me going so I can keep making free videos like this. Once again, thanks so much for watching.
Leave a comment down below if you had any questions or advice. With that, I'll see you in the next video. Peace.