Through their lenses: 4 live music photographers on life in pit

18Fevers bassist Mathew runs into the crowd at The Studio HBC, Oct. 7, 2023, during Block Party 2023. Courtesy of Blair Kitchener

By Jon Dunbar

• Published Sep 17, 2025 5:50 AM KST

Live music scenes the world over are places filled with creativity. But while attention is naturally focused toward the musicians on stage, there are other creative pursuits that are less prominently on display.

One group of such creatives is live music photographers, who work tirelessly to document what goes on at concerts. Photographers are the ones who offer a window into the live music world and help keep the memories alive afterward. Each of them has their own techniques, objectives and motivations. Often they work in poor lighting conditions and chaotic environments, with frequent threat of injury or equipment damage.

To learn more about life in the trenches at live music events, The Korea Times interviewed four foreign photographers living in Korea who can often be seen snapping musicians at play: Nikki Bell from Buffalo, New York; Blair Kitchener from New Zealand; David Smith from Saginaw, Michigan; and Chewy Thomson from Canada.

What gear do you use?

Nikki: Nikon D750 with the stock kit lens.

Blair: A Panasonic S1 and a Leica SL2-s with 28mm, 35mm and 50mm M-mount prime lenses. I use these cameras as they have very large viewfinders, making it easier to focus manually in low light situations.

David: Nikon full-frame DSLR body and various prime lenses.

Chewy: Cut my teeth on an old Nikon D5100 but eventually picked up a Sony. Started with the A7iii and upgraded to an a7iv. I keep the iii as a backup. As far as sensors go, the Sony is one of the best for low light, so ideal for night and event photography where the lighting can be dodgy. Sony also supports a lot of third party lenses and when you’re as broke as I am, you can appreciate that.

How did you get into photography, and specifically live music photography?

Nikki: I was interested in live music photography since high school, but didn’t buy my first camera until 2020. I brought it out for one show, the battery died 10 minutes in, then COVID blew up. After I moved to Busan, I didn’t really know many people so I started bringing it out with me to everything I went to just to have something to do.

Blair: While on a working holiday in Japan, friends and I put together a zine in which I photographed drag performers, the homeless, street fashion, business owners, directors, zoo animals. Then, after returning to New Zealand, I shared a studio space with a jazz musician and photographed his shows and promo material. That led to shooting other musicians and shows.

David: I’ve been going to local music shows since high school. I started really getting into taking pictures when my older sister left an old, fully manual SLR film camera at home after completing a university photography class, so I started taking it to parties, shows, and shooting bands, friends and anything that caught my eye.

Chewy: Getting into shooting live music was almost an accident. I had been doing mostly night and street photography up to that point, when I was contacted by Rebel Hunt, who was starting a new performance artist troupe. I ended up becoming the house photographer for her project, "The House of Hex," a supernatural-themed performance group. We began doing shows around January 2024, and many of them incorporated live music as well. We’ve performed alongside Fat Hamster, Doguul, Sabbaha, Rebeldom and a handful of others, so being the house photographer, I was thrust into photographing these bands as well. We also did an awesome performance at Block Party last year.

How would you describe your live music photography style?

Nikki: I’ve been told that my pictures are very dynamic and capture movement well, so I guess that’s the best way to describe it. I don’t really think about it too much.

Blair: Most of my live music photos are in black and white. I’ll shoot in color if it’s vibrant and interesting. I use only the venue’s available lighting. Gestures and facial expressions of the artists and fans are important in my work. I try to make images that capture a special moment, which could be of one or more band members, fans, or fans and artists interacting.

David: It’s candid, somewhere between documentation and art. I try to take pictures that show the spectacle of the performance, but also capture the connection and energy between the performers and the audience. I would say my photos are more “arty” than most. Shallow depth of field, muted color, not afraid of high-ISO noise or blur. More of an impressionistic approach to capturing the moment than most concert photographers.

Chewy: I don’t know if I have any particular features that make me stand out, but I am very much drawn to color. Very often I find that people in Korea dress in kind of uniformly black or gray colors, and for a while there was this trend among photographers where they were making their edits realistic, lots of muted tones and browns. I can respect that style, but I am almost the opposite; I love bold colors and lots of high contrasts. If you see a cityscape of Seoul or a shot of a performer and the colors and tones really pop, it might just be one of mine.

Name a great experience you’ve had or benefit you’ve enjoyed because of shooting shows.

Nikki: The coolest thing is whenever a band (or even just a member of the band) reaches out to say how much they liked a certain photo. Also, just archiving the music scene in a sense. Bands come and go, sometimes members come and go. But there will always be photos of when they were together. That’s pretty neat too.

Blair: Shooting has led to opportunities like photographing artists for magazines, album artwork, promotional images and behind-the-scenes work, as well as being invited to bigger music festivals.

David: In general, it’s a thankless endeavor. But I do it for myself, so getting better at capturing what I saw and felt in the moment is the reward.

Chewy: Honestly, just getting to meet people and hang with other creatives is a benefit unto itself. There is such a vibrant art and music scene in Seoul and Korea generally that doesn’t necessarily include just K-pop. A lot of it is not especially well known by the general public, it feels like, and that makes it kind of cool. You get to feel like you’re a part of this underground club that no one knows about.

Do you have a favorite act to shoot?

Nikki: It’s hard to pick just one, but I would say Soumbalgwang if I had to choose.

Blair: 18Fevers is always fun to shoot as they use the entire venue, not just the stage, when performing. The unpredictability of what they’ll do in a given space can lead to photos that aren’t the typical band-on-stage images.

David: Not so much a favorite act, but I definitely love the faster, heavier genre bands that get a lot of crowd response.

Chewy: None in particular, but punk and hardcore shows have been my main go-to, just because they are so chaotic and fun to shoot, as long as you can keep your gear from getting body-slammed.

What’s your favorite venue to shoot at?

Nikki: HQ in Busan. It’s the first place I really started going to shows in Busan and the first place I started bringing the camera with me. It holds a special place in my heart. I’m also the house photographer there.

Blair: I prefer venues with strong spotlights that can create a lot of contrast and flare. The old The Studio HBC had some, and Club SHARP, Senggi Studio and Freebird currently do.

David: Any of the midsize venues. Lots of room to move around and get good angles and compositions. Bigger crowds, so bigger mosh pits and more chances for crowd theatrics like stage dives and gang vocal pile-ons. Bright and theatric stage lighting. And usually a few spots where you can get over the crowd for downward angles that capture the whole room.

Chewy: I suppose Skunk will always have a special place in my heart as that was the first place that the House of Hex performed. The decor is also awesome. You can tell the venue owners really poured a ton of themselves into making the place as unique and interesting as it is. I’ve also met tons of cool people there.

Do you shoot video also?

Nikki: I use a toy camcorder and make video collages from shows sometimes. Unfortunately it doesn’t really tolerate super low light so I haven’t been doing it as much, but I’m hoping to get back to it soon.

Blair: No.

David: Yes. I’m just getting started on that journey in earnest, though. I’ve been filming bands with my phone for years now, but I’m just now learning the basics of filming with a final edit in mind, and still learning the different editing programs.

Chewy: I do, occasionally. It’s not my main bag because it is so time-consuming and resource-intensive but I have been getting into it a bit more here and there. It’s something I hope to do more of in the future, as time permits.

Share a tip relevant to live music photography.

Nikki: I guess just don’t be precious with it. Whenever I go into a show determined to take the "coolest" photos they don’t turn out as good and I don’t have as much fun. Also, the more familiar you are with the band’s songs the better it’s gonna turn out.

Blair: Shoot singers or bands whose music you’re into. And before shooting, watch the artist’s previous shows on YouTube, Instagram, etc., to get an idea of how they use the stage, which way they tend to stand, their movements, etc.

David: Explore the space. Find the good angles.

Chewy: Events aren’t always going to go 100 percent perfectly. The fact is, at live music shows, there are tons of moving parts going on in the background that most attendees aren’t even aware of, and nothing is always going to work out exactly as you hoped. So learn to just be flexible and roll with whatever comes your way. My motto for shooting is, always hope for the best but prepare for the worst. And if things go a bit sideways, don’t worry about it too much, that’s just how life goes sometimes! But, if you can afford it, always have a backup camera on hand, especially if it is a paid gig. And bring earplugs; your hearing will thank you later.

Other than live music, what else do you typically shoot?

Nikki: I’ve started taking more photos as I walk around. Just interesting things I see. I’m planning on organizing some photo walks with friends as it gets nicer.

Blair: Street cats, LGBTQIA+ artists, dancers, people and things outside of mainstream society, portraits of people I come across while walking around my neighborhood.

David: Different performance arts. Drag shows. Burlesque. Shibari. Street performance.

Chewy: The streets. I live for night photography and love shooting the city at night. I do a lot of model shoots out in the streets as well, it’s a lot of fun. My good friend and fellow artist once told me I was a neon junkie, and I thought that was so accurate, I made it the title of my first solo exhibition back in May 2024. I absolutely love the neon and the night more than I can express.

Where can we see your work?

Nikki: You can find me on Instagram @lessthani.photos and YouTube @lessthani.

Blair: blairkitchener.com and @blairkitchener on Instagram.

David: Just the usual social media sites. @davesmithlikeitsoneword and @schmuzername on Instagram, @deconstructions on TikTok and @RepMidwest on YouTube.

Chewy: My Instagram handle is @floatationmarks (get it? Neither do I). and I am on that new Foto app under the same handle. You can also find us at @the_house_of_hex on Instagram. Leave me a DM any time!