How should I interact with a loud amateur photog when I'm making a personal audio recording of an acoustic performance?

Question

I was at a large prestigious high school music concert this past weekend where I wanted to record the audio on a hand-held audio recorder, as my daughter was performing with one of the groups. I was quite a distance away from the performers (it was held in a large basketball arena) who were performing without amplification, so having a quiet environment around me was important to get a recording worth saving.

Unfortunately, the gentleman seated in front of me kept taking pictures with his DSLR and telephoto lens during much of the performance, probably taking 100+ pictures over the course of a 30 minute performance. This DSLR (make/model unknown) was quite noisy, both with the focusing beeps, as well as the noise of the shutter and mirror. In listening to my recording once I got home, his camera's noise was very distracting and completely ruined the recording for me as all I could focus on was the noise of his camera. All I kept hearing was several beeps of focusing, then a loud shutter/mirror click. Then a few seconds later, he'd do it all over again, or do a multi-shot burst.

Should I have said something to him while I was there, asking him to not take so many pictures due to the noise of his camera ruining the listening for others around him? I have no problem with him taking some pictures, but is there some sort of courtesy he should have considered with the camera making noise being a distraction to others. I would have been fine with a few pictures every once in a while, but several pictures per minute in such a quiet listening environment seems like huge selfish gesture by him.

Answer 1

The quantity of photos he was taking I don't think are unfair, however, I think he should have been more aware of the noise his camera makes. On most DSLRs, the focus beep can be disabled and the amount of noise the camera makes can be reduced. Some may also offer quieter shooting modes that avoid further noise.

When attending a performance, particularly one that is largely audio based, it is impolite to make more noise than necessary. This isn't some etiquette rule that requires you to be a professional photographer to know. It's simple common sense for attending an acoustic performance. Since it is almost certain that he could have accomplished taking his photos with much less noise, I think it would have been fair to ask if he could turn off the beeping and use whatever the quietest settings for his camera were. He may, however, have not been aware of the fact he could make his camera quieter, so I'd approach it politely and try to be instructive as to how to look for focus confirmation beeps or other similar settings.

Answer 2

To me, this is a case where an amateur photographer and an amateur sound engineer were each sharing space. A professional photographer might have behaved differently. When nobody is a professional it is unreasonable to expect professional behavior and hold people to professional standards.

The camera noises were not sufficiently audible during the performance for anyone to mention it. Because the photographer was not asked to change their behavior, it is unreasonable to expect the photographer to behave as if it were problematic. This is a case where ignorance is an excuse. It excuses the noise from the amateur photographer. It excuses the recording of that noise by the amateur sound engineer.

In terms of public spaces, audio recording probably has a greater burden of accommodation than photography due to wire tapping laws, statutes and regulations. As always, talk to a legal professional familiar with the requirements of the jurisdiction. Legality aside, audio recording individuals without consent is probably "ruder" than photographing them. This is because the time in which others may have to monitor their behavior is of much longer duration than a few snapshots.

The most professional thing for a photographer to do is for them to position theirself so as to not interfere with the behavior of others. The same is true for an audio engineer. But when both are amateurs, that should not be expected.

Answer 3

This isn't about professional courtesy. Not at all. It is about common courtesy and proper etiquette when attending a musical performance as part of the audience.

Here's the thing. An amateur audio enthusiast recording audio of the concert doesn't do anything to affect the ability of the other members of the audience to hear and enjoy the performances. An amateur camera enthusiast photographing the concert in the way depicted in the question diminishes the experience for everyone within hearing distance.

The issue is not about the amateur photographer and the amateur audio engineer giving each other "professional" courtesy. The issue is about both being able to do what they desire without disturbing everyone around them.

If you can attend a concert and record or photograph it without disturbing others, have at it. But if your activity interferes with the general expectation the members of the audience have that they be able to hear the music at a musical performance, then you shouldn't be doing what you are doing, regardless of whether someone else is trying to record amateur audio or not.

Answer 4

Should I have said something to him while I was there, asking him to not take so many pictures due to the noise of his camera ruining the listening for others around him?

Yes, it's certainly impolite to make enough noise that you're bothering the audience members around you, whether it's with a noisy camera or a crinkly candy wrapper. Being seated in the audience is probably also one of the worst places for taking decent photos -- indoor venues are always dark, and seats in the audience are usually too far away and partially obstructed. A smarter photographer would've found a better vantage point to shoot from, and that would've put him farther from the audience.

On the other hand, trying to make a decent audio recording from audience seating in a basketball arena using a pocket recorder is bound to fail. I doubt your recording would've been very good even without the camera noise -- just like your seat mate, you were too far from the performers and too close to the audience. And just as it's impolite to distract people from enjoying the performance by making noise, it's also impolite to impede their enjoyment of the moment by asking them to be very quiet so that you can get a better recording.

If you want to record the next performance, scout out the location ahead of time and find out if you can place your equipment somewhere close to the performers. You might offer to share your recording with the organization that's performing, so that the school (for example) and all the kids can get a decent recording of their performance. Or, if they're already recording the performance, you might be able to plug into their mixing board, or just get a copy of their recording afterward. If you're going to record, get there early so you can set up without being in the way, and start recording just before things start. You might run into some photographers scouting out the best vantage points, and you can let them know where your mic is.