If you hear the words: festival photography, what do you think about? Dancing people, neon lights, a couple of shoots and partying all night. Am I right? Then you might say life’s a party for Netherlands-based photographer, Remy De Klein as he’s travelling around the world, capturing the best moments of the biggest festivals. Being an EDM (electronic dance music) photographer isn’t as easy as it seems.  As he says: “You’re responsible for the visual memories of an event. This is a one time only opportunity, so you need to capture the right moments, special effects, details worked on for months – it’s not just lovely people hopping around.”

It all started out with the love of music and taking photographs, but time and practise lead him to the biggest festivals around the world. These days he shoots international stars like Armin Van Buuren, Deadmau5 or Hardwell as a professional photographer and brings expectional colours to the world of festival photography.

More info: remydeklein.com

“When I dropped out of school, I started my own company. At a certain point I had the opportunity to take editorial photos at big festivals like Mysteryland, Sensation, A State of Trance, etc. I do had some knowledge about photography (via an internship) and my dad owned a (cheap) DLSR, so I was thinking, why not try to get some cool unique pictures with it. I fell instantly in love, but the ‘cool’ part of the photos was still missing! Then I decided, I wanted to be one of the best photographers and from then on I was shooting almost 2 events per week, learning all about the skills and invested a lot in equipment.”

“The first time I got to shoot a festival…”

“…for an organisation and not as press was a cool feeling. That was MagicBreak in Turkey and I even got the chance to lead the photography team! We’re still shooting that festival every year, by the way.”

Miami, here we go!

“I have this story about Ultra Music Festival 2014. After seeing almost every festival in The Netherlands, Ultra was on the top of my bucket list. We managed to get some press tickets so we booked a flight and then there we were, MIAMI! The scenery is insane; palm trees, sun, skyscrapers, beaches, beautiful people and there in the middle of the city, there is Ultra! 

I managed to get some amazing shots there and it got me some international exposure because Armin van Buuren, Ultra and some others DJ’s were sharing my photos.

The Flying Dutch Festival, one of the highlights of 2016

Fun in the Sun

What makes a great festival photo?

“For me the great photo is the one that stops you from scrolling through your social feed. We have to deal with so many many photos these days. The photo needs instantly grabs attention. It can be the perfect photo, or just a simple, abstract catchy one. I don’t think it has rules.”

How does a professional work day-to-day?

“As for my workflow, first thing first is to collect and backup all the photos of multiple CF/SD cards. To make sure none of your photos will be formatted with your next gig haha! 

Depending on the purpose of the shoot, but most of the time filter the ones that trigger me and rate them with a 4-star. I’ll use Adobe Lightroom for most of the time,  by the way. Next I’ll filter through the 4-star selection and eliminate some shots for a second round. After that I’m just going to do the editing. This contains cropping, color correction, and basic adjustments.”

“I have literally shot all of my ‘bucket list DJs’ already.”

“But my favourite DJs to shoot; Armin van Buuren and Deadmau5.”

I’ve advised/trained some new photographers as well and they find these tips to be very helpful:

“1: Master your gear, and master your software. . It takes discipline and a lot of time! But this is really important because otherwise you’re just not working with your full potential, technically speaking.

2: Do it A LOT! Make sure to experience every aspect of your photography niche. If you have shot tons of events for example, you’ll know how to deal with different situations and you’ll become more confident and prepared to deliver awesome photos!”

“3: Ask someone better or more experienced to criticize your photos

4: Join photography groups, follow relevant Youtube accounts, blogs, etc. Get your knowledge and never stop learning!”

Feel free to drop me a message if you have any questions!

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