Making Better Action Photos

David Bergman is a legend in the world of concert photography, and he is someone I have looked up to for a long time. That may be the best summary of David I can come up with, that I am a fan, and honored to call him a friend.

For those not aware of David’s work, David is a New York based commercial photographer and photo educator who specializes in action, music and portraiture photographer. David is one of the rare talents that can pull off any genre of photography. He is also a world class educator, something I don’t want to bury down in paragraph seven somewhere. I will go into detail there, but it needs to be stated early on in this discussion. His education talent, his ability to truly understand the art of photography and be able to teach it to others is front and center to who David is.

David has been on the show twice before, first back on Episode 48 for “Composition, Creativity, and Workflow”, and then as a guest on Image Critique #9. For that first show, I knew most people would expect a live music image, since David is the current tour photographer for country super star Luke Combs and is well know for being Bon Jovi’s tour photographer. I didn’t want to be that predictable however, so we chose an image he shot for Canon USA, knowing full well I would need to get him back on one day to talk music photography.

As I mentioned above, David’s current running tour gig is as the photographer for Luke Combs, one of the most successful country artists working today. As the official tour photographer for Bon Jovi and Luke Combs, he has documented bands on stage and on the road in more than 30 countries. He has also toured with Barenaked Ladies and Gloria Estefan, and has worked with Avril Lavigne and Joss Stone. David has also done a lot of celebrity work, for the likes of Drew Carey and others. All of this adds up to David being one of the top photographers working in the entertainment space today, and to David being in the rare class of photographers known as Canon Explorers of Light.

One of the things he is best known for is being a pioneer of the GigaPan technique for making very high resolution images, and his Gigapan of President Obama’s first inaugural speech was viewed by more than 30 million people. His 20,000 megapixel image of Yankee Stadium was printed at 130 feet wide and displayed at the Canon Expo in 2015, a technique he has also used for commercial clients including NBC and MLB.com. David at times seems to be able to do anything with a camera.

Hopefully you’re starting to see what I meant when I mentioned his level of talent. Before moving to New York City in 2001, he was a photojournalist on staff at The Miami Herald and covered news and sporting events around the world. Moving from being a staff photographer to where he is today has been an interesting path. David has had 13 Sports Illustrated covers, including his image of New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees raising his son over his head after winning the Super Bowl. He has covered multiple Olympics, World Series, Super Bowls, NBA and NCAA championships, and Stanley Cup Finals.

That brings us to the education side of David. I would argue that this is where David shines. He stars in and produces a show for AdoramaTV called “Ask David Bergman”, which I would argue may be the best photography tutorial series there is. Short, straight to the point answers to questions that matter. He is also a sought after speaker, having done workshops and seminars for Canon, Apple, Adorama, Best Buy, and Columbia University.

Deserving of it’s own paragraph here are David’s Shoot From the Pit workshops. These in-person workshops are amazing, and I know because I took one this past year. Shoot From the Pit is a chance to learn how to photograph concerts from David Bergman. It’s starts early in the day with David doing a multi-hour presentation. He shares everything you need to know about shooting photos at a concert – the gear, the settings, and rules, and the tips and tricks. Then, you photograph an entire Luke Combs concert. This workshop included unequaled access to a top level arena show. I have had people ask why I would pay for a workshop, considering I have already photographed concerts for 15 years. Heck, I even teach my own remote workshops for Princeton Photo Workshops. The answer is I never want to stop learning. This is David Bergman we are talking about. He knows more about photography than pretty much anyone I know. I was able to pick up a few tips, get confirmation on bits of my workflow, and reinforcement that I still liked my way better for some things. This may have been the best education money I have ever spent.

So, going back to what I said at the start… Bergman is a legend. He has been published in Rolling Stone, Time, Newsweek, People, Entertainment Weekly, Blender, Kerrang, USA Today, and of course his current hometown paper, The New York Times.

Join photographer David Bergman and me as we take a look at how to make better action photos, and as we discuss how he made the amazing image of Luke Combs kicking a cup of Jack and Diet Coke, on this episode of Behind the Shot.

Live Photo Workshops

ShootFromThePit.com

Connect with David

Portfolio: DavidBergman.net
Instagram: @davidbergman
Facebook: @DavidBergmanPhoto
Twitter: @davidbergman

Ask David Bergman

AdoramaTV on YouTube

David’s Gigapixel Photography

ObamaGigapan.com

David’s Photographer Pick

Brittainy Newman: brittainynewman.com

Full Image Sequence at 15 Video Frames Per Image, then 5 Frames Per Image