Cameras & Chaos: The Spirit of Live Action Event Photography

Live action event photography is the ultimate challenge. It is exhilarating, chaotic, and magnetic. With live events, the photographer has to capture all the important details, expressions, and interactions—not to mention, anticipate those incredible moments that can flash by in the blink of an eye.

Photography is our Passion

At Epic Artwork & Photo, we love capturing the energy of a big event and using our skills to highlight the talent of a performer, the hard work of event organizers, or the enjoyment of event attendees. The feeling of getting a killer shot that captures a performer or event in all of its glory is like nothing else. For Andrew Bourne, photographing Rock n’ Roll is like trying to catch white lightning in a bottle!

Any photographer that has captured an unforgettable action shot can relate to the amazing feeling. For us, the only thing better than watching an incredible live show is getting the chance to photograph it.

We Capture Authentic Energy & Emotion

With live events, our goal as photographers is to be like an apparition and avoid disturbing performers or audience members. Maintaining the emotion and energy of an event is key. We want to capture undisturbed, natural performances to get images that convey the true gravity and wonder.

We Read the Scene & Tell the Story

At every shoot, our goal is to read the energy emanating from the event and to effectively portray it. Reading the scene’s energy gives us a vision for composition. We fill the frame with what matters—action and powerful movements—and cut the fluff. We follow the visual cues that highlight the mood of the story and capture them. For example, in Drowning Pool, Andrew Bourne captured the ethereal quality of the concert when he snapped the photo of Ryan McCombs silhouetted in gauzy smoke, shadow, and spotlight, leaning away from an old-school microphone. Click here to view more of our live concert photos.

Do you want to capture dynamic, creative images from your live event? Book us today!

The Epic Artwork Story

Epic Artwork & Photo all started in 2005 when Andrew Bourne was deployed to Iraq at the Syrian border. He needed a camera for intelligence reasons, so his wife Karen sent him a digital camera. He also photographed the life of the Iraqi people around him. After he returned to the states in 2006 and Karen had a chance to finally view all the images that he took, she realized that Andrew had captured beautiful and harrowing images that later earned him a gallery show.

While in Iraq, Andrew suffered a traumatic brain injury. When he was finally diagnosed in 2008, he was told he needed a hobby to help rework the neurons in his brain, so when he brought up doing live event photography to Karen, she encouraged him to do so. Not only was live event photography a tangible exercise in therapeutic mindfulness, but it also engaged the brain and encouraged the development of neuroplasticity.

Andrew and Karen Bourne are a traveling photography duo with incredible experience and passion. Check out Epic Artwork and Photo’s portfolio here to explore their live event photography and the images Andrew captured in Iraq.