To make things clear and for you easier to find answers for your questions, I decided to put together this F.A.Q. section. If you still have any further questions on your mind, which haven’t been answered below so far, you can ask me via e-mail simona[at]metalpictures.net.

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Can I use your pictures for my website/blog/webzine/etc.?

Webzines/online mags/etc.: You can use my photos only with my permission! Please send me an e-mail - simona[at]metalpictures.net and we can discuss it further.
Bandsites/fansites/blogs/etc: Yes, you can use the pics, but please link back to www.metalpictures.net if you do so, so other people know where those pictures come from. Would be also fair play, if you send me a message with a link where the pictures are posted, so I know where my pics ended up...
In any case, please note that all photos on this website are copyrighted and you can't use them without my permission for commercial use. No matter what you use the pics for, always remember you definitely can’t cut off the signature from my photos, re-edit them by yourself, or anything else like that! I truly hope you can understand and respect this. Thank you! :)

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Can I have your photos in high resolution?

Yes, you can, but only if you are the band I took the pics of. This is possible also for magazines/labels/etc. who want to use the photos.. Just send me a message and we can discuss it further. It should’t be a problem :)
In the case you are a fan or private person, then sorry, but it’s not possible for you.
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Can we hire you as a photographer? Are there also other things you are able to manage?

Yes, this should be possible almost everywhere around Europe, maybe even further. I travel a lot, so just ask, maybe I will be somewhere around your area soon. Except photography, I can offer also other services, such as merchandise for bands (hoodies, t-shirts, etc.), promotion materials (flyers, posters, calendars, etc.) for a good price. If you need a helpful hand at your gig or festival, it might be possible as well. Nothing’s really limited to the above, just ask!
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We are a band, can you come to our gig and take some pics of us?

Yes, this should be possible, but it’s most likely up to you to organize a regular photopass for me and pay the travel expenses.
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Can you work for our webzine/magazine/etc.?

Sure, I’m always looking for a new opportunity to publish my photos somewhere, so this is possible. Just send me an e-mail with a link to your website plus some informations about it and I will let you know if I’m interested to co-operate with you.
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Can I somehow buy prints?

If you are interested to buy the prints, please send me a message regarding this. I don’t sell through any online stores and not all the pics are available for sale due to the band restrictions. In any case, if you want the prints, we can surely arrange something.
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How long have you been photographing?

I started many years ago, at a very young age. I still remeber myself being a 10 years old kid or so and picturing various things just for fun.. and I remember those old-fashioned analog cameras too – which, most of the people starting phography nowadays don’t have any idea about.. I started to shoot more often and at some point I ended up picturing bands at gigs and festivals, which of course means I needed a better equipment… My main tool is Canon 5D Mark II nowadays and that is another league for sure.
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What equipment do you use?

I currently use Canon 5D Mark II and the old good one, Canon 450D. I have a few lenses too... plus about 5 other digital cameras for a very occasional use. I own some anolog "toys" as well - especially a proud owner of Flexaret VII. The lenses that I’ve been currently using are listed here. 

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What are your favourit bands to shoot?

There’s a few bands I can shoot again and again. I love to picture bands, that are somehow interesting. LEPROUS are probably the band that comes to my mind first! I bet one can hardly find any other band, that can put more energy into their live shows!
SÓLSTAFIR are perfect, if you wanna have photos with serious portion of atmosphere and something „magical“ in it. Though there are mostly very dark lights and a lot of smoke on their gigs, I still like to picture them.
NEVERMORE are a perfect band for picturing too, aren’t they? I was also very pleased to picture LOCK UP and CARCASS a few times... and AT THE GATES!!! For sure, the list of bands could go on and on…
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One band you would love to take photos of, but didn’t have the chance yet?

Someone bring Mr. Tchaikovsky back to life and I'll be more than proud to take photos of this person!
But to keep things real... ARCTURUS, without any doubt! And since they just re-united, I bet this will come true soon :)
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I want to start concert photography too.. can you give us some advice about where to start, etc.?

First of all, you need a camera, a really good camera if possible. Many people think they can take professionally looking pictures without any practise, with a cheap camera and just after they newly started with photography. Also, people think they will get a huge amount of money for their pictures. No, not at all.. be realistic!
If you want to shoot just for fun, you can get away with a cheaper camera and lenses, but if you are really serious about things, it will cost you a lot of money (about 4000 Euro, depends on the equipment you use). But it’s not just about money, for sure photography is a time-eater and means an endless practice. Yes, most of all, it’s all about practice…which reminds me of Billie Joe Armstrong‘s quote „Practice makes perfect, but nothing’s perfect. So why practice?“. That might be true, but in photography the irony is, that you need to practice a lot to be at least good, and perfection remain to be „just“ as the second matter.
Anyway, if you have money and are not afraid to invest it in a good equipment, then just do it! But don’t expect you will earn thousands of money back for your pictures. You all should ask yourself, if you wanna picture bands for money, or because of the fact that you like it! The chase after money probably won’t make you a good photographer (though it might be a good motivation), but the passion for photography itself should bring you on a good way! :)
In a few words: buy a camera, then practice, practice and practice and you will see when you’re getting better. And remember, there’s nothing more important than knowing the limits of your equipment and how to work with that! I should also mention, that it’s probably impossible to know everything about cameras and photography, so just study mainly those things you really need to know and you can learn about the rest later.. There are bunch of articles and forums on the internet about equipment, photography, editing pictures, etc. so just search for what you need and don’t be lazy to read!!! What you learn by yourself is just your benefit! There probably won’t be any professional photographers around to show you how this or that works out, because they simply just don’t have time for that, or they don’t want to share their experiences… and if yes, you’re very lucky then ;) It’s just good to be independent and don’t rely on the others they will take the time and show you all the stuff…
Oh, and there’s one more important thing: don’t just think about yourself, you’re the best photographer on the whole planet Earth. There are much better and much worse photographers than I am and the same applies to you! All of us should admit that to ourselves. Stupid close-minded self so-called „professional photographers“ are something really irritating. Just be critical to others and to yourself as well. By a time, it might happen that the more experiences you have, the more critical you’ll be. That’s all good probably, as long as you’re really objective.
And a good advice? – shoot whatever you want, the more different thigs you shoot, the more experiences you will have and your chance to be a good photographer goes higher. Also, don’t forget to keep an eye on the other photographers around and their work - you can learn a lot from them and you may get inspired. But find your own style and don’t just try to be someone else’s copy!
Well, it’s a long way to go…but patience, passion and time will bring you the results! :)
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Can you recommend us what equipment to use?

Since my tool of choice is Canon, I can give you a few advices on their equipment.. You can start with a „basic“ body such as Canon 550D or the 500D. In any case, I would recommend you to check out the Canon 50mm 1,8 lens. It’s a cheap one, but still good for gigs where the light conditions are poor. If you have more money, then choose some lens with USM. The ability of fast focusing is very important at gigs. Furthermore, I can highly recommend you lenses from the Canon L Series, but be prepared for a very high price! I myself own the Canon 70-200mm 2,8L USM and Canon 24-70mm 2,8L USM and I’m really satisfied with both…
For my experience a good lens is more important than a professional body. You can always take good pictures with a Canon 550D body, if you have some lens with a good aperture like 1,8 or 2,8. But if you buy a Canon 7D and use some cheap Tamron lens with aperture 4-5,6 or so, it will be much harder for you to get good results. Plus it’s kinda waste of money for the expensive body, so to speak.
And in the end of it all… if you have a super-expensive equipment, but have no idea which button you should press, you will probably end up shooting on automat instead of manual, so here we go: it’s just a waste of money, nothing else! And anyway, to be honest, you’re an idiot in that case.. ;)
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What is it like to picture at a gig or festival?

Concert photography is one of those harder fields of photography. There are many facts you have to take care about… lights, smoke, the movement of the band and so on.. and to make things even more tricky, usually you are allowed to take pictures only during the first three songs (mostly like if there is a photopit at the venue). Another fact is that using the flash is usually not allowed. So or so, personally I don’t care about the thing with flash that much, because I prefer to picture without it, to keep the atmosphere in pics, even though they might be dark or so… Sorry, but if you shoot 90% of pics with flash and you’re not able to shoot even one without it, don’t call yourself a photographer, because that’s just what everyone can do! But there’s one good thing about flash: if there are really dark lights at a gig and the flash is allowed, you can always experiment with a long exposure. It might be kinda tricky for someone, but you can get really interesting results :) Anyway, for the beginners I’d recommend to start picturing at smaller gigs where aren’t photopits or any restrictions regarding cameras. You will have more time to realize then, how this or that particular setting of your camera works… Also, always try to make sure you are not standing in the way of some other photographer. I know some photographers who most likely stood in the front of your lens just in the moment you wanna press the shutter (which is really irritating for sure).
In any case, I wish you a good luck and a lot of patience! :)

- Simona Bezdekova, 2011
(updated 2012)