I’m going to start a regularly scheduled blog post titled the “How to” Post Series. Basically, these blog posts will focus on a particular aspect of nightclub photography and how to execute or implement the particular topic. This post is about getting press credentials or camera clearance to shoot at nightclubs. If you are new to nightclub photography, it can be very difficult to get into bigger, better known events. Sometimes there are only a limited number of press passes to these events, and they are going to be given to photographers that work for a magazine or newspaper. If you’re a freelancer, you are going to need some really good credentials, a professional looking website, and an excellent portfolio of past work.

The key to “getting in” is to act as professional as humanly possible, and contact the right person. For particular nightclub parties or events, the first person you should try and contact is the promoter of the party. Find out if they would be interested in an additional photographer. It is best to start with smaller, less popular event promoters when you’re just getting started. For general nightclub photography shooting, contact the venue’s marketing director, manager, or owner. Offer to give them copies of the photos at no charge in exchange for “camera clearance”.

Once you’ve gained more experience, built up a strong portfolio of work, and become more of a familiar phase to regulars at clubs, you can start charging a fee for your services, and start shopping yourself out to local nightclubs, bars, newspapers, and magazines. If you can land a job shooting for an event promoter, party website, or legit publication, you’ll have an editor that will take care of all press credentials for you. Working for a nightclub event promoter, magazine, or newspaper is the best way to get into any and all events.