From Coldplay to Wiz Khalifa: How this Mumbai music concert photographer has been documenting concerts for over three decades

Verus Ferreira says his most memorable concert to shoot was `The Global Citizen India Festival` in 2017 where he saw his favourite band, Coldplay, perform. Photo Courtesy: Verus Ferreira

When Mumbaikar Verus Ferreira started covering music as a journalist in the early 90s in the city, little did the Bandra resident know he would fall head over heels for music photography. At a time when owning a camera was a luxury, Ferreira armed himself with a keen eye and a point-and-shoot camera only so that he could capture musicians and singers at music concerts in Mumbai. It stemmed from his love for music since he was a young child.

Even though the 50-something veteran journalist had the opportunity to click only 24 photographs at the time, he did it will full zest. It is one that resembles the enthusiasm of young child discovering something new for the very first time. For Ferreira, clicking these photographs was like falling in love with music like it was his first introduction to the art form every time he attended a music concert. This very passion can be seen even today, every time you spot him at music concerts. Quickly whipping out his camera, he dodges attendees - young and old - to get the perfect shot before it goes away.

Today, the Bandra resident clicks photographs with his digital camera but has come a long way since his analogue days - but the photographs always tell a story, one that is hard to capture from your phone cameras - that many youngsters boast of. Over the last 32 years, he has captured many artistes but without a doubt, he has a favourite. It is not only the artistes but also honing his skill that let the Mumbaikar find his groove at a time when the music concert scene in India is blowing up with the likes of Coldplay and Diljith Dosanjh to name a few.

The exhibition titled 'Lights, Camera, Action! An Exhibition of Concert Photography' took place from November 17 - November 22 and was inaugurated by India jazz legend Louiz Banks.

Sifting through more than 2,000 photographs put together over the years, the Mumbaikar displayed his photographs in an exhibition at The Bombay Art Society in Bandra. The exhibition, which he believes is the first of his kind, was from November 17 - 23, and today is the last day and took you through the history of music concerts in India over the last decade. It was inaugurated by Louiz Banks, who is fondly regarded as the ‘Godfather of Indian jazz'.

Here are edited excerpts from the interview:

What inspired you to get into music concert photography? Was it a by-product of your job as a music journalist?
I was always interested in music from a very young age. While I was in my final year of college in the early 90s, I began writing for a youth magazine called ‘The Teenager', where I had a music column called ‘Pop Talk'. I used to attend events and meet music artists for my page. Slowly, one magazine led to another, and soon, I was writing for a few publications. Whenever I used to attend an event, I used to carry my camera and take pictures with the artists I'd interviewed. After the interview, I would usually attend their concert and shoot a few pictures. This way, photography began to be a part of music journalism, and even today, I carry a camera with me to all music events.

When did you click your first concert photograph and what was it about? Ever since then, how have you seen yourself evolve as a music concert photographer?
An Indian record label Crescendo Music was tying up with the Bertelsmann Group of Germany to form BMG-Crescendo. To commemorate the merger, pop-rock band Air Supply were invited to India. I am a very big fan of Air Supply and was always waiting to see them in India. I was invited to the launch, which was held at the Tulip Star Hotel in Juhu. It was a by-invitation gathering and Air Supply performed live. I carried a small Hot Shot Nikon Point and Shoot spool camera with me, and with that, I shot my first concert photos of my favourite band ever. I had to wait until the roll of 24 exposures were completed and only then give it for processing and see the photos I had shot. I still have those photos and cherish them. That time we had postcard size prints. I have displayed a few of those postcard pictures at the exhibition. Even since then, I have always wanted to shoot music artists. Some other artists whom I have shot and have a few postcard size prints are Diana King, Savage Garden, Boney M when they visited Pune. I now attend most live events and shoot music artists photos whenever possible. This love for music, interviewing music artists has only fuelled me to take to photography.

How many photographs have you clicked over the last 32 years, one from every concert? How many did you have to sort through to arrive at this collection for the exhibition? How many photographs are exhibited?
I have shot over a couple of thousand assorted images of various music artists, including press conferences to live concerts. For this exhibition, I kept the artists in mind first, the quality of the photo, and tried to bring out the personality of the artists in the photo. All the pictures in this exhibition, which is the first ever music concert photography exhibition in India, are digital pictures from 2013 to 2024. I didn't use any of my analogue pictures. The exhibition has 64 photos.

Which is your favourite photograph from the exhibition and why? Which is the most memorable concert you have attended as a music concert photographer and why? Which would be your dream concert to photograph?
All photos that are displayed here are my favourites, but one of those that was the most difficult to shoot was Coldplay's Chris Martin and AR Rehman performance at the Global Citizen India Festival on November 9 in 2017. I was pretty far from the stage, but I managed to get a few good shots of both these legendary singers. The Global Citizen India Festival is my most memorable concert where I saw my favourite band, Coldplay, performing. I also featured Coldplay in my second book ‘The Great Rock Music Quiz Book', which I released in December 2017.

Wiz Khalifa performing at Sunburn Arena, Jio Garden, BKC, Mumbai on September 15, 2019.

As for my favourite picture from the exhibition, it has to be Wiz Khalifa performing at Sunburn Arena, Jio Garden, Mumbai, on September 15, 2019. This shot was taken as Wiz Khalifa was signing off his powerful performance. Wiz Khalifa has tattoos all over his body. At the concert, he removed his shirt, displaying his tattooed body. While each tattoo on his body has a meaning behind it, the one most noticed in this picture is that of an angel praying on his left side of his abdomen.

As for my dream concert photo shoot, I would really like to shoot photos of Air Supply. After the merger launch of BMG Crescendo in 1995, when I met them, the duo visited Mumbai for the Channel [V] awards in 1996 and then in 1997 for their album release of 'The Book of Love' where I met them again. After that, they have never visited Mumbai, although there are many music concert promoters in India who want to get them here.

Ever since you started out, how have you seen music concert photography grow in India? Do you believe it gets the importance it deserves? If not, why?
Unlike wildlife, food, travel, portrait, wedding, and other styles of photography, music photography has never been given its due credence in India. There are just a few music photographers in India who really do music photography but cannot showcase it to the world later as once they are published in a newspaper or magazine, it is done with. This was always the case. Even music magazines that were there a few years ago, when featuring certain music artists, sometimes carried music artists pictures which the record label sent them, this despite a few bands performing in India, record labels still sent their own music pictures to magazines. Leaves you wondering why the magazines or newspapers didn't use the pictures when the artists performed in India. In fact earlier this year, Smart Photography carried an 8 page Showcase of my Concert photos in their March 2024 issue. This was the first time ever they carried a special on Music Photography. Later the Sunday Free Press Journal also carried my concert photos in a special feature story on March 17 this year.

Jascha Richter of Michael Learns To Rock, performing at Phoenix Marketcity, Mumbai on December 4, 2022. Ferreira says unlike others, this one shows Richter interacting with the audience, an important part of every performance, and that is what makes this photograph unique for him.

Nowadays, most photographers are freelance photographers who want to shoot music photos and at times are happy to do it for free as they get a photographer's pass and free access to the concert or festival and do it as a hobby or for their Instagram page. The reason being firstly there are no music magazines left that cater to music specifically, and even newspapers don't devote much space to music stories. A really sad state of affairs, considering the influx of music artists from the West visiting India nowadays. Add to that the number of music festivals happening all over the country has increased manifold. Unlike in the West, where concert photography is huge, with big bucks paid to the photographer, here it sadly is more on the photographer's Instagram handles. No doubt Instagram has contributed to photographers uploading their pictures, but it remains just there as online work. Photographers would do well to use these pictures on their personal website to showcase their work and in turn get more offers for music photography. You could also offer photos to online portals that display them on their website for sale. Also music bands now get photographers to shoot their portfolios, album covers and sometimes even concert gigs.

Have you ever faced a challenge with music concert photography in India?
While it is fun to see your music idols performing right in front of the stage, shooting images can pose a real challenge. When it comes to international artists performing in India and even overseas, the thumb rule is usually shooting the first three songs or first 10 or 15 minutes with no flash. In that span of time, you have to get all your shots done, as once you are out of the photographer's pit, you can no longer shoot any images. You are then part of the audience enclosure, which is jam packed. Another issue is that most concerts are in low light to sudden bursts of powerful stage lights that sometimes shoot straight into your eyes. Besides that, you also have smoke screens that pop up all the time making it difficult to get a good shot at moving singers and guitarists which could make your picture turn blurred. Other challenges include pyrotechnics, which come in the form of fire flames and confetti cannons with multi-coloured confetti popping up. All that goes well with the audience but could be dangerous for a photographer who is at the edge of the stage. In India, most concerts are now commissioned to photographer agencies who have multiple photographers at the venue. You will find maybe two photographers below the stage, one in the centre of the ground and two at the end of the concert ground, to capture the concert from all angles. With the result, the media is not given its due importance in obtaining a photographer's pass to shoot these big-ticket concerts. One has to rigorously follow up with the PR agencies who invite media for these events. Accredited media houses rarely bother to follow-up to send photographers to these events, mostly relying on the PR agencies sending them photos. Going back to around five to seven years, it was much easier to obtain a photographer's pass for a concert, but now it's difficult. As for the indoor concerts and smaller acts, things are much better. Sometimes even the venue where a band performs has No Photography restrictions in place.

Ustad Zakir Hussain performing at the Ajivasan Music Academy, Juhu, Mumbai on February 26, 2019.

At a time when many people use their phones for photography, what do you believe makes the craft unique? What camera do you use?
To those who use smart phones, it all sounds good, as now everyone with a Smartphone is a photographer. Go to any concert these days, and you will find everyone with their phones recording the show, going live on social media platforms. A photographer shooting at a concert is lucky to be in front of the stage. To those at the back with a smart phone, the pictures would be either pixilated or too tiny. However a high-end phone camera can at times give you good photos, it all depends on how close you are to the stage. Besides if you are at the GA section you would get a set of hands and phones in your pictures, as everyone is shooting photos of the show. I presently use a Canon 1500D.

Do you have a favourite spot to get the perfect photographs or any other rituals?
At any big-ticket live concert you attend, shooting images is going to be difficult as the artists keep moving on the stage. You have to pan your camera and follow every movement to get that perfect shot. So, if you are shooting in front of the stage, you have to keep moving around, and also take care of other photographers in the photographer's pit. If you are lucky and get an All-Access pass, you can go backstage and shoot pictures of the artists from the wings to get some excellent pictures, of the band, the crowd and of course the pyrotechnics from all angles.