I've done lots of types of photography, and each kind has it's challenges. It's hard to be a master of all types; taking a photo of a person is nothing like photographing a landscape. People are tricky. They wiggle around and stuff, and you gotta be patient with them. Landscapes generally don't care about snarky remarks.
Landscapes and scenics are a great place to start with photography. You get to take your time, play with your camera settings, and review your images on your camera's display to see what did and did not work. Landscapes don't move much, so you get to take as many photos as time allows. It might take 20 photos to get an image right, but you've got nothing but time. Even with that, there are times I've home with nothing but garbage photos. Each time you learn a little something new, and you apply it to your next shoot and hope for better results.
If I had to choose a favorite thing to photograph, it would be concerts.
Loud, obnoxious, rock concerts.
Concert photography is the opposite of landscapes, and defines the phrase "hurry up and wait". Photographers are asked to be at the venue an hour or two before the event, where you standby until a few minutes before the band hits the stage. Usually you have good company; photographer friends and acquaintances that you can catch up with or get to know better.
The standard rule for concerts is "shoot the first 3 songs, and out". So, you know, no pressure. During the three songs you want to make sure you get your exposures correct during constantly changing light, catch crisp focus on musicians moving around while they play, and keep shot composure in mind. Add in changing lenses in a poorly lit area and running back and forth from one side of the stage to the other to capture all the band members, and you've got a recipe for pure adrenaline.
There was one artist that was an exception to the 3 song rule: Garth Brooks. The guideline for his show was that you only get to shoot the second half of the first song, and first half of the second song. So, about 4 minutes total. If you take 15 seconds to change lenses, that is a significant loss of time. Add in photographers were set up 175 feet from the stage, and the challenges have gone up exponentially.
Side note: I also shot photos at the Garth Brooks press conference. He was the nicest, most down to earth celebrity you'll ever encounter.
Almost every time when that third song wraps up, and the photographers are headed out, I have no idea if I got anything worthwhile or frozen a few moments in time that capture the feel of the show. It's normal for me to have hundreds of photos to sort through and narrow down to a dozen or so "keepers". Often it feels like a salvage operation when you see photo after photo of soft focus, too much motion blur, or poor exposure.
Shooting concerts really tests your skills, and it's a load of fun.
You learn a few things: A) How to shoot under pressure, B) How to change lenses in the dark, and C) How important earplugs are.
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