Covering the Crowds. Tips for photographing rallies and protests

This week I’d like to give some pointers on covering the crowd. It takes a very steady hand to photograph rallies and protests, and I covered two this week outside the Massachusetts State House. Here are a couple thoughts:

*Stay Neutral.
If it’s a rally of two different sides converging, I recommend you don’t voice your opinion or take sides. Rather than covering the story you will become part of the story. As I was covering the Union Rally this week I was on one specific side of the issue and people began asking me what side of the issue I was on. I kept replying, “I don’t take sides. I’m with the press, covering the issue.” They kept pushing and pushing for me to give my opinion on the topic but I didn’t budge and kept replying that I was neutral. It seemed as if they were trying to instigate a argument with me, hoping I’d say I’m not on their side.

*Get Different Angles.
Like any other event I cover I suggest getting a variety of angles. Get a shot that shows the entire crowd. Also, zoom in and get single portraits from within the crowd.

*Capture Emotion.
Make pictures that show the emotion of the event. Whether happy, sad or mad, let your images tell the emotional story of the event. This can mean capturing the chants, cheers and tears in the crowd.