Ralph Larmann did not set out to be a photographer, initially he was drawn to music and studied drums at the Rotterdam Conservatory in the Netherlands. In addition to his music, he became a journalist and photographer, capturing images of unfolding events, and gradually photography took over as his full-time focus. His background in covering events dictated the direction of his photography, his work is rarely concerned with posed portraits or staged moments, it captures the energy and emotion of action as it happens, transporting the viewer to the location and highlighting not just the the performer but their surroundings and the work of the designers and technicians that created them. Taking full advantage of his access, his images capture the viewpoint of audience members all over the venue, from the big picture from IMAG and projection screens to the view from the front row. For many fans, his photographs capture their personal experience of the event as well as more intimate shots of the artists on stage and behind the scenes.
During LDI 2023, Larmann discussed his equipment choices, the stories behind some of his most famous images, and the process that enables him to share these experiences with the world.
Tools Of The Trade
Larmann has used Sony cameras since 2015, specifically the Sony Alpha Ones. He describes why he has chosen these cameras as he travels around the world. He describes the reasons behind this choice: "I shoot some of the most powerful, emotional, and magical shows and music and I want to catch that magic. The Alpha line has a combination of speed and image quality that no other line can do, and and amazing fast auto focus. I can follow the whole show and never miss a moment. For example, when an artist gives all his energy to the crowd and they feel it, you have to feel that emotion in the photo. It helps when you have 20 frames per second and with the Alphas I can use the 24 to 70 mm or 100 to 400 mm lenses which give me the flexibility I need, in addition to the sharpness and brilliance. The A9 is like an instrument, when you play music you don't think about it you do it, and the work just flows. This camera does everything to support me in the best possible way, becoming part of my personality. I worked 30 years with Cannons and every photographer needs the best tool for their work. I will never say it's the best camera for everybody, but for me, I can say the Sony A1 is the ultimate camera."
Photographing concerts and theatre present different challenges than, for example, sports or landscapes. Larmann says, "One of the reasons I work with this camera is because production lighting uses so many different frequences and with LEDs it's harder to catch the colors. My Sony does an excellent job. Another big reason is I need a noiseless camera, for example for ballet perfomances like Swan Lake and classical music. I like to photograph rehearsals and performances and it is horrible to use a camera with a click."
Ed Sheeran
Larmann has worked with the artist since the X (Multiply) Tour, and Sheeran's manager tasked him with taking a powerful photo to promote the +–=÷× (Mathematics) Tour. Mathematics is produced in the round, and because of the unique construction, it has broken multiple stadium capacity records and delighted audiences with an extraordinary visual presence. The design, which encompasses a circular video screen over a revolving stage with six masts held in place by a cable net system, is the work of Mark Cunniffe, Jeremy Lloyd of Wonderworks, and Rasti Bartek of Cundall. Because of the open, circular design, there is not a single focal point, making it difficult to capture an accurate illustration of its scope. Larmann describes the challenge of getting the shot. "It's a little like a circus ring and wonderful, but also difficult to capture the energy. There is only one artist on the stage with no background, and he always has the crowd behind him, and so my strategy was to capture their energy."
The tour started in 2021 and will continue until 2026, so Larmann has had many opportunities to go back and photograph it, including in Toronto taking a shot of the show at the Rogers Centre from the top of the CN Tower.
One of his favorite things about the images of Rogers Centre is that it's a baseball stadium, not a classic concert venue with a different placement for the crowd and he was able to capture views of the people working there. He says, "That's a very special combination for me, to show the scenes behind what's happening on the stage when the show is running." Management were also eager for him to cover the new Panther sound system which was used for the first time on the Ed Sheeran tour. He was initially booked to photograph it at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, but ended up getting the iconic photo of the tour in Cork, Ireland, which is a much smaller stadium.
He says, "There are moments that will never come back again, so you have to organize yourself very well that you have the photos that cover the whole production and show the artists as they are."
To get a sense of the scale of production, here is a YouTube video of Sheeran's concert in Cork, Ireland.
Panther Sound System On The Ed Sheeran Tour
Location, Location, Location
Larmann says, "I'm always thinking about where is the best place, the best location to photograph a show because there are some stadiums in the States with closed roofs or construction over the room so and it's always different, especially when you when you play a stadium show that's designed for an open air feeling it never looks as great in a in a closed arena. I'm always talking to the manager and production team to find the best possible place for those stages and that band."
Capturing The Moment Forever
Documenting those live moments became so important to Larmann that, beginning with his book Stage Design in 2007, he has produced more than 20 books of his work to preserve some of them, including in 2010 Stage Design Emotions. He says, "I want to give something to the people in this business that is forever. There are digital pictures and people have their own memories on smartphones, but if servers go down there is no record." In 2019 he began printing his own high quality images compiled as journals of the entertainment industry and he is currently working on a new book featuring 60 notable productions which will be available in 2025.
He Works Alone
Larmann says, "People ask me also how many assistants I have. I have no assistants. Everything you see is my work. The photos you see from Ralph Larmann are 100% mine, even offline I do the post production and the printing it is 100% my work. I do have the flexibility of using a remote camera system that I started in 2006 and 2007. Remote cameras are a little bit more complicated, I work in different ways with a wireless system to control the cameras using Wi-Fi and apps to trigger the shots, [including the Pocket Wizard used by sports photographers] and sometimes I also use a time lapse function. I work with eight cameras, four I have on me with different lenses as I move around the venue, and four are remote in different places around the stadium. This way I can cover five different positions at the same time."
He says, "Other photographers concentrate on the band and I focus on the band too, but also the whole production." Some of his iconic images include U2 leaving the stage in torrential rain (which soaked his camera) and Metallica's James Hetfield smoking a cigar and relaxing before a show. He travels to each venue early to get a sense of the best angles and positions for remote cameras and to sepnd time with the production crew.
"It's important when you cover show the way I do, to have a very close contact with all the people working there," he says, and this often includes the lighting and sound crews. He also needs to know the production in depth to capture moments with pyro, for example, and this also makes the experience safer. "Covering fire is very special, because you have to program the cameras get the structure of the flames, not just a white flare. Occasionallky he uses an adapter to accommodate Canon tilt shift lenses." He says, "In my analogue time I work with a Sinar P2 or large format camera with 4 by 5 inch slides.
U2 360° Tour
Larmann had the freedom to work however he wanted to capture all facets of the 360° shows. He is particularly proud of a shot of the whole cew who worked on the tour at a stadium in Frankfurt, near his home in Germany. His most famous image from that tour, though, was used to promote it all over the world. "I was very focused on finding a way to capture show a moment that gives you the energy of the whole production in one picture. I love this magical shot because it captures a mistake: the mirror ball on the top of the 360° stage was normally moving but at Olympic Stadium it burned out and stopped, this is why it is glowing in such a way."
The Production
"I love stage construction more than content on screens. This has much more power in pictures than any content on a screen so I'm looking always for productions like this AC/DC tour."
Larmann was allowed to put a camera at the back of the stage to cover it from behind, in addition to using a high tripod in front of there stage.
One of his favorite places to photograph is Bregenz Festival, on Lake Constance in Austria. He says, "For me, it is the most beautiful outdoor stage in the world and this is the production mother butterfly the opera the combination of stage water and sky is unique in the world."
He continues, "If you love stage and design and music this is a place you have to put on your bucket list."