About Me

Making music visible

I am Simon Pokorny, a concert and music photographer from Berlin. For more than two decades, I have photographed bands, concerts, tours and festivals... always as close to the stage as possible, right in the heart of the action, with one clear goal: I do not just want to show what a concert looked like. My images are meant to make the energy of the show, the closeness to the musicians and the connection between band and audience tangible again.

I can't play an instrument. So I found another way to bring music to life.

From the darkroom to the photo pit

My enthusiasm for photography began in childhood. My grandfather photographed public events, architecture, landscapes and life in and around Mainz. He mainly worked with analogue SLR cameras from Praktica and Voigtländer. From him, I learned not only how to use a camera, but also how images are developed and edited in the darkroom.

One of the most formative moments for me was a Freundeskreis concert at „Folklore im Garten“ in the grounds of Freudenberg Castle in Wiesbaden-Dotzheim. As a young boy, I took photos there with one of my grandfather's old Praktica cameras. Later, I stood beside him in the darkroom and watched as the images slowly appeared on the photographic paper.

Music, movement and memories suddenly became visible. To me, it felt like magic.

A year later, I used the Rheinland-Pfalz Open Air in Mainz as an opportunity to photograph Die Fantastischen Vier on stage. Admittedly, the pictures were not particularly good at the time. I was young, standing far away from the stage, and still had a great deal to learn about concert photography. It took several years before I was able to enter the photo pit with accreditation.

Because of my early interest in computers, I soon began exploring digital image editing in depth. In 2001, I bought my first high-quality digital camera. By 2003, I was photographing proper rock bands for the first time, including Boysetsfire and The Used. Alongside my training, I then began photographing concerts more and more frequently.

Dublin, Enter Shikari and the real starting point

The real starting point for my concert photography came in March 2006. Together with two friends, I flew to Dublin with light luggage and a small camera to see Enter Shikari at the Voodoo Lounge.

At the time, the band was mainly a small MySpace phenomenon that had already begun attracting attention in the UK and Ireland, while still being largely unknown on mainland Europe. Since we did not know whether Enter Shikari would ever come to us, we decided: then we would have to go to the band.

The concert was incredible. After the show, we met the band, went out around Dublin together and immediately got along. It was instantly clear that we would see each other again, next time with a bigger camera, better pictures and hopefully another equally great time.

That first meeting led to further shows, festivals, tours, rides on the tour bus and many special memories. Enter Shikari showed me how much more concert photography can be than simply documenting a performance. It can create closeness, build trust and connect people over many years.

Direct, colourful and honest

My images are especially recognisable through bold colours, close proximity and a direct, honest perspective. I like being right at the front of the stage and in the middle of the action. My photography is not meant to be restrained. It can be loud, vivid and in your face, just like a great concert.

I understand why many concert photographers enjoy working in black and white. Black and white can feel documentary, reduce distractions and leave plenty of room for the viewer's own imagination.

Personally, though, I want to see the colours: the light, the sweat, the clothes, the stage and the atmosphere in the room. I want to capture the band and that specific moment in a way that puts you right back in the middle of the show when you look at the image.

With bands I know well or have already seen live several times, I can anticipate many special moments. I often know when a jump is coming, when someone will make their way into the crowd or at which point a musician might deliberately turn towards the camera.

Sometimes, images emerge that cannot be planned. During a festival set by The Blackout, singer Sean Smith spotted me in the photo pit. He came right to the edge of the stage, leaned down towards me, looked into the camera and gave me the middle finger. Behind him, the tent roof stretched out over the stage. It was a brief, direct exchange between artist and photographer, and a picture nobody else could have taken that day. Sean and I were both very happy about it.

Hearing and seeing music

I am not particularly musical myself and do not play an instrument. Although I was once allowed to stand on stage as a triangle player with the American band Horse the Band at With Full Force and Groezrock, not least to get a band pass and new photographic perspectives from the stage and backstage area.

Music has still moved and inspired me since childhood. It is an important part of my life. Concert photography became a way for me not only to hear the music I love on record, but also to make it visible.

Over the years, I have had the opportunity to photograph many bands, including Enter Shikari, Blessed by a Broken Heart, Alexisonfire, Silverstein, The Last Mile, Chiodos and Parkway Drive. Boysetsfire holds a particularly personal significance for me.

Together with a close friend, I attended one of the band's final concerts before their break-up at the time. Shortly afterwards, he passed away far too young. When Boysetsfire later reunited and I was able to photograph one of their first shows after the reunion, the moment was naturally very emotional for me. In moments like these, photography becomes more than an assignment. It connects music with people, memories and personal stories.

On equal terms with the bands

I most enjoy working with bands I already know, or with those who have a few minutes before the show for a brief personal meeting. I want to understand who the people on stage are, how they interact with one another and what feeling they want to share with the audience through their music and live performance.

The better I know the people behind the music, the more honestly I can portray them on stage.

I want every collaboration to be straightforward, respectful and personal. Backstage or on tour, it is not about fan behaviour, screaming or making myself seem important. Discretion, decency and professional conduct are simply a given for me.

I help when help is needed. I step back when a personal moment should remain private. And I am there when the goal is to create great images together.

Over the years, I have had the chance to meet many bands and musicians again and again. Some professional contacts have become genuine friendships. Some musicians also enjoy staying with us in Berlin while on tour or visiting privately. It is wonderful to see bands again, spend time together and watch people and careers develop.

It is especially impressive to experience a band like Parkway Drive playing in front of perhaps 20 people on a small stage, then see them performing in large arenas and stadiums years later. But I am equally happy for bands whose careers have not grown explosively and who still keep touring time and again out of love for music and their fans.

I am deeply grateful to all the bands, musicians, crews and promoters who follow this path with conviction.

Clubs, festivals and special places

I grew up in the Rhine-Main region. That is why I photographed my first concerts mainly in Mainz, Wiesbaden, Frankfurt and Darmstadt. Later, shows in Mannheim, Karlsruhe, Gießen, Würzburg, Stuttgart, Cologne, Munich, Hamburg, Berlin, Leipzig and Dresden followed.

Over the years, concert photography has also taken me to the Netherlands, Belgium, England, Ireland, Poland, the USA, Canada, Mexico and Japan, among other places.

Around 2010, I moved to Berlin. Today, I am mainly found at concerts in Berlin, but I also particularly enjoy working in Hamburg and am generally open to assignments in other locations.

Alongside individual club shows, festivals have always fascinated me. I still miss the Groezrock Festival in Belgium a little. The Vans Warped Tour was also something special for me: many fantastic bands, an affordable ticket price and the chance for fans to discover new music in one day that they might not have been able to afford at individual shows.

The atmosphere sometimes felt like a giant supermarket car park without any shade, but somehow that was part of it too.

If you are looking for an honest, lovingly organised festival in Germany with a great atmosphere, take a look at Traffic Jam Open Air in Dieburg. The festival has been organised with enormous passion for many years, and I truly hope it continues in this form for a long time to come.

Experience in photography, design and media

I am a trained bookbinder and qualified media designer specialising in non-print media design. In addition to photography, this gives me a deep understanding of design, digital image editing, print production and the requirements of different media.

In the past, I have photographed for press agencies, music magazines and online publications such as FUZE Magazine, Uncle Sally*s, Alternative Press and VISIONS. This has been complemented by assignments for bands, promoters, PR agencies, labels and clubs.

Today, I work mainly directly for bands and promoters, as well as regularly on assignment for the Berlin photo agency PIC ONE. At the same time, I am always open to exciting enquiries from other fields.

Technically, I mainly work with Canon EOS DSLRs, mirrorless cameras from the Canon EOS R system, as well as Fujifilm X cameras and high-quality fast lenses. For me, however, it is not the camera model that matters most, but the moment captured with it.

How a collaboration works

A collaboration usually begins with a short, straightforward enquiry. Together, we clarify which images are needed, where they will be used and what scope makes sense for the show or project.

Afterwards, we take care of accreditation and, whenever possible, meet briefly before the concert. This gives me the chance to get to know the band, clarify any open questions and get a sense of what matters most to them during their performance.

When the show begins, I focus entirely on the music, movement, light and decisive moments. Depending on the assignment, I edit the first images immediately afterwards. Sometimes, though, we first meet up for a refreshing drink after the concert before I get started on the selection and editing shortly afterwards.

The band or client then receives the finished images in the agreed formats and resolutions.

There are no fixed flat rates. The effort involved depends, among other things, on what the images are needed for, where and to what extent they will be published, how much time and organisation are required, which travel is necessary and what equipment is needed for the assignment.

Let's talk about your show

It is important to me that bands and promoters feel well looked after from the very beginning. Nobody needs to know exactly which photography package they need, or get in touch with a fully developed idea.

A short message is enough. Then we can discuss together what suits the band, the show and the intended use of the images.

I want to create images in which you recognise yourselves: direct, colourful, honest and full of energy.