20 festival photo ideas (outfits, friends and golden hour)

The best festival photos happen in two windows: golden hour, when the field glows and everyone still looks fresh, and night, when the stages and rides light up. In between, shoot candids and details. Bring a battery, keep the lens clean of dust, and take outfit photos early.

Outfits and friends

1. The outfit check at the gates. Full-length, wristband visible. The Portrait 1 guide frames head to toe at 1.5x.

2. The friend line-up in festival outfits.

3. Glitter close-up at 3x.

4. Getting ready at the tent or car.

5. Flower crowns from behind.

Golden hour

6. Dancing in the field, backlit.

7. On someone's shoulders with the crowd behind.

8. Lying on the grass, shot from above.

9. Flags and banners against the sunset.

10. Ferris wheel silhouette.

The stage

11. The crowd with the stage beyond. Heads in the foreground for scale.

12. Hands up in the light.

13. The confetti drop.

14. Your favourite artist at full optical zoom. See how to take concert photos on iPhone.

Night

15. The ferris wheel lit up.

16. Glow sticks and LED outfits.

17. Food truck queues under neon.

Details

18. Wristbands on wrists.

19. Muddy boots.

20. The ride home, asleep in the car.

Festival tips

• Battery pack. Long days and cold nights drain phones.
• Wipe the lens often. Dust and sunscreen blur photos.
• Lower exposure for stage lights so they keep their colour.
• 1x at night, optical zoom only for the stage.
• Golden hour for portraits. Midday festival sun is harsh.
• A warm film look suits festivals. slay lets you swipe film stocks live.

Frame the weekend

slay overlays composition guides on your live iPhone camera, so festival photos come out framed even in a crowd.

Get slay on the App Store: https://apps.apple.com/app/id6807513456?utm_source=slaycamera&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=festival-photo-ideas