The unwritten rules of the pit

The pit has rules that nobody writes down. Break one and you do not get yelled at by an email. You get a tap on the shoulder, a tap on the wrist, or quietly not invited back next time.

Here is what gets you yelled at, what gets you a second pass, and what gets you a name across crews.

The rules nobody tells you

Things that get you yelled at if you do them, even though they are not written down:

• →Standing on the front-of-house barrier. Even if there is space. You are not allowed up there.
• →Touching the stage. The stage is not yours. The stage is the artist's. Lean on the front of the stage and someone will move you. Do not put your glass or drink on the stage.
• →Putting your bag on the floor where people can trip on it. Most pits have a wide side of the stage where you can stash bags. Use it.
• →Blocking other photographers. The pit is shared real estate. If you stand in front of someone's lens during their shot, you have made an enemy you did not need.
• →Using your phone constantly. A short video clip is fine. Trying to be an influencer in the pit is not. Pocket it.

When security tells you to move

You move. You do not argue, because they will never let you win.

After song three, when you are out of the pit, you can ask the lead security person what the issue was. Calmly. Not as an argument. As information for next time. Eight times out of ten you will learn something useful. Two times out of ten it was their judgement call and there is nothing to learn. Once in a while they made a mistake and you have to deal with two songs instead of three. You absorb that and move on.

Either way you keep the relationship intact. Especially at a festival, because you will see the same crew again and again across the weekend.

What gets you the second pass

Three things, in order of importance:

1. Your images were delivered on time and were good.
2. You showed up where you said you would, on time, with the right pass, knowing the artist's name.
3. You did not cause anyone a problem in the pit. No artist disruption. No yelling. No fighting for position. No phone calls.

All three matter.

The Collective puts you in real pits alongside us, where these unwritten rules become muscle memory. Apply if that sounds like you.