Street Musicians Festival – Novi Sad, Serbia

Overview & Quick Tips

Street Musicians Festival was held for the first time in 2001 and it has been held every year since then, usually at the beginning of September. Other than gigs of street musicians from all over the world, there are also various performances, workshops for kids, concerts of popular artists from the region and much more.

Detailed information

Novi Sad is a city in Serbia usually familiar to party-lovers because of the Exit Festival. Street Musicians Festival is an event established approximately at the same time, which has gained a lot of popularity over the years. It is held in the first days of September, and during the festival days, there is something going on from early afternoon until 1 or 2 after midnight. The whole city becomes a stage, the atmosphere on the streets is joyful and entertaining, there are a lot of smiling faces and of course – there is a whole lot to photograph.

Be alert – if you are there to photograph the atmosphere of the event, this is the first tip to follow. Street Musicians Festival unites street art, performance, theater and music, with the stages placed on several locations in the city center. However, not only that stage performances make the festival – the whole city is a festival! Many interesting moments and performances often happen far from official stages, in the middle of the street and out of the blue. This is why you need to be on the ball all the time and pay attention to everything around you – since many crazy moments can happen behind your back if you concentrate only on what is happening on stage. Do not get frustrated if you do miss something, though, because even if you do, there will still undoubtedly be plenty of great moments to capture.

Capturing fast movements – the afternoon events should not be a problem for photographing, since in the beginning of September there is still enough light in the afternoon hours. But when the night falls, you should prepare your camera for capturing movement without blur. You will need a lens with wide aperture and ISO value should be as high as possible, as long as it does not create too much noise in the photo. This ISO value varies from camera to camera – I have never used ISO higher than 800 on mine, but you will determine the maximum acceptable ISO value for your camera on your own. If your camera or lens has a decent autofocus mechanism, make sure to use it, since it enables fast reaction and more successful capture of the moments you find appealing for photographing. It would take a while to focus manually in weak light and with people moving fast, and not only that you risk making blurry photos, but you can also miss a good moment. There is also always an option of using a flash (preferably external), but I personally believe that photos at this festival look better if the flash is avoided.
It is easier when you photograph concerts, since the stage lights are very bright, colorful and they add to the atmosphere. ISO can be as low as 200 if you own a lens with wide aperture, and if you raise ISO value further, it will enable you to use shutter speed fast enough to capture concerts without any blur.

Be adaptable – even though the festival has been held for 15 years now, it has undergone many changes and it keeps being different every year, in many aspects. Number of days and number of stages vary from year to year, which usually depends on the budget the Festival gets from the city. Therefore, it can happen that the Festival lasts a week, or three days; that there are three big stages, or only one. Despite the unpredictability in these matters, what remains a constant is that the Festival is always fun, entertaining and rich in content. If you visit the festival two years in a row, it can happen that the second time is completely different than the first, so be prepared for the surprises and try to make them more of a challenge than an obstacle. After all, it should be all about fun.

Be prepared – since the Festival is held in September, the weather can pull many surprises, from summer temperatures without a cloud in the sky, to strong winds and rainy weather that lasts the whole time of the Festival. Make sure to bring clothes that cover temperatures from 10 to 30° C, and also something to protect you from rain. Waterproof camera bag is a must, and it is also advisable to bring a waterproof camera case with you, so that the rain does not prevent you from shooting – because even when it rains, the Festival does not stop!

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