Festival shoots - not for the novice

I've been reading a lot around the Soundwave Festival forum of people that want photo passes. If they had experience they need not to ask it, so I assume they are new to it.
Sure, at first glance shooting a festival sounds like a fun experience but for me being a punter and a shooter are two completely different experiences. There are things one must know such as the basic rules; three songs no flash, take photos from where security/promoters tell you to, and the unwritten rules of respecting other photographers. If you don't know about 3 songs no flash (which is the amount of time a photographer can shoot a band for) then you really aren't experienced enough for a festival. I found out about 3 songs no flash at Coca Cola Live n' Local 2006, and back then it was really hard for me to get any decent photos in that short time. Now that I'm used to it I can be done in two songs or less.
Respecting security is something I reluctantly do. I don't want to give myself or the comapny I shoot for a bad name. So, suck it up and just do what they say, unless they are in the wrong, e.g at Soundwave Sydney 2008 they wouldn't let us in the photo pit at stage 2 so we had to go find their boss to set it straight. When it came time to take photos of Motion City Soundtrack they still wouldn't let us but Matt Booy came to the rescue.
Don't be a snobbish shooter: move out of the way if another photographer wants to shoot from where you are standing. Do not shove them, but politely say ''cuse me" which I find works quite well. If you accidently bump them or get in their shot say sorry. Manners are very important in the photo pit. At gigs and festivals especially there's a lot of waiting time so take the time to chat with the other photographers and ask who they are shooting for. If you are rude to the other photographers then your reputation is on the line.
Something else that novices may not consider is what equipment to use. At Soundwave 2008 my earlier shots didn't work out that well and I had to play around with my settings a bit. I was using the very heavy but brilliant 24-70m f/2.8 L lens, which is great but when the light gets too low it starts to fail. A 50mm f/1.8 or 1.4 is good for when the light gets low. I did manage to get a few ok photos with my 24-70 at night. Actually for my next festival shoot I might just purchase the 85mm f/1.8. It's a beaut!
Flash photography isn't allowed at festivals but some shooters get away with using a hot shoe flash (not a built in one - never use that at a gig with such spectacular lighting). Even though I'm a non-flash person I do encourage the use of a hot shoe flash if you know how to work it. Using a lens between 1.2-1.8 will get you better results because you'll be able to see the stage lighting a whole lot more.
Another point to consider is your health. Festivals are usually on very hot days and a photographer will have to be on their feet the whole time, with barely any time for lunch and dinner. Make sure you eat something though. I recommend eating well, exercising and lifting weights a few months before you shoot a festival (L glass is very heavy).
A few alcoholic beverages are ok, but if you're shooting for a magazine/website then don't overdo it. If you screw up your shots you may never get the chance to shoot for that company again.
Most importantly make yourself a shooting timetable. What I did was calculate how many minutes I'd get to shoot (10-15) and work out how much time I have to get to the next stage. Organising a break time is very important to.

Deadlines: a deadline for a festival shooter is something like 9am the next morning, or some companies may give you a bit more time, but nothing over 24 hours. I was fortunate to not get one with Bombshellzine but I still sent my photos off a few days later.

So you see not everyone that wants to shoot a festival can. It's stressful, tiring and feels more like work than fun. A punter just has to obey venue rules and pretty much do what they want. Get drunk? Yeah whatever. Getting to shoot can be hard to. Not only do you need a good portfolio and you need to convince your editor that you're reliable but you have to get in before another photographer does. If you haven't heard back in weeks or months don't fret - you will probably hear back a week before the event, or in my case the day of the event. It's a stressful job but the photos are rewarding enough.

I have contacted two comapines to shoot Soundwave 2010 for. If that doesn't work out then I still have two more to contact.