BA (Hons) Photography students from the School of Digital Arts (SODA) recently attended Parklife Festival in Manchester’s Heaton Park to gain experience capturing live events.

Parklife 2025, which featured global stars such as Charli XCX, 50 Cent and Jorja Smith, was attended by over 80,000 people which meant students had the chance to experiment with artist close ups, crowd shots and fan portraits, capturing the atmosphere of the festival.

One of the students who took part, Rommell Sumayang, said: “Photographing Parklife festival was an amazing experience, the highlight for me was the creative freedom it gave. Unlike more structured shoots in a studio, this was about reacting in the moment, chasing light, energy and emotions as they unfold. I had the opportunity to document a more personal and intimate moments, the way the crowd moved, the connection between artists and their audience. Photographing in an unpredictable environment pushed me to trust my eye and respond instinctively. It was a chance to step outside of technical precision, to also look at storytelling. Capturing what it felt like to be there. It’s a celebration of music, culture and creativity, which I was lucky enough to experience and document through my lens”.

However, the setting also provided major challenges as they had to battle with changing weather conditions and busy surroundings. Rommell Sumayang explained: “One of the main challenges I faced shooting at Parklife was the weather condition. Not just because of the rain and the risk of my equipment getting damaged. But the overcast, it created a fluctuation in lighting. I have had to constantly change the settings on my camera to make sure the exposure is consistent throughout the images. Another challenge I faced is the spontaneity. Not having an expectation, not knowing what’s going to happen next; Not knowing whether if the photos are going to turn out great or not. But these are just the nature of photographing at a festival. It is out of our control, so I didn’t try to let it get to me. I just carried on shooting and finding opportunities to get some good shots. One of the key things I learned is being able to work under pressure. Photographing people and adapting to the different lighting conditions in a short amount of time, while also thinking of technical and creative ways to present the image, so when people are looking at it, it feels as if they are in the moment of when the photo was taken”. 

This experience gave students a great insight into the world of events photography and allowed them press access to shooting one of the UK’s biggest summer festivals. Rommel added: “The whole experience definitely benefited me towards my practice and helped build my portfolio. Getting out of SODA and shooting in a real world environment like Parklife was a big learning experience. It pushed me to work fast, adapt on the spot and trust my instincts in a way you don’t always get in a controlled setting. There’s no controlled setup or second chances, you just have to respond to what’s happening around you. It really helped me build confidence and a better sense of how I work creatively under pressure in the real world”.

Find out more about studying Photography at SODA.

Find out more about Parklife Festival.

Cover photo – Jess Payne