Beyonce has banned professional photographers from her Mrs. Carter Show World Tour in an apparent attempt to prevent the release of unflattering pictures after Super Bowl experience.
No photo credentials are to be granted for her concerts, Beyonce’s UK publicist has confirmed, and instead she’s hired her own snapper, Frank Micelotta, to capture her in action – and her best angles.
Fstoppers.com revealed Beyonce’s company Parkwood Entertainment is giving out three to five pre-approved images shot to media after the show.
The photography ban comes after it was widely reported back in February the singer’s publicist had asked agencies or websites to remove “unflattering” photos of Beyonce during the energetic performance at the Super Bowl.
However, bloggers fear that the move by Beyonce’s camp may backfire, with publications and websites instead buying in pictures from fans and amateurs.
“They thought by not letting photographers in, they will have full control over the photos shown in the media,” F-Stoppers blogger Noam Galai writes.
“Huge mistake. Now not only is the mainstream media showing unflattering photos of her, they are showing bad-quality unflattering photos of her.”
Noam Galai, a professional photographer, believes that “unflattering photographs published of the star at the Super Bowl were the result of pressure to get snaps of the event out quickly with no time for much sorting or retouching”.
He adds: “But in almost any other event, such as normal concerts, photographers have time to go through the images, get rid of the bad ones and send out the absolute best. Generally speaking, no one wants to post bad pictures.
“Banning professional photographers from all shows is simply stupid. Beyonce needs to use the media to her advantage, not fight it. Playing games with the media will cause more harm than good.”
Meanwhile, a Beyonce-approved video has been released to fans and unsurprisingly, she looks great in every frame.
The singer shows off snippets of three songs, a glimpse at her various designer costumes and a look at some of the dance moves and sweeping spectacle of the whole show.
The video starts with Beyonce’s rising to the stage in her white Ralph & Russo one-piece to the opening beats of Run The World (Girls).
She shouted: “How y’all doing… I want you to put your fists up.”
After a few bars of the song, there is a brief shot of her controversial “nipples” gold bodysuit designed by The Blonds.
The short promo also features Beyonce in her red Alon Livne gown, a black fringed ensemble and back to the Ralph & Russo number.
Beyonce is then seen flying over the crowd on a rig in her navy blue catsuit Dennis Kolpodinos as she sings Love On Top.
During the 90-second clip, there is Beyonce’s signature wind machine blowing her hair off her face and lots of wide shots to include the audience.
She ends the video by slowing the pace down for Halo, which sees snippets of her outfits, ending with Beyonce in the blue catsuit sitting with her eyes closed on stage.
Beyonce’s tour kicked off in Serbia on April 15 and is set to resume in Paris on Wednesday night.
The 65-gig tour comes to the UK on Friday and will arrive in the U.S. in June.
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