Gig photography - DPChallenge Forums

12/31/2005 06:36:59 PM · #1

I went and shot a couple of bands last night. Tried to use the advice from the mentor thread on that topic and it was really helpful.

If anyone has some time to comment/ give feedback I'd appreciate it:

Exile To Naples

The Scabs

Message edited by author 2006-01-05 10:54:56.

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM

01/01/2006 06:55:57 PM · #2

I guess New Year's Eve wasn't the best day to post this for feedback :)

theSaj

Canon EOS-20D

01/02/2006 07:17:16 PM · #3

Image 54201325

I like where this was going, but wish I could see the singer's eye and the guitarist's face. The area in the top right is kind of distracting. Since it's all black in the top right hand corner, try blacking out that section of tan background. Also try de-saturating the reds. I find this can help clarity and sharpness of gig photos.

(Also, looks like a guitar is growing out of his back, would PS that too.)

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Image 54201326

Beards are always nice. I like the tilt of his face. The very bright background part distracts. a bit. Sadly, the main aspect of this photo that loses it for me wasn't really your fault. That being the lack of focus by the audience's eyes. Were they just staring at the lead singer that'd be tolerable. But the one person talking to her friend makes one think "must of been boring" and really shatters what would have been a great mood. It's often a good idea to take multiple shots with such scenes in hopes one of them will have good audience participation.

Image 54201327

Cute capture, but overall just a touch too goofy for me. Needs more sharpnees to really move me.

Image 54201328

Not sure what this band sounds like, if he's known for "swooning" than this is a decent capture. It's a little sharper and clearer than some of the prior ones.

Image 54201329

This one just doesn't do much for me. The hand is block. And really, I couldn't tell this from a speaker at a business conference. There is opportunity to remove a lot of distraction via Photoshop (the other boom mike and what looks like an exit sign).

Image 54201331

Great expression. Well lit. Decent focus. Very interesting composition but I like it. The blue people in the foreground, the shadows of the crowds in back. And the merch in the far background just barely recognizable. Some might see the merch as a distraction but because it is so much a part of "gig bands" I like it's inclusion here. Sadly, I really wish his shoulder wasn't cut off on the left side. Otherwise a very nice job.

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Image 54200511

Pretty good drummer shot, drummers are hard to capture nicely. Usually blocked by their own equipment. Very good composition on this. Good record of movement. Not so great expression on the drummer's face. (This plagues me as well. Best compositions = expressionless looks. It's one aspect of drummer's that's very hard to deal with. Often you get a seemingly blank stare or a constipated look. When what we really want is that nice "over-powering emotionalized look of energy". Not bad, but room to improve.

Image 54200512

Too blurry, mic blocks too much, hair looks very frizzy but the blurry loses the effect. Sorry.

Image 54200513

A bit too blurry for my tastes once again. Perhaps try de-saturating yellows/greens for added clarity. Nice clarity on the guitar strings. But the face has been lost. This is a tough one due to the need to use a wide aperture and thus a shallow DOFs.

Next time try not to cut off the hands & head so much...

Image 54200514

Pretty decent, the background is additive for the most part. But I really want to see that left hand.

Image 54200515

This feels like the shot just missed the moment. They're blocking each other and looking a bit like they're holding hands and hiding the fact that they're kissing. I think for this shot to really work you'd need to be at a higher elevation to capture both their faces more clearly. Also looks like a bitover blurr. But not too bad. Try de-saturating some of the blue and seeing if it looks clearer.

Image 54200516

Okay, aside from the sexual appearances of this one it captures a rather interesting perspective. I'm really not quite sure what to say about this one... *lol* Looks very British to me.

Image 54200517

For the most part a nice capture. Would like to see that hand on the bottom. But the bass is evident. The face is clear. It's got a pretty nice pose. And composition is otherwise fairly good. I'd experiment with removing the red/white/blue object in the top left and seeing if it improves the photo any.

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Hope this was helpful. Please realize ALL my comments are meant constructively and with the intention of helping.

MadMan2k

Sony Alpha a6400

Tamron 70-180mm F/2.8 Di III VXD

01/02/2006 09:47:33 PM · #4

Nice photos - I like #54200517 (051230_exittonaples_antones_2233.jpg) best.

What lens did you use for them?

01/03/2006 11:01:48 PM · #5

Thanks for the detailed comments. I pretty much agree with most of your comments. However for a couple of them, I tend to disagree:

Image 54201325 with the tan area in the background, there are a lot of triangles in the image, guitar/ mike stand, rear mike and cables, and the tan triangles in the background. This creates quite a bit of visual rhythm in the scene, between these areas - when I take it out, the image becomes flat, boring.

I think this is the same with the bright background in 54200517. The colours are complimentary with the scene and the diagonals in the background light again create a visual rhythm with the bass angle - I think again it becomes less interesting when that's taken out (I played with both of these quite a bit to consider it)

54201331 I actually cropped in tighter than the original capture - I just don't think his shoulder adds anything. A few of them I cropped in slightly to the arms deliberately.

I agree with the rest of your comments about missing hands and the like and certainly appreciate the time you took to comment.