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11/28/2010 11:48:44 PM · #1 |
Hey all!, I'm totally new on this forum and I love it so far. I'm just looking for some quick pointers, I want to shoot some local bands but I'm not really sure how to go about finding them. Or should I not worry about "finding" bands to shoot and hope they come around through contacts or people I know?
Thanks
Adam Jacob |
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11/29/2010 12:01:30 AM · #2 |
1: Go to shows. 2: Bring camera. 3: Take live shots. 4: Introduce yourself to the band(even chimp a lil) 5: They will ask you to send them some of the shots or you ask "hey how may I go about getting these shots to the band". 6: Send photos and add text saying Hey guys, here is some shots from that last show. Anytime you guys want to shoot some promos or need new Myspace/Facebook shots let me know :insert email:
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11/29/2010 12:06:29 AM · #3 |
| My kids are your age and older and they all know people in bands or know people who do. if you haven't done any band shoots yet then i image it wouldn't matter how good/popular the band is, you just need to start getting some pics in a portfolio and getting them on facebook and such. Start going to the places they play and hand out cards to them. maybe offer the first few some free prints to let you shoot them. the young bands that don't have money will probably do it. then they'll start uploading these to their social sites and if your good you'll probably have other bands calling you. all these guys know each other. heck many local band are made of members of other split-up bands. word will get out. sure it'll take time and work, so what. |
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11/29/2010 12:07:41 AM · #4 |
I assume if you're interested in shooting bands, you're already pretty involved in the music scene. I'd suggest you bring your camera to some smaller venue shows, make sure to show up for the openers, and shoot them. How okay with this they are will probably vary based on the band/scene and the venue itself, so you may have to look into things somewhat before you arrive.
I'd say there's a chance that you'd be found out by bands if you made yourself more recognized in photography as a whole, but that means you gotta be putting yourself out there as a photographer in one field while hoping for success in another, which doesn't make sense. You'll have to put yourself out there somewhere.
There have been lots of threads on band photography as a whole though, so for a starter;
googe search of DPC for band photography
Also, you could probably find some good stuff on Zack Arias' site as far as technique goes. He got known doing one light photography for bands.
ETA: Not sure what lenses you have, but get something fast; you'll really need it. 1.4 or 1.8, 2.8 likely won't be fast enough without you running into noise issues with a d40 (assuming you're shooting indoors with ambient).
Message edited by author 2010-11-29 01:56:01. |
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11/29/2010 12:26:36 AM · #5 |
I shoot a couple of local bands when my schedule meets theirs. They are both upstart bands just trying to get their names out. They contacted me to do some photos for them for promo things, and I've shot a couple of their shows. To say that it's tough work is an understatement. Ambient light is nearly impossible to shoot but you have too. I'd suggest a camera upgrade and a super fast lens. Here are a few of mine. Notice the ISO settings on these.
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11/29/2010 05:01:10 AM · #6 |
| This is how I started my phtography career!! Basically find some local practice rooms/rehersal studios and ask to put some posters up - also make those little tabs with your details at the bottom so people can tear them off. Initially offer to shoot for free - new bands have ZERO budget. But you will find that local bands all know each other, so if you do a good job, expect to get some phonecalls from other bands. This really is an easy way to get into band photography - then you need to devleop your own style yet be flexible enough to produce something unique to each group. |
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11/29/2010 05:25:46 AM · #7 |
Keep an eye out on local online message and job boards. I've been doing a lot of music photography recently which started off when i came across an ad online looking for photographers to cover a large music festival here in Cardiff, Wales. There were 15 venues all n all and it was over 3 days so they needed about 20ish photogs. I jumped at the chance, particularly as one of my favourite bands, SWANS, was over from America touring and were headlining one night. I asked to cover that gig and it was great to be able to do so. I also shot around 8 other bands over the two days i could do. The festival organisers and the music magazines that were partners were really pleased with my shots and i 've got some good paid work since from the gig shots i did so it was a stroke of luck i came across the ad. So, yea, keep an eye out for that. Also, approach venues and ask if you can cover gigs in exchange for them using your images as marketing. And, as others have said, approach local bands etc. Here are a few shots (more if you scroll through that music section)
    
    
    
I really enjoy gig photography, particularly if you're a fan of that band of course but even if not it is great fun. I like how you get into the music and the beat in order to catch the best poses and moments. As others have pointed out- you really are going to need a fast lens. I use my 35m 1.8, 50mm 1.4 and 85mm 1.8, which is a bit of a pain swapping between them, particularly in a crowded gig, but it does fine for now. I'd say that if you can only get one lens and you are going to be photographing smallish bands then a 50mm 1.8 would be your best bet. High ISO and noise is always going to be a problem but keep in mind that some bands really suit the grainy black and white approach, as in some of my shots above, so if possible you can use that to your advantage and not worry about it so much. Also, you can do a lot in post processing. These next few were shot in extremely bad lighting conditions and i was despairing really but i managed to pull them back with a lot of heavy pp work and i quite like them now..
     
Message edited by author 2010-11-29 05:29:15. |
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11/29/2010 10:26:55 AM · #8 |
Originally posted by Simms:
This is how I started my phtography career!! Basically find some local practice rooms/rehersal studios and ask to put some posters up - also make those little tabs with your details at the bottom so people can tear them off. Initially offer to shoot for free - new bands have ZERO budget. But you will find that local bands all know each other, so if you do a good job, expect to get some phonecalls from other bands. This really is an easy way to get into band photography - then you need to devleop your own style yet be flexible enough to produce something unique to each group. |
I just shot some product shots of an antique Supro Amp for one of the bands who I shoot for. They are going to run in a National Magazine in the January Issue. These are the sort of things that doing stuff like Simms is talking about leads too. :D |
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11/30/2010 01:49:59 PM · #9 |
Band Photography is how i got into photography in the first place. i had been in bands for years and decided to start shooting my friends bands. ill try not to reiterate much that other people have already pointed out but:
1)bands ALWAYS want photos and most of the photos they receive SUCK so if you can make good ones, youre in the gold.
2)bands talk. you shoot one, more will contact you.
3)unless you are established with a given booker/venue and the band thats playing flash is usually not a good option.
4)the bigger the venue the better the light (durr). for the big shoes that ive shot (snoop dog, MGMT, coheed) i could get away with ISO 640, f/2.8 and 1/160. for the smaller shows (without stages etc) i usually roll with ~ISO1000 f/2 1/125.
5)shooting small shows and shooting big shows are SO different.
- small means low ceilings -- you can bounce a flash
- big means better ambient light
- big means a song limit (3 songs of shooting per artist so get those photos fast)
- small means wide angle -- there is no stage and therefore you have to be on the front lines shooting
- big means normal-tele. most of the people ive shot with use a 70-200 for big shows. i use a 50mm and thats about as wide as id want to possibly go
- day shows means even worse light, not because theres less of it but b/c its uninteresting.
- big means media passes which if you dont have a good way of getting them (either by talking to the band much before the show or working for a newpaper) are a pain in the butt
my final tips:
- shoot primes (its easier to get cheaper fast glass that way)
- shoot a LOT b/c lighting is so unpredictable
- shoot in manual. set your exposure for a pretty avg light level and have at it. the lights are so dynamic that if you shoot AV youll end up missing more shots than you want to be missing.
- err on the side of grainy to blurry. anything under ~1/125 is just too slow usually.
- invest in 1) a fast lens and 2) some moderately good NR software
- shoot music you know and that you like. if you shoot music that youre familiar with you will know what the dyanmics are going to be like.
hope this helped even a little. i love shooting bands there is nowhere more energetic
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11/30/2010 04:06:41 PM · #10 |
Ive found some of my favorite band shots are in the green room. The energy before and after the gig is very different than the show and often results in some great shots.
One addition to the excellent advice offered below is when shooting from the crowd, keep moving. You can cut in front of people for a frame or three, but hanging too long blocking the view of someone for more than a few moments not OK.
If there are rules in the venue, ask about them. Often flash is OK for the first song or two, then it is verbotten. And while there is nothing like the vibe at a live show, rehearsals are often a better place to shoot for closeups of the band. |
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11/30/2010 08:54:45 PM · #11 |
| Thanks everyone, you all had such great advice. Looks like I have a lot of work on my hands! I'm super excited to get out there and start shooting. |
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