Musician promo photoshoot - DPChallenge Forums

Sony SAL-50F14 Normal 50mm f/1.4 Autofocus Lens for the Sony

02/13/2006 05:48:26 PM · #1

Hi DPC,
I just did a shoot with jazz trombonist Dennis Rollins,
the studio shots are going on the cover of Jazzwise magazine, the other photos may end up on the new album.
This is the first time I set up studio lights myself, it needed a bit of fixing in Photoshop afterwards!
Let me know what you guys think...

ladyhawk22

Sony DSLR-A700

02/13/2006 06:08:21 PM · #2

WOW!!!! Wow wow wow wow wow! That's all I can say! Great shots and he looks so charismatic too. Love the ones with the chair and the couch especially :-)

Tranquil

Canon EOS-300D Rebel

Sigma 105mm f/2.8 EX DG Macro for Canon

02/13/2006 06:14:09 PM · #3

Wonderful! 12 and 13 are my favorite... mad props for shooting a trombonist!

Lee

Canon EF 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5 USM

02/14/2006 05:59:47 AM · #4

Hey thanks! any more comments?

benhur

Canon EOS-40D

02/14/2006 07:31:08 AM · #5

great pics - did you try any with the trombone in focus and Dennis OOF?

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

02/14/2006 07:34:09 AM · #6

I didn't try those because the studio shots were specifically for a magazine cover and I knew the editor wouldn't be interested in that.

Telehubbie

Canon EOS-40D

02/14/2006 09:14:59 AM · #7

I like the simplicity of 01 and 03. My favorite, 01, is somewhat querky which works nicely for his style and would be great for a cover. 03 is a nice close-up, but not sure about the orientation or crop for a cover page. Also, the white softbox reflection on his forehead bothers me a bit though, makes him look a little greasy. The other darker shots are really nice too, but too busy for my tastes for a cover. Would be great insert shots for inside the mag. Great job!

idnic

Canon EOS-60D

Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM

02/14/2006 09:19:31 AM · #8

I totally love the angle on this one - but then I'm a sucker for a quirky angle or viewpoint

They are all nice, but some are more dynamic than others. Has he seen them yet? I'm sure he will be pleased.

muckpond

Nikon D200

Sigma 15mm f/2.8 EX Diagonal Fisheye for Nikon

02/14/2006 09:20:58 AM · #9

i like #2, but i like the very last one as well. i can totally see that on a mag cover. great work!

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

02/14/2006 09:33:03 AM · #10

Thanks guys,
he's not seen them yet, but I did show some of them on the camera screen as I was going.
The studio shots were intended for the magazine cover, the darker ones for the album cover... I may end up doing some photoshop work on the darker ones to burn in the edges to make them less busy. The magazine editor loves Dennis Rollins01.jpg, the ones with the trombone in the foreground are too difficult to lay text onto.
Perhaps I should Photoshop a different background onto the studio shots to give a 'big night out' flavour?

Kaups

Canon EOS-50D

02/14/2006 09:44:46 AM · #11

Awesome shots Bobster! It's hard to pick a favorite. I would like to see some of the trombone in focus like benhur suggested, even though they wouldn't have used them. Good job!

leaf

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

02/14/2006 10:00:02 AM · #12

nice images. well done.

What are you using for lighting in the club? is it just natural lighting with you using a tripod?

downtherabbithole

Canon EOS-30D

Canon EF 28-135mm F/3.5-5.6 IS USM

02/14/2006 10:05:23 AM · #13

some guys get all the breaks....
lol jk
these are really nice images and my previous comments just show how much I want to shoot for the cover of jazz anything....

if you know of any jazz musicans that want some photos done around dayton send them my way!

wavelength

Nikon D300

Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D

02/14/2006 10:09:15 AM · #14

oh, right, THATS why you're in my favorites ;O)

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

02/14/2006 10:15:07 AM · #15

Hey thanks...
BTW, I'll give some background info as to how I got this job,
last year I covered a jazz festival for a local magazine. I got paid very little for this, in fact I worked for free for them for a while at first then built up a good relationship with them. It meant I could get into loads of events and build up a portfolio. Anyway, I also had to review this festival so I took the opportunity to interview Dennis after his (amazing) performance. I ended up chatting to his wife and manager for a while, we all seemed to click. It also helps that I used to be a musician, so I can hold a conversation with other musicians. I bumped into them again at another music festival I was covering for free, so I made sure I said hello again. Dennis also lives not too far from me in Yorkshire. So it didn't really fall in my lap, I had to be proactive!
I've got a reasonable amount of work as a result of photographing festivals and events for free, but you have to do a considerable amount of free work and networking before it starts to pay off.
The lighting in the club was done with a Sunpak 383 flash connected by sync-cord and a reflector.

Patents4u

Canon EOS-40D

02/14/2006 10:16:57 AM · #16

All great, IMO. Well done.

Got any like DennisRollins01 but with the shirt from 06? The orange sweatshirt is punchy, but I think the multi-colored shirt is jazzier if that makes any sense.