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So this last weekend I just shot my first "real" (read: not in a bar) show. My good friend's band played the last night at Evel Knievel Days, and I thought it would be a good chance to really try out my brand-new 7D. It was a disaster. Some other douche was shooting for them too and he got in every single one of my shots. Literally everything has him standing around like a chode staring into the LiveView and fooling with his kit lens. EVERY loving SHOT, it's like he was trying to get in my way. I came out with about three usable shots, maybe a couple more if I can crop him out. I even talked to him before the show about keeping out of each other's way, thinking maybe he had more experience so he should just let me know if I'm doing something wrong, but after the first song it became apparent that he's one of those people from the "Post terrible photos from other photographers" threads that got a nice new camera and thought that immediately made him a professional. Aside from being pissed that I busted my rear end for a year to learn about photography and the etiquette to go with it just so this dumb gently caress could blow a whole show, now I've got nothing to show to the band except a few video clips I took once I gave up trying to work around this rear end in a top hat. Even the sound recording got hosed up, because despite the audio guy assuring me several times that it was all ready to go, he never pushed the record button on my recorder. Basically, I feel like poo poo because this was the first big show for my friend's band (they went from playing bars with maybe 50 people or so to an outdoor stage with thousands of people) and I just totally wasn't prepared to deal with something this big and don't have anything to show for it now. Do you guys have any suggestions for something I can do to make it up to them? I was thinking that they don't have a ton of promo shots (and the ones they do have aren't that great), so maybe I should get them together and get them some promo stuff. How do you plan something like that? Hell, any advice about any of this would be great. This weekend was really disheartening, if not a huge learning experience for me. Hopefully you guys can help me pull my head out of my rear end before next month--they're opening for Buckcherry (  ) and I'm hoping they can score me a pass for that. (This is basically the best shot I got all night. I still need to upgrade my Camera Raw, so I haven't been able to do any post on anything from the 7D yet, sorry  )
CaptainViolence fucked around with this message at 19:44 on Jul 26, 2010 |
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Jul 26, 2010 19:24
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Not done this in so long, editing on 2nd two could be better IMO. My friend's band:  
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Jul 26, 2010 19:47
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CaptainViolence posted:Some other douche was shooting for them too and he got in every single one of my shots. Literally everything has him standing around like a chode staring into the LiveView and fooling with his kit lens. EVERY loving SHOT, it's like he was trying to get in my way. I don't get it. Were you shooting from the back of the room or something? If You're having problems with people getting in the way, move to the front of the stage so there's no one between you and the band.
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Jul 26, 2010 20:19
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More Reign Supreme. I am so glad I was shooting from the stage and not the crowd flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ehansenphoto/4828598576/ *edit* to chime into the discussion. Unless you are barred from the photo pit you want to get as close as possible (depending on your setup) and just be polite to the other photographers. If you move for them, they'll do the same for you. I've had other photographers, security guards, audience members (for no barrier shows) and even band members themselves move for me. Of course all of that really applies if you are shooting near the band. I'll admit, I was one of those "idiot photogs" that shot on stage for the last show I was at. Granted I would have broken all my equipment in the crowd and I stayed off to the side. Anyways the other photographer was on stage for the most part as well pr0digal fucked around with this message at 20:45 on Jul 26, 2010 |
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Jul 26, 2010 20:33
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HPL posted:I don't get it. Were you shooting from the back of the room or something? If You're having problems with people getting in the way, move to the front of the stage so there's no one between you and the band. I second this. Why didn't you just move, or recompose your shot? One person should not be able to get in the way of you shooting 3-7 people spread out on a raised platform. That said, I've had people "get in my way", the biggest is when idiot photogs get on stage. The only way around it is to shoot someone else until they move, then you go shoot that. One time, this girl shot the drummer, THE ENTIRE SET. She just moved after every song, but was always crouching/laying/standing and shooting the drummer with her pop-up flash. I just didn't shoot the drummer that show.
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Jul 26, 2010 20:38
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HPL posted:I don't get it. Were you shooting from the back of the room or something? If You're having problems with people getting in the way, move to the front of the stage so there's no one between you and the band. It was an outdoor venue. He was on stage the entire time, and I was traveling back and forth between the front of the stage with security and up on stage. Even when I tried to stand near him so he couldn't get in my shots, he would move around to the other side of the stage and get up in my poo poo again. When I get home, I can upload a couple shots to give you an idea of how it was set up. pr0digal posted:More Reign Supreme. I am so glad I was shooting from the stage and not the crowd EDIT: AtomicManiac posted:I second this. Why didn't you just move, or recompose your shot? One person should not be able to get in the way of you shooting 3-7 people spread out on a raised platform. That said, I've had people "get in my way", the biggest is when idiot photogs get on stage. The only way around it is to shoot someone else until they move, then you go shoot that. One time, this girl shot the drummer, THE ENTIRE SET. She just moved after every song, but was always crouching/laying/standing and shooting the drummer with her pop-up flash. I just didn't shoot the drummer that show. CaptainViolence fucked around with this message at 20:47 on Jul 26, 2010 |
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Jul 26, 2010 20:45
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CaptainViolence posted:It was an outdoor venue. He was on stage the entire time, and I was traveling back and forth between the front of the stage with security and up on stage. Even when I tried to stand near him so he couldn't get in my shots, he would move around to the other side of the stage and get up in my poo poo again. When I get home, I can upload a couple shots to give you an idea of how it was set up. Haha, yeah. I'm in the process of building a new site that is exclusive to my live music stuff. I probably should have made that a bit more clear. But thank you! I've got a ton more from the show but I don't really want to spam up the thread. *edit* if I'm shooting from the stage I'll stay off to the side the best that I can and be very quick if I move from the side as to not ruin anybody else's shot. The amount of time I've apologized to people shooting from the crowd for ruining their shot is pretty high. Most of the time they don't care but it at least show's your paying attention. On that note: if you are a shooting a hardcore show with no barriers pay attention. There will be people moshing and most of the time they are not looking where they are going. If you know what is going on behind you and make sure the crowd know's your there then you should be okay but always be on the lookout. Even hardcore kids are respectful of photographers and will do their best to avoid you and make sure you are okay. Seriously, I had a kid ask me if I (and my equipment) was okay after I got pushed around a bit. At the show I was at a girl got her flash broken because she wasn't paying attention to her surroundings. I had a couple of near misses and decided to get on the stage to avoid broken equipment. pr0digal fucked around with this message at 20:54 on Jul 26, 2010 |
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Jul 26, 2010 20:48
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Dammit. Warped tour just told me I need to be on editorial assignment. So now I get to reach out the local newspapers to see if they'll give me anything. At any rate, here's a question, I've been watching the Strobist DVD seminar and they keep talking about Gels. Has anyone ever used Gels on flash to get that kind of a "stage lighting" look? I've been messing with a lot of flash techniques and it seems like your only option for getting away from your flash washing out the ambient light is to crank your iso and turn your flash off, or turn your shutter speed way down (which gives off light trails). Has anyone thought of tossing a red or purple gel on their flash and shooting at a low ISO and high shutter speed? It seems like it might work. AtomicManiac fucked around with this message at 22:00 on Jul 26, 2010 |
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Jul 26, 2010 20:55
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There's not much point to a gel on a hot-shoe light at shows because ambient temperature is mixed, and moving around faster than you can change gels. And even if you could, it would just kill your colors.
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Jul 26, 2010 22:36
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I use a CTO gel on my flash to avoid that bleached out look on skin.
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Jul 26, 2010 22:41
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evil_bunnY posted:There's not much point to a gel on a hot-shoe light at shows because ambient temperature is mixed, and moving around faster than you can change gels. And even if you could, it would just kill your colors. Hmm, I hadn't really thought about that. I was thinking the primary usefulness would be in situations where the stage lighting is piss poor (LED lights, or no real stage lighting at all or maybe static lights) then you over-power the ambient, but still get that nice concert look to the shot, rather than that nuked out flash look everyone gets with their Point and Shoot.
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Jul 26, 2010 22:52
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HPL posted:I use a CTO gel on my flash to avoid that bleached out look on skin.
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Jul 26, 2010 23:06
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pr0digal posted:One of the photographers that I ran into at my Warped date said he was a really humble and down to earth guy when she photographed him 
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Jul 26, 2010 23:16
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evil_bunnY posted:Can't you just compensate with a temperature adjustment since you're not worried about accuracy anyway? No, because that throws off the rest of the stage lights.
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Jul 27, 2010 00:15
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pr0digal posted:One of the photographers that I ran into at my Warped date said he was a really humble and down to earth guy when she photographed him Not bad. I however prefer mine.  I have 10 edited total. I'm going to make them into a slideshow as they are all equally awesome. These also might be getting used as his new press shots.
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Jul 27, 2010 07:08
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Jealous doesn't even begin to describe.
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Jul 27, 2010 19:10
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Oh my. That is quite something
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Jul 27, 2010 19:27
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pr0digal posted:More Reign Supreme. I am so glad I was shooting from the stage and not the crowd Ok I've been wondering about this for a while and I've got some questions/observations that you may be able to address. Don't be insulted by this or anything I've got a degree in Anthropology and I'm just find sub-cultures like this to be fascinating. I have no real exposure to the hardcore scene since most of the shows I shoot or play are the NPR type of crowd that listen to public radio and really dig bands like My Morning Jacket or something like that. One thing that I've noticed in all your photos is that it is very male dominated. In this particular photo I don't see a single woman. Is this because they just aren't interested, don't get close to the stage where you shoot or discouraged from coming in general? Do they just tend to hang in the back? In some cases the dress of a lot of gay and lesbian punks that I know (my girlfriend is in art school in Chicago so I know quite a few) tends to be very similar to the style of the guy on stage. Is this an aspect of the scene at all? Historically a lot of 20th century cultural traditions can find their roots in music. I just think that aspect of culture is fascinating. It may be something I explore if I ever go to grad school.
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Jul 27, 2010 19:37
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ZoCrowes posted:One thing that I've noticed in all your photos is that it is very male dominated. In this particular photo I don't see a single woman. Is this because they just aren't interested, don't get close to the stage where you shoot or discouraged from coming in general? Do they just tend to hang in the back? Around here, there are usually a fair number of women in the crowd, they just aren't as into moshing so they're either at the back, sides or right at stage front as opposed to in the pit. I'd say it's roughly a 3:1 ratio of guys to girls though depending on the venue and show. Overall, the punk/hardcore scene is pretty friendly since it's very tight-knit and people have to support each other in order for the scene to survive. Consequently people tend not to do much dickish stuff to other people because you'll probably see them at the next show or wherever and have to face the music. HPL fucked around with this message at 19:58 on Jul 27, 2010 |
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Jul 27, 2010 19:54
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ZoCrowes posted:Ok I've been wondering about this for a while and I've got some questions/observations that you may be able to address. Don't be insulted by this or anything I've got a degree in Anthropology and I'm just find sub-cultures like this to be fascinating. There were quite a few women at the show, and one of the bands had a female guitarist. With Reign Supreme most of the people right up from were male but there were a few women off to the side up front, some off to the sides and in the back and a few in the pit. During The Ghost Inside there were a couple of women up front singing along and piling up with all the men. I'll post a picture in a second. You are correct the hardcore scene is very male dominated and a lot of them are assholes about it. Some (incorrectly) believe that women aren't "hardcore" enough to be in the pit. This is quite incorrect as I have seen some women in the pit that are throwing more fists than the men. As HPL has rightly put they are there, just not in the the pit. But as HPL put it the hardcore scene is very tight knit. You end up running into the same people show after show and they become your "pit buddies" after a while. While it may seem chaotic there are rules to the pit. If someone goes down, you bring them right back up and no punching people on purpose. A girl up front during The Ghost Inside. While she was dwarfed those around her she stuck with it through pretty much their entire set even though a stage diver practically landed on top of her.  flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ehansenphoto/4827846431/in/set-72157624456160777/ And the female guitarist of the band Anchorlines  flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ehansenphoto/4827891794/in/set-72157624454989455/
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Jul 27, 2010 20:04
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Music / live shoots isn't something I've done a lot but I do enjoy them a lot. The ISO expansion on the 40D gives me just about enough to come out with workable pics (below a certain size, anyway) but I would rather shoot with higher-end kit, because I like the feel images get when shooting without flash. Here's some pics of the Magic Numbers I took a couple of months ago - it was part of a campaign to save BBC 6 Music. I think Flickr's done something weird with the compression, though. Meh.     Is it frowned upon to link to your own website? They look better on the site. What are people's preferences with regard to flash vs. no flash? I actually prefer not using flash for stuff like this. I suppose it would depend from concert to concert. Gazmachine fucked around with this message at 21:25 on Jul 27, 2010 |
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Jul 27, 2010 21:19
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Gazmachine posted:Music / live shoots isn't something I've done a lot but I do enjoy them a lot. The ISO expansion on the 40D gives me just about enough to come out with workable pics (below a certain size, anyway) but I would rather shoot with higher-end kit, because I like the feel images get when shooting without flash. I'm really digging that third one. The lighting coming through the fog makes it look rustic or something. As far as flash, I prefer no flash for the most part, but some of the posters in here (pr0digal and I, Butthole are the two I can remember right now) really opened my eyes to how well it can work. I just gotta practice with it more and get a feel for how to use it properly, I think.
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Jul 27, 2010 21:39
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Gazmachine posted:Is it frowned upon to link to your own website? They look better on the site. More people will look at them if you just post the image here, but you can link to your site. Just make sure you claim it's your webspace, people get probated for image leeching a lot. As far as flash goes, the main problem is you really only have 2 options: 1) You drag your shutter and get that messy, light-trail type look (which looks cool for punk, metal, hardcore, etc) or your flash crushes the ambient light, something that you see from amateur photogs or Point and shoots. So when it comes to lighting a concert, odds are you're going to have to make a compromise, one way or another. I'm starting to look into using home-made lighting modifiers like Pr0digal does, I had some decent results with a DIY snoot at the last show I shot, and I'm interested in seeing what I can do, since NO ONE around here is doing strobist stuff, let alone the concert people. Of all the people with DSLRs at shows I've seen maybe one with an external flash unit.
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Jul 27, 2010 21:57
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AtomicManiac posted:More people will look at them if you just post the image here, but you can link to your site. Just make sure you claim it's your webspace, people get probated for image leeching a lot. That sounds like a drat good idea - bringing the flashgun off camera could lead to special things, with a little experimentation. Couple more, for those interested.    One problem I had (or something I had to be sensitive to) was the constant danger of blowing highlights, due to light shows like this constantly changing in intensity, as well as the performers' proximity to the lights themselves constantly changing. That was probably the most challenging element. I guess there's no real hard and fast tip to combating that except practice, right?
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Jul 27, 2010 22:52
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Here's a couple more teaser shots from the posed photos I did at warped tour. Eyes Set to Kill  Of Mice and Men  This one I'm probably going to end up making black and white. The Word Alive  This one I still have work left to do on. I'm not thrilled with the overall vibe of the photo. I'm going to tone down the colors and make it less sunny and put in a more dramatic sky.
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Jul 27, 2010 22:59
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Gazmachine posted:That sounds like a drat good idea - bringing the flashgun off camera could lead to special things, with a little experimentation. Yea, I roll my settings a few dozen times at least. Off camera flash is great for shooting concerts, you can get some really dramatic looking light out of it, and it looks REALLY good on hardcore and metal bands. Kind of weird how all the fun lighting tricks work best on hardcore and metal bands.
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Jul 27, 2010 22:59
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There's more than one way to use flash. I usually use it as a minimal fill. Here you can see plenty of stage light with a little bit of flash to bring out the subject who would have otherwise had very little front fill and harsh purple light from the side. Here there was very strong backlighting. Without flash, this shot would have been a write-off. The musicians would have been in almost total silhouette and you certainly wouldn't have been able to see much for expressions. Again, plenty of stage light and fog still visible. Also, note the photographer on the stage.  
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Jul 28, 2010 00:12
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 I think I posted that. It's Morgan Rose from Sevendust. Here is his site, which he uses to connect to fans and to sell stuff: http://alienfreakwear.com/ Notice anything? Watermark your poo poo, kids.
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Jul 28, 2010 04:30
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Eeek posted:
I'm actually shocked at that. I know Morgan and I know the woman who used to run his site, it used to be full of my photos and she's always asked for my permission to use anything.
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Jul 28, 2010 05:54
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I'm cool with it- I don't really care. I would have like permission, but oh well. I would have loved credit for the portfolio. I am sad it is a low rez pic from facebook and not the better one I have.
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Jul 28, 2010 10:41
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Eeek posted:I'm cool with it- I don't really care. I would have like permission, but oh well. I would have loved credit for the portfolio. I am sad it is a low rez pic from facebook and not the better one I have. So get in contact and offer the better looking high res version for a reasonable price (with credit, of course). It's your work, you should get credited in someway.
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Jul 28, 2010 12:36
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I agree - even though you might be fairly angry about it (although it looks like you're not) just get in touch and offer him a high-res version, in a diplomatic, pleasant way. Speaking as someone who is full time freelance and has no other sources of income, any missed opportunity to make cash from these things is a very, very bad thing.
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Jul 28, 2010 13:06
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AtomicManiac posted:Yea, I roll my settings a few dozen times at least. Off camera flash is great for shooting concerts, you can get some really dramatic looking light out of it, and it looks REALLY good on hardcore and metal bands. Kind of weird how all the fun lighting tricks work best on hardcore and metal bands. Off camera flash can be a lot of fun and works really well on hardcore, pop-punk and metal bands. Having all the control over the light can really change the way your image looks. I know I've posted this one before but it's a pretty good example of using off camera lighting  flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ehansenphoto/4648975672/in/set-72157624032672847/
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Jul 28, 2010 14:20
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How do you nerds pop your off-camera lights? I find CLS (Nikon's optical wireless system) works dandy if you pay attention to the optical slave's orientation, but it tends to gently caress my timing.
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Jul 28, 2010 15:38
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evil_bunnY posted:How do you nerds pop your off-camera lights? I find CLS (Nikon's optical wireless system) works dandy if you pay attention to the optical slave's orientation, but it tends to gently caress my timing. I use cheapo ebay triggers, the CTR-301p. They work really well for being really cheap and pretty shittily made http://cgi.ebay.com/CTR-301P-Wirele...=item2308dd9e4d *edit* Think you had a fun interview at warped? This guy interviewed the lead singer of Emmure in the shower  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNx8UtwV-Q8&feature=player_embeddedNWS tagged for Emmure rear end pr0digal fucked around with this message at 17:38 on Jul 28, 2010 |
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Jul 28, 2010 15:52
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Are you guys using super clamps to attach the lights to the ceiling or something?
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Jul 28, 2010 18:32
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AIIAZNSK8ER posted:Are you guys using super clamps to attach the lights to the ceiling or something? I do all my off camera flash work at shows handheld. Camera in one hand, flash in the other
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Jul 28, 2010 18:49
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I use a TTL cord. It's more reliable than a cheap sync, and if I get knocked from behind and I drop my flash it's just gonna swing on a cord rather than fall X feet to the ground. Here's a shot I took last week using my hand as a snoot. I have a few other ones that came out better, specifically on the drummer, where they light the whole body, I still like this one quite a bit. 
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Jul 28, 2010 19:15
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Shot a crazy show on Saturday. 6 bands, everything from garage punk to alt-country, to...these girls. The Coathangers. Absolutely one of the most kickass, energetic 'girl bands' I've ever seen. They're setlist included such hits as "nestle in my boobies" and "don't touch my poo poo!" Obviously they were the most fun to shoot.    Full set: http://www.flickr.com/photos/m_bradshaw/sets/
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Jul 28, 2010 21:14
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Here's a thought, why don't the Dorkroom concert shooters get together and create a "Media Outlet" that covers music? I mean, we've got skilled photogs that can create content all over the world, if even 10 people sign up, and they all shoot 2 shows a month, that's nearly an update everyday, with local and regional bands from all over the place. How I figure it would work is, you post your best 1-4 shots from the show, and write a paragraph about the performance. Then maybe every month everyone writes one review, or an interview with a band, and you're hitting 40 some updates a month. Bands will always repost press, so that's some free advertising built right in; not to mention crazy amounts of backlinks that will shoot our page-rank up in search engines. I think with the amount of contributors we'd have, all covering different genres in different scenes, we could build a fast following and make a name, which we could then exploit to get into bigger shows some of us might not be able to get into. Thoughts?
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Jul 29, 2010 03:09
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