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AtomicManiac posted:
owns shot a gig last week was quite fun  Crinkle Cuts - Milkstock I, The Croft, Bristol  Los Conios - Milkstock I, The Croft, Bristol  Luke Denning - Milkstock I, The Croft, Bristol  Los Conios Part Deux - Milkstock I, The Croft, Bristol
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Jan 25, 2011 00:32
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A N D R E W W K    I couldn't get anywhere near the stage, I wasn't going to risk my camera gear in the mosh pit. loving love this guy.
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Jan 26, 2011 05:20
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Im beginning my senior year of college and realizing that I need to start networking and building a portfolio... I will have more free time this coming year than ever again, and if I want to earn a living as a photographer I should be well on my way by the time I graduate. I've been lurking for quite a while, and I've picked up a lot, but I've still got questions. I've got good connections with one big band in town, and a few smaller venues, but how do I get access to larger gigs/bigger artists? At this point i know I'm selling myself and my portfolio to their pr folks but how do I get their pr contact info? What is the etiquette here? I've heard passing reference to a 3-song rule... is this a thing? Other than being professional, how can i not embarrass myself?
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Jan 26, 2011 10:13
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wanderlost posted:...earn a living as a photographer if you want to earn a living as a photographer then Concert Photography is NOT the way to go... focus on making connections in a different area of photography, study studio lighting, etc. I'm pretty sure almost everyone in this thread will tell you that there are a million concert photographers in their city and no bands that can pay you for live photos. Concert photography is something you do as a moonlighting gig or for the love of it, not something you do to earn a living. You'd be much better served focusing your energies on learning things your senior year that you can't do post college... concert photography is perfect to work on as a hobby post-college.
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Jan 26, 2011 10:44
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MMD3 posted:You'd be much better served focusing your energies on learning things your senior year that you can't do post college... concert photography is perfect to work on as a hobby post-college. Sorry, yes, I wasn't clear. I don't expect to make any money shooting concerts, but hopefully I can tun those shots into contacts and into referrals for portrait or other studio/commercial work. I want to shoot concerts because they're awesome and it will make me a better photographer.
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Jan 26, 2011 11:09
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wanderlost posted:Sorry, yes, I wasn't clear. I don't expect to make any money shooting concerts, but hopefully I can tun those shots into contacts and into referrals for portrait or other studio/commercial work. I want to shoot concerts because they're awesome and it will make me a better photographer. This works pretty well. Shoot concerts for guest list spots, and maybe the occasional free drink. If you're really good and the band is feeling good and you got great pictures they may toss you some merch or $20, but its rare. Often times good concert pictures can turn into promotional pictures, especially if you shoot the band a few times. If you're serious about this, look into hardcore/pop punk. With trendy indie bands there's a million concert photographers (who will pay for tickets to do it), with hardcore shows where there's a realistic risk of breaking your camera you might find only a handful, and they're usually pretty terrible. Aside from that there's a few big differences: 1) Hardcore/pop-punk has a much younger crowd. 14-24ish. 2) The bands are usually lovely and don't last very long. 3) The bands promote themselves a lot better. So what does that mean for you? 1) Senior Pictures. 2) If you do good work you'll probably shoot the members next project. 3) More people will see your work.
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Jan 26, 2011 11:37
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psylent posted:A N D R E W W K One of the best things I shot at Big Day Out, and I'm kicking myself that I have a trip to Sydney in like, two days rather than the 25th when he played 
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Jan 26, 2011 13:10
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I, Butthole posted:One of the best things I shot at Big Day Out, and I'm kicking myself that I have a trip to Sydney in like, two days rather than the 25th when he played It was impossible to get any closer to the stage than I did, I wasn't going to risk going into the mosh pit with my gear. Luckily there were some chairs to stand on which helped me get a few of my shots. To add more content. I just love when you line up your shot, the lighting hits just right, and then the lead singer backs into the shot right as you click the button:  FFFFFFFUUUUUUUU
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Jan 26, 2011 14:11
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MMD3 posted:You'd be much better served focusing your energies on learning things your senior year that you can't do post college... concert photography is perfect to work on as a hobby post-college. I respect and admire you MMD3, we're both in the same town and I've learned a good deal from the photos you've posted... so I take your advice very seriously. What skills are hardest to develop outside of school? Im in photo clases now, trying to become proficient with studio lighting and I try and take portraits of everyone who will let me. But I've also got this great opportunity: my friend's band is becomming really popular, and I can get access to gigs and contacts I would never be able to otherwise. Shouldn't I do both? AtomicManiac posted:So what does that mean for you? Pretty much what I expect, I know I'll be working for references for awhile, so i want to get my name out there as early as possible. I really respect and appreciate everyones comments and advice. I would still like any information about three song rules, or any other ettiquite I need to know in order that I not make a fool of myself,
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Jan 27, 2011 02:39
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wanderlost posted:I respect and admire you MMD3, we're both in the same town and I've learned a good deal from the photos you've posted... so I take your advice very seriously. What skills are hardest to develop outside of school? Im in photo clases now, trying to become proficient with studio lighting and I try and take portraits of everyone who will let me. But I've also got this great opportunity: my friend's band is becomming really popular, and I can get access to gigs and contacts I would never be able to otherwise. Shouldn't I do both? oh, why thank you  yes... you can definitely do both, I was just saying you should manage your expectations when it comes to concert photography. If you want to make a living in photography I would say your best bet is to get really good at studio lighting and try to work with someone that can teach you how to do ad work. that or I hope you like weddings a lot If you're passionate about music then it's definitely fun to shoot concerts on the side. It's something you can do for years and a great way to make connections in the music business and get into shows for free. I don't know that I'd necessarily agree with AtomicManiac when he says to shoot hardcore/pop-punk shows. I mean maybe he's right in that there's more money in that genre but I'd say shoot the music you enjoy so you get to see some amazing shows and don't burn out on it. If you want it to be your hobby for any time at all then do it for the love of it. All of the professional concert photographer's I've met for Rolling Stone or Spin or whatever have been pretty jaded older dudes that end up having to shoot music they hate. On top of that it's not like the concerts pay all of their bills, they have all kinds of other photo gigs on the side. On top of that they all live in either like New York, LA, or Chicago in order to get regular gigs with the major publications. Shooting concerts in Portland isn't likely to pay jack but it can certainly open doors if you network and are a likable guy. The 3 song rule is a pretty standard industry thing that applies at larger venues. Basically you get to shoot from the photo pit (if they have one) for the first 3 songs then you have to return to the audience... as a general rule of thumb, only venues with a photo pit/security barricade are likely to enact a 3 song rule, if the venue is too small to have security up front then they probably won't hold you to a 3 song rule. You say you're in Portland, what venues is your friend's band playing at or where do you usually see shows? I can probably tell you off the top of my head if they are going to have a strict camera policy or not. What equipment are you shooting with? Feel free to hit me up in private message or on AIM if you have any more specific questions about the Portland scene or something that don't need to go in the thread.
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Jan 27, 2011 08:09
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MMD3 posted:All of the professional concert photographer's I've met for Rolling Stone or Spin or whatever have been pretty jaded older dudes that end up having to shoot music they hate. Unfortunately, such is the way of the world. Having the pull to shoot whoever you want is earned by shooting a lot of whoever you don't want. You want that cherry assignment? Better be prepared to do a bunch of poo poo assignments so the editor owes you one.
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Jan 27, 2011 08:16
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HPL posted:Unfortunately, such is the way of the world. Having the pull to shoot whoever you want is earned by shooting a lot of whoever you don't want. You want that cherry assignment? Better be prepared to do a bunch of poo poo assignments so the editor owes you one. true-dat... to be fair I'm sure plenty of them love their jobs, but if you truly want to be shooting concerts professionally then you'd better be prepared to go to a few Justin Bieber shows.
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Jan 27, 2011 17:11
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MMD3 posted:true-dat... to be fair I'm sure plenty of them love their jobs, but if you truly want to be shooting concerts professionally then you'd better be prepared to go to a few Justin Bieber shows. Haha yep :-) thank you MMD3 for taking the time to write all that out, I really appreciate it! I have very low expectations going into this, if I end up getting to see a few shows for free, then I'm happy  I've shot a few weddings as a second photographer and found the whole situation really stressful. I.know I can take good photos, but I can't make the brides family look like she wants tem to in her head... I have a good understanding of studio lighting, so noun should be looking for someone to teach me ad/editorial? Classes at school are good, but all the profs have fine art backgrounds. Is this the point where i start looking for local photographters to assis and learn from? Or will they expect an MFA? Equipment is another story. I have stood by film all through my education, Im familiar and comfortable with it, but its just not flexible enough for this type of work. I'm going to rent equipment for this upcoming show, and for any other gigs I can land until I'm ready to pick up a digital system for myself. I have no brand loyalty, so I had planned on alternatively renting a 5D Mk II and a D7000 until I figure out for myself which brand I want to stick with. I'm hesitant to buy at the moment, as it seems like both these cameras are due for an update sometime this year. Most of the venues we play at don't have photo pits, with the exception of the crystal maybe, so im glad to see the 3-song rule only applies there. I greatly prefer taking shots from within the audience, audience participation is a big interest of mine and I like to captue shots of bands interacting with their fans. I've also got a secret weapon, I'm 6'5 and with a 6' moniopod, my camera is above most of the crowds head so i don't miss much. Again, thanks for all the time it takes to answer my questions, y'all are rockstars!
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Jan 27, 2011 17:49
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 Promo shot from last week. They want me to do a video for them, but I'm still not really comfortable with video just yet. Out of curiosity, is anyone doing video, and if so what are you charging? I'm thinking around $200 as a starting point, once I get a few practice runs in the can.
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Jan 30, 2011 15:57
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AtomicManiac posted:
what's $200, like one camera angle with minimal editing? nah, I'd probably find a friend that shoots video and volunteer to be his second camera for a cut... like charge $400, let him handle the direction and editing and I'd take 1/4 to 1/3 of the pay. Unless you feel really comfortable editing video and have at least two cameras that can shoot HD I'd avoid that like the plague. $200 is not nearly enough to go through the trouble. I've had people ask me to shoot video before and I've told them I'm happy giving them the unedited footage but I'm a photographer and not a videographer, they should hire someone that's trained as a videographer if that's what they want.
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Jan 31, 2011 20:27
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Everything video is expensive, the extra equipment and software is mind boggling. Do you want to produce a full length music video? I thought you were interning with a production house already. What are they charging on the last shoot with 5 cameras?
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Jan 31, 2011 20:35
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Take your worst day editing photos and double it. That's an average day editing video.
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Jan 31, 2011 20:50
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On the subject of my video interning: http://vimeo.com/19266960 There's a live video from Cursive. I did all the drummer shots and anything that looks like it was shot from the back of the stage. As far as the $200 price point I'm thinking a video like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQ-XNZKlxb4 (It was filmed by a goon, and edited by his friend.) I figure a day of shooting and a day of editing to get something like that. The price point of $200 comes out of my desire to make at least $100 a day, and I figure it can only really go up from there, since anything less isn't really worth my time. Eventually it might be nice to be able to offer some kind of "Complete package" that includes video, photos, a press kit and then Tshirt/logo/Album art through some of my graphic designer friends. Though this is making a lot of assumptions and is at least 6 months away from becoming reality. So I'll just focus on the first few steps, of getting some practice runs in.
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Jan 31, 2011 22:42
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AtomicManiac posted:On the subject of my video interning: http://vimeo.com/19266960 There's a live video from Cursive. I did all the drummer shots and anything that looks like it was shot from the back of the stage. Well shooting video of a live show is a whole different matter... and from the Vimeo credits there it looks like you had 5 cameras involved to get that variety of shots. Wanting to make $100/day for working is all well and good but you're neglecting to account for the time you'll spend concepting, coordinating things, the equipment rental fee (assuming you use more than 1 camera), your friend's pay (assuming there's more than 1 cameraman), etc. etc. I wouldn't touch some highschool band's promotional video for $200 unless it was for a family member or a friend or something. I also wouldn't want my name being associated with some amateur production video unless I felt confident that I could pull it off in a convincing manner. Leave learning video editing to your personal vacation videos and such, not to a paid gig. But hey, it sounds like you're in a much different stage of life than I am so maybe you just have tons of freetime and really like hanging out with these dudes.
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Jan 31, 2011 23:18
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AtomicManiac posted:As far as the $200 price point I'm thinking a video like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQ-XNZKlxb4 $200 seems low to offer as a professional service for a music video like that. Even with just one camera doing multiple takes, if you could do a video like that, first number I'd pull out of my head is $1,000.
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Jan 31, 2011 23:41
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MMD3 posted:Like you said, I do enjoy hanging out with most of the bands because I'm younger, and right now I do have a lot of free time since I'm self-employed, and I think I'd rather be filming video for less than an ideal wage than doing some of the other stuff I do to make money. (Like ghost writing) AIIAZNSK8ER posted:Out of curiosity, where do you live? I know local markets are going to affect some of the price of this, with competition and such. Granted the fact that I have no real competition should mean that charging $1,000 isn't too far fetched. Though my lack of real experience means that starting with a price point of $1,000 might be. Right now with the local market as it is, I can't see myself charging more than $300 a day, since that's what it costs to record in a professional studio in town. Omaha might be labeled as a "Good Music City", but if your band isn't on Saddle Creek records turn out at your shows is probably less than 50 people. Most bands just don't have the money, and at this point I'd rather do a lot of shoots for something and get experience as opposed to doing one or two shoots for a good fee. I figure worst case scenario I take everything I learn here and transfer it over into other markets, like weddings and commercials. That's kind of been how I've been operating so far and it seems to be working out fairly well.
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Feb 1, 2011 23:35
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I live in Va Beach. So you can record in a full studio with an engineer for $300 for an 8 hour day? What does production cost with mastering and all that jazz?
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Feb 2, 2011 00:30
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AIIAZNSK8ER posted:I live in Va Beach. So you can record in a full studio with an engineer for $300 for an 8 hour day? What does production cost with mastering and all that jazz? Most studios don't handle mastering, you have to get that done elsewhere, but that can range wildly depending on who does it, the cheapest I've heard is $10 a song, but I'm sure it can get up into the thousands for the top guys. Mixing is typically done by the studio and goes under the same day rate of $300 per day. Getting your stuff pressed will also vary, but Media Services in Omaha will give you 1,000 discs, shrink wrapped in jewel cases with a 4 color design on the disc and a 5(?) page insert for just over a grand. Price per disc goes down as order number goes up, but most bands will pay $1-3 a disc. $300 in Omaha will get you ARC Studios with AJ Mogis at the board (pretty much THE guy at Saddle Creek Records), according to one of the bands I did promos for last month. Though I believe they were getting a deal for some reason. The other option is Plan C studios in Lincoln, and they do amazing work for $300 per 10 hour day. Both are full studios with engineers who have college educations in audio production and years of experience.
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Feb 2, 2011 00:50
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The Reverend Peyton's Big drat Band. The lighting in this place is pretty terrible, so all my post processing has an almost sepia look to it (and too much magenta, which I should be able to fix). I don't mind it, but it's not what I was going for, it's just the best I could do.     Not much of a photo, but a good example of why you don't let your guard down. Breezy had put her washboard down and was squirting it with something (I thought she was cleaning it), so I turned away, only to hear the crowd go nuts. She'd set that poo poo on fire and kept playing. Every single shot I took was blocked. 
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Feb 4, 2011 21:18
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They look like a pretty awesome band to shoot. I'm going to a small music festival tomorrow, I couldn't get a media pass so I'm going to attempt to smuggle my old 350D and a 30mm lens in. I have a plan. Have another ticket stub shot:  36/365 psylent fucked around with this message at 14:36 on Feb 5, 2011 |
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Feb 5, 2011 13:55
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La Femme, a French band I saw in Brooklyn last night. I want to eventually get into band/concert stuff, so I try to take shots whenever I happen to be at an event. Normally I stay away from using flash, but it was a tiny venue, and tons of people were using their phones/point-and-shoots with flash on, so I figured mine would be less annoying if I were bouncing it (is that still okay?). It's amazing though, just like every other time I've taken shots, people/managers have come up to me and asked about who I'm shooting for. Afterwards, the DJ asked if I could shoot something for her; I gave her my contact info. These people have no idea if I'm shooting crap or not! What really matters is what YOU guys think. Thoughts?      
Tron Paul fucked around with this message at 21:58 on Feb 6, 2011 |
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Feb 6, 2011 21:17
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Tron Paul posted:La Femme, a French band I saw in Brooklyn last night. I want to eventually get into band/concert stuff, so I try to take shots whenever I happen to be at an event. Normally I stay away from using flash, but it was a tiny venue, and tons of people were using their phones/point-and-shoots with flash on, so I figured mine would be less annoying if I were bouncing it (is that still okay?). Not bad, I like the forth one the best. Side note, does being French make it OK to look and dress like that keyboard player?
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Feb 8, 2011 00:17
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I finally got around to uploading my pictures from Bassnectar from 10/10/10. It was the first time I got a backstage pass, so these were taken from the stage, right behind a stack of speakers.  Looking back, they're not the best, but I don't think they're terrible given that it was my first time, it was really dark and I was handholding my camera with a 50mm
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Feb 8, 2011 05:26
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Haven't been in here for a while. Big Day Out was fun; first real huge festival where I didn't have time to chill and watch a band. It was just go go go the entire day. .jpg) .jpg) .jpg) .jpg) .jpg) .jpg) .jpg) .jpg) Some other non-festival stuff. Pretty much just taken with a 5D Mark 2 and a Sigma 50mm 1.4; haven't taken it off the camera for the last two weeks of shooting. love it. .jpg) .jpg) .jpg) .jpg) .jpg)
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Feb 8, 2011 05:51
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it only took me like a year but I finally got around to scanning the RS my photos were in from the Coachella parties at the Ace Hotel in Palm Springs. Can't tell you how thankful I was when I saw Mick on the cover rather than like the Black Eyed Peas or something. RollingStone_Tearsheet by Kent, J, on Flickr
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Feb 10, 2011 18:44
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psylent posted:A N D R E W W K Loving these photos, having the crowd really works. If I worked promoting Andrew WK I'd buy that first photo in a heartbeat, and this one is really nice regardless of the performer.
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Feb 11, 2011 16:02
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Thanks, I tweeted it to him and also the venue a while back but haven't had any response so 
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Feb 12, 2011 06:29
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I know it's his thing, but Iggy Pop needs to start wearing a shirt.
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Feb 12, 2011 21:32
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Was out at a show for my friends last night and got a lot of great stuff. I only have a Canon 1000D with the kit objective, but last night I guess the last three years of practise really gave something back. First time I exclusively used RAW too. These are by far some of the best shots I've ever gotten, really pleased with them. Also I now see the difference between shooting in RAW, I've just been so hesitant, since going through 500+ pictures with a hangover is hard work. VON DÜ    Fellow goon BuffStricker can be seen here with his guitar..  I also have two questions for this thread: 1 - What are your usual processing tricks? For me it's RAW changes and high pass with opacity. Any pointers? 2 - I really want a better objective and have been thinking about getting the Canon 18-135mm IS. But Sigma has a 18-200mm IS (OC it's called), but I don't see myself needing more zoom. A gig place is only so big, and I'd rather have a real Canon objective. So I guess I answered my own question there. Death by Cranes fucked around with this message at 22:13 on Feb 12, 2011 |
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Feb 12, 2011 21:37
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Got my first media pass for a concert on Wednesday. Free ticket and early access to Conspirator/Disco Biscuits. I get 15 minutes at the rail any tips or suggestions? My buddy is letting me borrow his prime set (35, 50 and 85) It's a brand new venue and I can't find any pictures inside to judge the distance from the rail to the stage, but i'm thinking i might shoot 35 or 50 on my crop camera.
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Feb 12, 2011 21:47
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Death by Cranes posted:I also have two questions for this thread: 1) I do 95% of my editing in Lightroom these days, only open photoshop to clean things up if I want to remove dust or what not. I always shoot shows in RAW, typically the first thing I do is adjust the exposure and black levels to either recover shadows or add more contrast, then do some highlight recovery if necessary, adjust saturation color adjustments and generally I can call it good there if I did a decent job of shooting properly. I seldom crop unless I need to remover a mic stand or something distracting on the periphery but I try to frame things up with that in mind when I'm shooting as much as I can. 2) I'd never use a lens like that for concerts. There's no way I could get away with something that's f/3.5-5.6, I'm assuming you're asking about this for concert usage since you're posting in the concert photography thread but really I don't understand the point of having a single lens that covers such a wide range unless you're just trying to pack ultra-light and have no idea what your subject is going to be. You're much better served buying a few primes or a 17-40 and a 24-70... unless those are just way out of line with your budget.
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Feb 14, 2011 22:38
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MMD3 posted:I seldom crop unless I need to remover a mic stand or something distracting on the periphery
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Feb 15, 2011 00:04
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Death by Cranes posted:2 - I really want a better objective and have been thinking about getting the Canon 18-135mm IS. But Sigma has a 18-200mm IS (OC it's called), but I don't see myself needing more zoom. A gig place is only so big, and I'd rather have a real Canon objective. So I guess I answered my own question there. Zooms: Tamron f/2.8 17-50mm (lots of people recommend this but I've never used it) Tamron f/2.8 28-75mm Canon f/2.8 24-70mm (L lens, rather expensive) Primes: Canon f/1.8 85mm Canon f/1.8 50mm Canon f/1.4 50mm Sigma f/1.4 30mm Personally, I carried the Tamron 28-75 and Canon f/1.8 50mm for years with my 350D and got really good use out of them. I've now got a 7D with the Canon L 24-70, but tend to use the Sigma 30mm and Canon 85mm more than anything. You need fast lenses for shooting bands, and the super zooms just won't cut it.
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Feb 15, 2011 12:24
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Death by Cranes posted:2 - I really want a better objective and have been thinking about getting the Canon 18-135mm IS. But Sigma has a 18-200mm IS (OC it's called), but I don't see myself needing more zoom. A gig place is only so big, and I'd rather have a real Canon objective. So I guess I answered my own question there. Buy a 50/1.8 and/or a 17-50/2.8, in your budget they're your best options. In fact they're the best option for almost any budget, until you've got a lot more money to spend.
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Feb 15, 2011 16:14
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Thanks for the answers guys. I actually already have the Canon 50mm f/ 1.8 (the plastic, dirt cheap one), but I find the auto focus extremely inaccurate/slow and manual focus is too hard since the those reggae bands won't stay still while my focus area is tiny at 1.8. I guess I need a lot(!) more training with it and remember to shoot in RAW. To your thoughts on the f/3.5-5.6 zooms, I have to say I'm really impressed with the pictures I posted, but your point is well taken. MMD3 posted:You're much better served buying a few primes or a 17-40 and a 24-70... unless those are just way out of line with your budget.
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Feb 15, 2011 18:08
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