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Bottom Liner
Feb 15, 2006


a specific vein of lasagna
Feel free to use this thread for sharing your band/concert work, or just whatever else you want regarding music photography.


Here's my current portfolio

[url= http://www.davidchilders.photos/] Concert Photography [/url]

Bottom Liner fucked around with this message at 22:05 on Mar 20, 2024

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whaam
Mar 18, 2008
This is very cool. I don't think I have it in me to do any portrait or studio stuff but I think shooting gigs and concerts would be really fun. Glad to see its not completely unattainable.

Zoowick
Apr 9, 2007

Making fifteen year old girls looks like whores since 2006
Awesome info, this is something I have been wanting to get more into. I'm sure I'll have some questions as I make some attempts at marketing for this sort of thing.

psylent
Nov 29, 2000

Pillbug
I do this as a hobby and have only been paid a couple of times. Although I really can't see me being able to make any more money out of it, especially asking bands for cash for photos of live stuff. There's so much competition in my city (Sydney) that the bands can just just ask someone else to use their photos for free. Even at some of the smaller gigs I've shot, there's usually 5-6 people with chunky DSLRs.

This guy is a local Sydney photographer who graduated from hobbyist up to professional photographer in the space of 4 years or so and he's written a fantastic guide to concert photography

Haggins
Jul 1, 2004

I still have a bit to learn as far as concert photography goes, but I think I'm probably one of the better photographers in my scene (FL metal). My problem is, I've got no loving clue what to do for promo shots. I've been asked a few times but I've turned it down work because I don't feel comfortable. To me they're two totally different types of photography.

What can I do to get up to speed on doing promo shots? What kind of equipment am I gonna need? I'd really like to at least have some canned ideas ready to offer incase I get asked again.

Edit: Also, what about choosing a location? I'm pretty clueless on how that is done.

Haggins fucked around with this message at 02:56 on Mar 7, 2009

Bottom Liner
Feb 15, 2006


a specific vein of lasagna
Promo shots are a lot of fun once you get used to the flow of things. The main thing, as you touched on, is location. I always talk with the band and ask if they have any ideas for locations or what they might want, and together we find a spot or two.

The second thing you have to worry about is getting permission/being sneaky enough to shoot there. Most places are fine if you just ask, but I have trespassed a few times, and the only thing that has happened so far is being asked to leave (just abandoned buildings and such).

Gear wise, I use an alienbee 400/softbox and a vivitar 285 hv for lighting. I would suggest at least a single strobe or a minimum of 2 speedlites if you're working with a band, especially if they have 5 or 6 members.

I'm getting into more concept type stuff and away from "band just standing in a random place" shots, and it's a lot of fun. I'm working on one right now of a pop punk band at a dining room table all eating cereal, it's silly but it fits their style and they loved the idea. It's really all about matching the artist you're working with, and communicating the ideas to them and selling them on it.

phootnote
Mar 6, 2006
sleighted!
i would really like to begin doing this myself. how much experience in photography did you have before you decided to start shooting bands? could you also tell me more about how you got started? did you start with promos first, or did you start with live shows, and then to promos as bands got to know you? when did you actually decide to start charging for your shots? i have a xsi and 50mm f1.8. depending on the shots, is that sufficient to start, or do i need some more equipment? i am really interested in your process because i do not know any bands right now.

phootnote fucked around with this message at 23:13 on Mar 7, 2009

Zoowick
Apr 9, 2007

Making fifteen year old girls looks like whores since 2006
I went digging for some of my old band work. Figured I'd post a few here.












I love doing these, when I take the groom and groomsmen at weddings for pics I always act like it's a band promo shoot.

Bottom Liner
Feb 15, 2006


a specific vein of lasagna

Zoowick posted:



I love doing these, when I take the groom and groomsmen at weddings for pics I always act like it's a band promo shoot.

I do the exact same thing with weddings. People always say my groomsmen pictures are better than my bridesmaids, and I tell it's because they aren't as willing to have fun with it.

I'll post some of my favorites and examples and stuff tonight, as well as answer your questions phootnote.

Zoowick
Apr 9, 2007

Making fifteen year old girls looks like whores since 2006

Bottom Liner posted:

I do the exact same thing with weddings. People always say my groomsmen pictures are better than my bridesmaids, and I tell it's because they aren't as willing to have fun with it.

I'll post some of my favorites and examples and stuff tonight, as well as answer your questions phootnote.

I definitely want to see some of your rockstarish wedding shots, I'll post some of mine later as well.

AIIAZNSK8ER
Dec 8, 2008


Where is your 24-70?
I try and see local shows weekly. Right now I'm apprehensive about bringing my SLR and shooting the bands without asking. I feel better with my little point and shoot just to record memories. But I want to use my SLR for more professional shots.

Do you find that most small/local/indie bands don't care if you are taking their pictures?

When did you feel confident to approach them for paid work?

Bottom Liner
Feb 15, 2006


a specific vein of lasagna

AIIAZNSK8ER posted:

Do you find that most small/local/indie bands don't care if you are taking their pictures?

When did you feel confident to approach them for paid work?

The opposite is usually true, they usually are very grateful to have good shots. The smaller they are the more they appreciate it.

I felt confident to approach bands after bands started asking me for prices. That made me realize I had something of real value to offer bands and that they were willing to pay.

As for more info on how I got started; I was involved in my regions music scene from playing bass in a touring band for about 2 1/2 years, and that gave me a lot of connections. I started photography right before I ended up leaving that band, and the transition from musician to photographer kind of came natural to me. I was used to the scene, people, venues, etc, so it made it all the easier.

My first paying gig came from doing live shots for a friends band, they liked them a lot and asked about how much I would charge to do promos. That ended up being the band that is now signed to a major label, and they have me shoot a lot of stuff for them/send a lot of other bands my way. Just like anything, networking is key.

I added some examples of promo and live work to my original post by the way.

jackpot
Aug 31, 2004

First cousin to the Black Rabbit himself. Such was Woundwort's monument...and perhaps it would not have displeased him.<
This thread's more about doing portrait work for bands and not so much concert photography, but I thought I'd pass on my story just because...hell, I've to tell somebody. :)

Flogging Molly at The National, March 9. The venue's website says they discourage photography because the flashes disrupt the band and fans. No flash, no problem! So I pack everything and hope for the best: XTi, 50mm f/1.8, 17-50 f/2.8, 100mm f/2.8. We're stuck in traffic outside the place and I yell to a security guard standing outside "Hey, will it be ok if I bring in this camera bag?" "Sure, but no flash, no video!" he says. I go through the pat-down line and the guy says "What's in the bag?" Camera gear, I say, and show him. "No flash, no video, have fun." I hand in my ticket further up the line, get the same question and same response: no flash, no video. Three for three! We get inside and head to the balcony where I'm shooting some test shots of the openers. This older guy taps my shoulder and says "Do you have a press pass?" I say no, and explain that three different people have Ok'd my being there and that I'm not doing pro photos. Cool, he says, have fun. He adds, "Duck down once the show starts, you don't want to block anyone. And come back and see me once the show starts, I'll let you in there for a few minutes" and he points to the VIP section at the front-front of the balcony." Jesus, I want to hug this guy but I just shake his hand instead.

THEN I get another tap, and this guy says "I need you to come with me, I've gotta ask my boss about this." Outside the head security guy asks the question "Does the lens come off?" Well, yeah. "We just got word from the band, no 'pro' photography allowed. Sorry, but they shouldn't have even let you through the door." I beg them to let me keep the camera instead of taking it back to the car, and they say cool, just no pictures. I kept my word until the last 30 minutes of the show, then I turned off the LCD and started shooting. I've seen these guys before and I figured gently caress it, if I get kicked out so be it. The crowd had been well behaved so I wasn't worried about some on-edge bouncer throwing me through the air or anything.

So! Considering I took every picture in the middle of the crowd and with one eye open for security, I think I did ok. I was too far for anything but my 100mm f/2.8 (and some of these severely cropped; I would've killed for a 70-200), and as much as I wanted to avoid ISO 1600 I just didn't have enough light. Everything shot at f/2.8, 1/200, ISO 1600, and if the colors are weird it's because of the lights; not much I can do about it. Anyway, here's the set and here are some favorites:











Bottom Liner
Feb 15, 2006


a specific vein of lasagna

jackpot posted:

This thread's more about doing portrait work for bands and not so much concert photography, but I thought I'd pass on my story just because...hell, I've to tell somebody. :)


Oh, by all means feel free. This thread is for any music related photography. I'll be shooting this years warped tour, and FM are one of the bands I'm looking most forward to shooting. Great concert shots, though I'm surprised you said the crowd wasn't rowdy.

jackpot
Aug 31, 2004

First cousin to the Black Rabbit himself. Such was Woundwort's monument...and perhaps it would not have displeased him.<

Bottom Liner posted:

Oh, by all means feel free. This thread is for any music related photography. I'll be shooting this years warped tour, and FM are one of the bands I'm looking most forward to shooting. Great concert shots, though I'm surprised you said the crowd wasn't rowdy.
I don't get out enough to know what's rowdy, but they don't allow crowd surfing and the one guy I saw that did a stage dive practically got dragged out by his hair. Everybody was hoppin and shoving around, but it wasn't what I'd call a rough crowd. Very equipment friendly :)

Octorok
Mar 27, 2007

For shooting film, would I be alright on 400ISO with a 50mm/1.8f during a live show?
This would be purely for personal uses and not profit, I would only be shooting local bands and be able to get up very close.

jackpot
Aug 31, 2004

First cousin to the Black Rabbit himself. Such was Woundwort's monument...and perhaps it would not have displeased him.<

Octorok posted:

For shooting film, would I be alright on 400ISO with a 50mm/1.8f during a live show?
This would be purely for personal uses and not profit, I would only be shooting local bands and be able to get up very close.
In a word, no. Straight out the camera with no processing, this is what ISO 400 looks like at 1/100. Granted I was at f/2.8 but I doubt f/1.8 is enough of an improvement to make a difference. If the place is really well-lit I'll bet you can get away with 800, but I think if you go with 400 speed you'll spend hours and hours trying to tease detail out of some really underexposed shots.



But I'm one guy who's shot one concert, so don't take my word as gospel or anything. :)

Private Label
Feb 25, 2005

Encapsulate the spirit of melancholy. Easy. BOOM. A sad desk. BOOM. Sad wall. It's art. Anything is anything.

jackpot posted:

FLOGGING MOLLY!

I am SO VERY jealous. Holy crap. Those are AWESOME pictures! I was able to see them a few weeks ago when they came to Detroit (and last year as well), but the place that they play at I know wouldn't let me bring in a pro camera if I tried. And even if I did, I would have to shoot far away because they DO allow crowd surfing and the twice I've been to FM, I've been kicked in the face. All in good fun though!

As for other bands/venues, I have no clue. I usually see "no professional cameras," so I guess I'm going to have to start with more local bands. I've gotten some good shots with my panasonic point-and-shoot, but I would kill to bring a better camera with me.

brad industry
May 22, 2004
Do you use any kind of third-party application for managing your Myspace poo poo? I know a few years ago those kind of programs were common, I had friends in bands who used them to add/comment/message people. I'm picking up some smaller music jobs while things are slow, and I loving hate using the actual Myspace website.

jackpot
Aug 31, 2004

First cousin to the Black Rabbit himself. Such was Woundwort's monument...and perhaps it would not have displeased him.<

Private Label posted:

I've gotten some good shots with my panasonic point-and-shoot, but I would kill to bring a better camera with me.
Yeah, what really grinded on my nerves all night long was the fact that there were 300 other people there with p&s cameras standing two feet from the stage shooting away with impunity. With flash, the fuckers, right in the band's faces. I console myself with the knowledge that I got better pictures than they did, hopefully.

I'd love to know what it takes to get a press pass for something like this, but I have a sneaking suspicion it involves being employed by, you know, the press.

Private Label
Feb 25, 2005

Encapsulate the spirit of melancholy. Easy. BOOM. A sad desk. BOOM. Sad wall. It's art. Anything is anything.

jackpot posted:

Yeah, what really grinded on my nerves all night long was the fact that there were 300 other people there with p&s cameras standing two feet from the stage shooting away with impunity. With flash, the fuckers, right in the band's faces. I console myself with the knowledge that I got better pictures than they did, hopefully.

That's awful. But yeah, even with the flash (which I never do at concerts, unless the band says it's ok- like Keane), the pictures look god-awful unless you are standing right in front of them anyway. It cracks me up when I look at their LCD right after and it's a black mess.

rockcity
Jan 16, 2004
Awesome, I'm glad someone finally made this thread. I've been shooting concerts for about 5 years now. I moved this summer and have since slowed down just because I haven't gotten into the scene down here in Orlando and established myself. I've still only done one promo shoot, but I loved the photo that came out of it and so did the band along with everyone who's seen it. I plan to buy an AB800 this summer and start doing some promo stuff again. There is an awesome young photographer around here by the name of Gage Young who does some amazing band promo photos and somehow he's only 18. I want to do some assisting for him to get a good idea of how to best use my lighting options and get a grasp on the whole posing groups.

As for my background, I started when I was 17 shooting some local shows until I got lucky and scored a photo pass to shoot AFI. That was the show that got me addicted. I worked by butt off after that and got a job working with the Michigan Daily at U of M and that got me into pretty much any show I ever wanted to cover, from little 100 person shows at dive bars to shooting Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera, Aerosmith, you name it. I've always had my own website, Rock City Photography, it sucks and I haven't updated it in ages with new photos. I graduated a year ago so since then I've only shot for my site or a metal web-show/zine called Metal Injection

I can honestly say this is the best hobby I could ever imagine. I make very little money off of any of it, but free shows more than makes up for it to me. I haven't paid to go to a concert in about 4 years and for a while there I was doing at least one a week. It's led me to meet a lot of awesome people in the music industry be it bands, managers or just employees at the venues. The more you become close with those people, the better your photos get. It helps to be friendly to all of them. Getting to know the staff will get you good tips about the venue and maybe get the lighting guy to not suck so much. Getting to know band managers can get you on the side stage or even sitting next to the drummer (I like that spot) and getting to know the bands can lead to awesome posed photos mid-song.

This is getting me excited for my boy Craig to make it down here for his shows on Thursday and Friday so I can do some shooting again, even though it's just acoustic stuff.

Edit: I will leave you with probably my favorite concert photo I've ever taken from a few years back.

rockcity fucked around with this message at 22:20 on Mar 10, 2009

Bottom Liner
Feb 15, 2006


a specific vein of lasagna

rockcity posted:

There is an awesome young photographer around here by the name of Gage Young who does some amazing band promo photos and somehow he's only 18.

Yeah, I'm very familiar with him, and in fact base a lot of my business plan around it. He is the go to guy in the florida scene, and I want to build that reputation for myself in the Carolinas. He does great work, he has really made that style popular in that scene of music. Very good info Rockcity, thanks.

brad industry posted:

Do you use any kind of third-party application for managing your Myspace poo poo? I know a few years ago those kind of programs were common, I had friends in bands who used them to add/comment/message people. I'm picking up some smaller music jobs while things are slow, and I loving hate using the actual Myspace website.

I don't, from what I've seen those are basically spambots to add as many people as possible/post generic responses on all your friends pages and such, which I'm not really interested in doing. Myspace 2.0 has really helped though, the site isn't quite as big of a pile of crap now as it was a year or two ago.

Added concert shots to the OP.

Bottom Liner fucked around with this message at 01:21 on Mar 11, 2009

rockcity
Jan 16, 2004
Yeah, Gage is awesome. I talked to him a few weeks ago and he's supposed to let me know when he needs an assistant next. I actually just moved to a few miles away from him now too.

Zoowick
Apr 9, 2007

Making fifteen year old girls looks like whores since 2006

rockcity posted:

Awesome, I'm glad someone finally made this thread. I've been shooting concerts for about 5 years now. I moved this summer and have since slowed down just because I haven't gotten into the scene down here in Orlando and established myself. I've still only done one promo shoot, but I loved the photo that came out of it and so did the band along with everyone who's seen it. I plan to buy an AB800 this summer and start doing some promo stuff again. There is an awesome young photographer around here by the name of Gage Young who does some amazing band promo photos and somehow he's only 18. I want to do some assisting for him to get a good idea of how to best use my lighting options and get a grasp on the whole posing groups.

As for my background, I started when I was 17 shooting some local shows until I got lucky and scored a photo pass to shoot AFI. That was the show that got me addicted. I worked by butt off after that and got a job working with the Michigan Daily at U of M and that got me into pretty much any show I ever wanted to cover, from little 100 person shows at dive bars to shooting Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera, Aerosmith, you name it. I've always had my own website, Rock City Photography, it sucks and I haven't updated it in ages with new photos. I graduated a year ago so since then I've only shot for my site or a metal web-show/zine called Metal Injection

I can honestly say this is the best hobby I could ever imagine. I make very little money off of any of it, but free shows more than makes up for it to me. I haven't paid to go to a concert in about 4 years and for a while there I was doing at least one a week. It's led me to meet a lot of awesome people in the music industry be it bands, managers or just employees at the venues. The more you become close with those people, the better your photos get. It helps to be friendly to all of them. Getting to know the staff will get you good tips about the venue and maybe get the lighting guy to not suck so much. Getting to know band managers can get you on the side stage or even sitting next to the drummer (I like that spot) and getting to know the bands can lead to awesome posed photos mid-song.

This is getting me excited for my boy Craig to make it down here for his shows on Thursday and Friday so I can do some shooting again, even though it's just acoustic stuff.

Edit: I will leave you with probably my favorite concert photo I've ever taken from a few years back.



That is one bad-rear end photo.

Bottom Liner
Feb 15, 2006


a specific vein of lasagna

Zoowick posted:

That is one bad-rear end photo.

drat straight it is. That is the kind of concert photo I dream about catching.

rockcity
Jan 16, 2004

Bottom Liner posted:

drat straight it is. That is the kind of concert photo I dream about catching.

Thanks guys. It's easily my favorite shot that I've ever taken. It's Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails. The lighting on that tour was insanely hard to shoot and it dawned on me to try a silhouette because the stage rig was so cool looking that it would shadow out like that. It was THIS close to running full page in Spin magazine too. That would have been awesome.

AIIAZNSK8ER
Dec 8, 2008


Where is your 24-70?
Reading this thread really makes me think 2 things: I need a DSLR, so I don't have to mess with high speed film and I want to take concert photos for side profit, or free shows at least.

Do you bring a laptop to the show for the band to see the photos right after, or is there a meeting later to go over which shots they want to use?

Do you give them a version that has a watermark on it, or do you require them to give you credit somewhere under the picture?

rockcity
Jan 16, 2004

Haggins posted:

I still have a bit to learn as far as concert photography goes, but I think I'm probably one of the better photographers in my scene (FL metal). My problem is, I've got no loving clue what to do for promo shots. I've been asked a few times but I've turned it down work because I don't feel comfortable. To me they're two totally different types of photography.

What can I do to get up to speed on doing promo shots? What kind of equipment am I gonna need? I'd really like to at least have some canned ideas ready to offer incase I get asked again.

Edit: Also, what about choosing a location? I'm pretty clueless on how that is done.

Where in the FL area are you? I just moved to Orlando this past summer and metal is mostly what I shoot too. I've only shot in Tampa, St. Pete, Orlando and Jacksonville so far.

rockcity
Jan 16, 2004

AIIAZNSK8ER posted:

Reading this thread really makes me think 2 things: I need a DSLR, so I don't have to mess with high speed film and I want to take concert photos for side profit, or free shows at least.

Do you bring a laptop to the show for the band to see the photos right after, or is there a meeting later to go over which shots they want to use?

Do you give them a version that has a watermark on it, or do you require them to give you credit somewhere under the picture?

Just slap a copyright with your name in the corner so the credit is already there. I do that with all my web photos. I don't like watermarking and it's not going to get used for anything I wouldn't want it to at only 600px.

nicolerork
Feb 9, 2009
This thread rules. Along with rockcity, I too, have been shooting shows since I was 17. Currently it is a part-time job for me and on the plus side, I get to tour quite a bit. Speaking of which, I'll be down in FL on Friday and Texas / SXSW all next week, so if you see me, come say hello!


I just shot these first two yesterday, so they're straight off the camera. No post-processing yet.

Pierce the Veil






Cinematic Sunrise




Forever in a Day


Isles and Glaciers



Misc live shots


















nicolerork fucked around with this message at 16:44 on Mar 12, 2009

Bottom Liner
Feb 15, 2006


a specific vein of lasagna
dude, where have you been hiding? Excellent stuff, do you have any insight to share about the business side of things?

Return Of JimmyJars
Jun 24, 2006

by FactsAreUseless
Some advice if you want to shoot when they don't allow cameras with a removable lens:
Borrow/use a small bodied SLR with a pancake/prime lens. When questioned I would always say no the lens can't come off. Never got questioned past that. Obviously this wont work if you can't get up close, but you'll want to shoot with a prime anyway.
I also wanted to share on of my favorite shots:

rockcity
Jan 16, 2004

Bottom Liner posted:

dude, where have you been hiding? Excellent stuff, do you have any insight to share about the business side of things?

Nicole rocks and can teach you lots, however, I yell at her constantly for doing people favors. YOU ARE TOO GOOD TO BE DOING THINGS FOR FREE! Stop that!

HPL
Aug 28, 2002

Worst case scenario.
I'll hop in with some stuff to add later (at work right now), but for now all I can tell you is that for those of you worrying about getting into promo work, don't worry. It's not nearly as nerve-wracking as you might think it is. If you've been shooting shows for a while, you already have a sense of what looks good and what bands dig, and the bands dig how you make things look or they wouldn't ask you. Just take that and do it in a more formalized setting. As for the studio equipment, I have three 285HVs with radio triggers, stands, umbrellas blah blah blah but really it's about what's between the ears, not the camera in your hands. If you're being asked to do promos, you're probably veteran enough to know how to work with horrible light and make it look decent, so anything above that is gravy.

Honestly, I find that the biggest thing is to learn the individual band members' names for promo sessions because you'll have far greater control over the session the more you can communicate with each of them. I'm terrible with names so I'm really bad that way, but I notice a huge difference when I do and don't remember their names.

Cyberbob
Mar 29, 2006
Prepare for doom. doom. doooooom. doooooom.
I've got my first major festival this weekend. I've done gigs and the odd day concert before, but never something this big. It's from noon till midnight, so the levels of lighting via natural night will change throughout the day.

There's about 5 stages over a few square kilometers, with more than a dozen bands playing throughout the day. I've got me and my partner helping, both of us sporting Nikon D60's so not exactly top of the range, but hopefully our media passes get us some prime spots for shooting.


Looking at the shots nicolerork posted.. how the hell are they so noiseless? even the very dark concert ones. Is it a matter of using a low ISO but waiting till the perfect lighting? Or just throwing some high end hardware at the situation.

rockcity
Jan 16, 2004

Cyberbob posted:

I've got my first major festival this weekend. I've done gigs and the odd day concert before, but never something this big. It's from noon till midnight, so the levels of lighting via natural night will change throughout the day.

There's about 5 stages over a few square kilometers, with more than a dozen bands playing throughout the day. I've got me and my partner helping, both of us sporting Nikon D60's so not exactly top of the range, but hopefully our media passes get us some prime spots for shooting.


Looking at the shots nicolerork posted.. how the hell are they so noiseless? even the very dark concert ones. Is it a matter of using a low ISO but waiting till the perfect lighting? Or just throwing some high end hardware at the situation.

Bring either a crapload of CF cards or a laptop to dump your photos into. I usually bring a laptop when I shoot an all day festival or I'd easily run out of space.

Your photo pass should get your right in front of the stage provided there is a barricade. At most festivals there are, so you won't need any crazy lenses.

When you're outdoors and the sun is still up, use the lowest ISO you can. However, when that sun goes down, you pretty much have to shoot higher ISO. I rarely shoot anything below ISO 800 at concerts, a lot of times 1600. If you look at Nicole's shots a lot of them have direct light on the subject in which case your blacks will be really black and low noise when the subject is exposed properly, even at higher ISOs. Plus most newer digital SLRs do a pretty good job at in camera noise reduction. Not sure how good the D60 is, but my 20D and 40D look good at 1600 if the exposure is good. She shoots with a 30D for reference.

jackpot
Aug 31, 2004

First cousin to the Black Rabbit himself. Such was Woundwort's monument...and perhaps it would not have displeased him.<

Cyberbob posted:

hopefully our media passes get us some prime spots for shooting.
What are you doing / who are you working for that would get you media passes? I'm just wondering how that sort of thing is usually done.

nicolerork
Feb 9, 2009

Cyberbob posted:




Looking at the shots nicolerork posted.. how the hell are they so noiseless? even the very dark concert ones. Is it a matter of using a low ISO but waiting till the perfect lighting? Or just throwing some high end hardware at the situation.


I usually just wait for the spotlight before I take a shot. I like to shoot at really low ISOs as much as possible (anywhere from 400-800) at shows, so to compensate, I have to shoot slower shutter speeds which means I wait for the right lighting before shooting.


Bottom Liner posted:

dude, where have you been hiding? Excellent stuff, do you have any insight to share about the business side of things?


The best business advice I can give you is networking yourself. Making friends with other photographers, bands, publicists, magazines, etc. Once you prove that you can do the job and deliver on time, you'll have a good working relationship with your clients. Then from there it just branches off from word of mouth referrals and jobs.

I also spend A LOT of time looking at other entertainment photographers work. I take a little bit of everyone else's style and mix it in with my own and continuously try to reinvent myself all the time. I try not to take the same shot twice.

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bobmarleysghost
Mar 7, 2006



nicolerork posted:

The best business advice I can give you is networking yourself. Making friends with other photographers, bands, publicists, magazines, etc. Once you prove that you can do the job and deliver on time, you'll have a good working relationship with your clients. Then from there it just branches off from word of mouth referrals and jobs.

How do you approach the photographers/bands/magazines? Do you just go in their office and say hello or do you know them through friends?

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