comment band photos

[john818]

hi everone,

i tooks soem photos for a band and i just want to know what you guys think about these photos.i shot it on 35mm film.with a canon rebel.im still a biggener.i would love to here some criticism

here are a few

http://www.flickr.com/photos/13129010@N00/?saved=1

[john818]

pleese tell me what you guys think of these pix.what should i work on to make them better.

[Cryogenic Filmworks]

Dude. It's 5am. No one is awake but me and I'm headed to bed. As for the pix, they look fine to me.

[john818]

hahaha,ya thats true.lol thanks

[Jeremy Ordan]

they look like any other concert shots

[john818]

r they good enough to get paid for.lol

[Jeremy Ordan]

r they good enough to get paid for.lol

Try to sell them and find out for yourself, but if you are trying to build a portfolio, build a portfolio of more than just 4 images.

[john818]

ya thats true,thanks

[Jon Starr]

Yeah, nothing really special about the photos. Not really sure how you'd improve on them. Maybe learn more about framing and try out some more artistic shots. Unless of course you're taking photographs for the band (especially if being paid for it) then i guess just keep doing what you're doing.

But it's never bout the money, it's about the art. ;)

But keep working at it! :)

[john818]

ya,i just wanted to see what you guys thought,do they look too ameture,

[MattinSTL]

I think you might need faster glass. The lead singer looks good, but at larger size I see that he's got motion blur, because the mic is fairly sharp. The bottom left guitar player is okay... but again, not sharp... the drummer shot isn't bad either.

If you want my honest opinion, they aren't what I'd call pro yet. There's certain things that I look for... and one of the most basic is an awareness of the subject and background... like with the keyboard player for instance... had you taken a step or two to the right then the other band members would be sharing headspace with him. He would have been in the black BG and your eye could follow in to the boards.

The drummer's head looks like it's resting on the front drum edge (almost)... a step left and you could have seem him more clearly "cut" off the drum kit.

If you're shooting with a DSLR and you can get ANY kind of a really fast glass... like a 1.8 or better... you could also help your shots a lot by giving the most important part of the image more attention.

My .02

I've got a friend in a band that's playing tonight... all I have in a 1.8 glass is a fixed 50mm... but I'll see if I can take some shots and post tomorrow.

[john818]

ok,thanks a lot

[MattinSTL]

Okay dude... I appologize for my criticism above... that is really hard to do. The non-stop colored and totally random lighting makes that challenging. For the record I used my D70s and a 50mm 1.8 glass with auto focus assist OFF so that there wouldn't be a beam of light shooting the band in the eyes... and obviously no flash either.

This is the best I could do last night:

http://www.gettreel.com/Jenni5small.jpg

http://www.gettreel.com/Jenni4small.jpg

http://www.gettreel.com/Jenni3small.jpg

http://www.gettreel.com/Jenni2small.jpg

http://www.gettreel.com/Jeni1small.jpg

[Digigenic]

Live shows are no easy task.
I'd say you did pretty good, both John818 and MattinSTL.
Having a fast prime lens is practically a requirement, but I've found that a 2.8 zoom with a low power flash can do pretty good too.

With all of the challenges a photographer may face during a live show, the most difficult challenge for me is being at a show where I really just want to drop the camera, sit back and enjoy the concert like everybody else.

A couple months back I saw Grizzly Bear (http://grizzly-bear.net/) in Austin, TX. I drove from Houston to catch the sold out show at a venue I'd never been to, and brought my camera along just for fun.
As difficult as it was for me to do, I had to use my flash for their set because they preferred to play in almost total darkness. Either that, or they deliberately wanted to make it challenging on all of the photographers:grin:

Anyways, I have 8 of my photographs from the show posted on Grizzly Bear's flickr page (http://www.flickr.com/photos/grizzly_bear/), they all have the description: 'Photos From Texas'.
When it was all said and done, I actually got a chance to talk with the band after the show and I also got a copy of their album signed by all of them. :)
Here's one of the photos....
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m197/Digigenic/JCMasonpix/ChrisTaylor_GrizzlyBear_AustinTX.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/grizzly_bear/421686410/)

[MattinSTL]

Dude that shot rocks... I had an sb-800 with me... I just never considered turning it way down and closing in... there was a mosh of people.

Looking at your pic there makes me wish I'd have really gone for it. I emailed Jeni the pics I took and I'm sure that she'll say to "go for it" next time and do whatever I want with my flash. With the sb-800 I could have done what you have there... it's got a function for that.

That is a very cool shot... I'm diggin' it big time. You should do the next photo contest.

[Digigenic]

Thanks, I appreciate that.
Yeah, the SB800 should be able to handle it with ease. Maybe even try experimenting with remote flash.
I've thought about entering the contest on a couple of occassions but just hand't followed up on it.
Maybe this summer when the weather stabilizes a bit I'll be able to work some mojo. We'll see...
Thanks again for the compliments.

[MattinSTL]

You're welcome... I gotta' say about the sb-800... that's the ONLY reason I got a d70s instead of a d50 at the time... remote flash.

There's no other way to use it... in my opinion.

If I shoot another show for her then I think I'll have a friend go up dancing next to her (from off stage and out of my frame)... and then set the flash for really low power... and pop it remotely as you suggest. The friend can dance around with her arms straight up and the flash head tilted down.

I'm laughing my ass off picturing it... but I'm dead serious... if I use it w/o the dome diffusor, but with the wide diffusor... then it can illuminate for 14mm wide, but it will still have a hard light quality... replicating the look of a spot. I should have considered that last night.

[wilx]

Here's one of the photos....
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m197/Digigenic/JCMasonpix/ChrisTaylor_GrizzlyBear_AustinTX.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/grizzly_bear/421686410/)

Sweet.

How do you get a picture looking like that?
2 things in particular stand out. 1 is the high, ultra-sharp contrasty look, which I only seem to manage to get sometimes by fiddling with an image after I've taken it, using contrast/curve controls in Gimp. Is this an in-camera effect, or filters, or 'cheating' the same way I do?
The second thing is the two more blurry images of the singer either side of the pin-sharp one. Is this a composite of 3 separate pics, and if not, how is it done?

Thanks!

[Digigenic]

Sweet.

How do you get a picture looking like that?
2 things in particular stand out. 1 is the high, ultra-sharp contrasty look, which I only seem to manage to get sometimes by fiddling with an image after I've taken it, using contrast/curve controls in Gimp. Is this an in-camera effect, or filters, or 'cheating' the same way I do?
The second thing is the two more blurry images of the singer either side of the pin-sharp one. Is this a composite of 3 separate pics, and if not, how is it done?

Thanks!
Thankyou for the compliments, Wilx.

There is a significant amount of post processing done to achieve that look, as there were in all of the other shots I took of the band.
That particular one of Chris Taylor consists of three seperate photos meticulously layered over one another to get a triple exposure look.
It required more than just puting one layer on top of the other and adjusting the opacity. Had I simply layered and tweaked the opacity, the center figure wouldn't pop out as much; it would just look garbled together with no definitive point of focus to draw the viewer's eye to.
As far as achieving that 'ultra-sharp contrasty look', you really need to make sure you capture at the highest possible quality to maximize your control over the image in post.
I always suggest making sure you shoot RAW and processing in 16 bit and outputing to PSD for finishing [assuming you work in Photoshop].
If you don't work in PS, then just be sure to keep your working files in an ucompressed format until you output for print and/or the web.
It makes your files huge and kind of cumbersome, but it's very much worth it in the end.

[john818]

Okay dude... I appologize for my criticism above... that is really hard to do. The non-stop colored and totally random lighting makes that challenging. For the record I used my D70s and a 50mm 1.8 glass with auto focus assist OFF so that there wouldn't be a beam of light shooting the band in the eyes... and obviously no flash either.


its cool man,you did a good job also.

[wilx]

Thankyou for the compliments, Wilx.

There is a significant amount of post processing done to achieve that look ...
...it makes your files huge and kind of cumbersome, but it's very much worth it in the end.

Thanks a lot for the tips. I use Gimp rather than photoshop - mainly because it's open source, and therefore free! Photography at the moment is a very new hobby - but I'll take your tips on bord - I've already switched to RAW shooting ready for my next photography fix!

Thanks.

[matt s.]

you guys are right this is very hard to accomplish. im fairly new to still photog but here are some shots i took in the worlds worst lit bar. they turn all the lights off except some really bad disco lights haha. i realize they are underexsposed but i was shooting with a D50 @ 1600 iso with a 50mm 1.8 and i had to bump the shutter up some as to not get all the motion blur. no cropping or photoshop work on these just reduced to 72dpi

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r258/matt_s_toc/Krugs/UNORTHODOX/DSC_0131copy.jpg

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r258/matt_s_toc/Krugs/UNORTHODOX/DSC_0200copy.jpg

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r258/matt_s_toc/Krugs/UNORTHODOX/DSC_0222.jpg

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r258/matt_s_toc/Krugs/UNORTHODOX/DSC_0224.jpg

[john818]

my photos where shot with a 1600 iso film.im going to their concert agian april 20.

[MattinSTL]

Matt S.
Those are tight... I'm sure the guys were really happy when you dropped those shots on 'em.

Damn... I actually forgot all about 1600 ISO!

Well the band loved the photos I got anyway... they're going to pay me to come back and give it another go. I told them that if they can accept a low power flash that I can improve on what I got the first time.

One of my favorite pics is super blown out... but I think it would make a cool album cover. Check it... be right back to post it. (need to resize) Okay here it is:

http://www.gettreel.com/JeniCropSmall.jpg

[LilGryphMaster]

Whenever I do a concert, I always shoot at 1600ISO and set the shutter speed to 60 or 80 using my 1.8 glass. I find that generally yields good results. Sometimes, though, you have to up the shutter more to catch some fast action (but lose some light).

Here are two sets of bands I've done pictures for in the past. For the Metrolites, though, the first 10 or so pics were taken with a Nikon Coolpix 995. I miss that little bugger.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lilgryphmaster/sets/72157594186610859/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lilgryphmaster/sets/72057594135115926/

[MattinSTL]

Those are some really nice shots man.

I think the lesson learned here... which applies to ALL of photography... is that light is, and will ALWAYS be, everything. (I've typed this exact sentence in the lighting forum a couple times through the years.)

Find ways to control or harness the light and you will get the photographs that you intend to... rather then simply getting lucky. Fast glass and high ISO takes a little pressure off of the shutter speed... then adding some low flash removes some of the shooting obstacles. I went into my shoot with 1.8 glass and 200 (aargh) ISO... turned off the AF assist... then shot a hundred pics in hopes of getting a few keepers.

The controlled light setups in LGM's photos above are excellent (and I like many of the other shots too). I told my band buddies that we need to get some shots before the show... something with real lighting.

[matt s.]

MattinSTL thanks for the comment. i like your blown out shot. gives it a nice surreal look.
Lilgryph those shots are great as well!
now if i can only make it to a show which has some kind of stage lighting instead of one revolving /flashing disco light :)

[john818]

o ya those flashing disco lights are hard to work with.