Band Shoot

Stranger · Sep 16, 2007

I have never shot anything like this before and just took some photos upon request from my girlfriends dad.I told the band after the concert that i would have the photos up for them to look at tonight to see if they wanted any. I want a seriouse critique and i know you guys are great at that.

SIDE QUESTION - should i charge them for these photos (I have never sold images before) and if so, how much?

Sorry, I know their is a limit of three but i thought four would be ok if they are all completely tied together.

Nikon D50 - Tamron 28-75 2.8.. I believe all these where shot at 2.8 so i could get the SS needed.

Sorry for large size. If needed, i can link to them

1

2

3

4

The_Traveler · Sep 16, 2007

What follows is clearly only my opinion so bear in mind that, although I state things with absolute certainty, others may disagree and be correct.
But since you're not paying me, use or discard.

These shots need drama and framing. Some of the drama can be put in PP but you need to include all the vital elements. I think the picture focus and DOF are fine altho you are not framing your shots well and the images are unfinished. You have a lot of useless space and they need to be cleaned up and cropped. (I assume you are in US so I cropped to US sizes.)

Re: charging. Your choice, but if you put time into editing them (I took 30 minutes) I would absolutely charge. The amount should be commensurate with your time + printing costs + profit.

Straightened and added some ceiling and wall

The white background made the shot underexposed so I leveled and brightened it. Then cropped out the useless space and added vignettes to 'close the shot and make it more dramatic.

nn
Straightened this, added some ceiling and wall and mike stand.

This is the least good. No face, no drama, too much space.
I straightened and cropped.

Stranger · Sep 16, 2007

Thank you Traveler, i took your advice on #1, 2, and 4.

I was not very fond of the crop i got on the long haired guitar so I "Admitted defeat" on that one and took it as a mental note for next time. Will definitely pay attention to unneeded space and make sure the subject stays the subject without useless distractions

skieur · Sep 18, 2007

O.K....if these were taken at a concert, where is the audience? That is an expected part of any concert shot i.e. a side shot with the audience in the background. If they were not taken at a concert, then the distracting elements in the background should be more controlled by the photographer.

skieur

craig · Sep 19, 2007

If you were after some good shots of the band then I would say you hit your mark. The shots are well exposed and sharp. I generally like the composition. The band members will love them.

As far as charging goes I would say no. Have fun with it for now. As you gain experience you will figure out when to charge and how much.

Love & Bass

jstuedle · Sep 19, 2007

I do live bands a lot. It's a hobby that Cathy and I enjoy. (as long as I can stand the music) If you would like check out:

http://www.pbase.com/jstuedle/live_bands

As far as charging, I have been doing this for about 10 years. My price is all the local market will bear, and is up to $150 a night. That is shooting 600 to 800 frames during a 4 to 5 hour gig. Editing them on the fly and presenting the band and venue owner a CD with 35 to 60 edited, web ready images at the end of the night. And really only a couple of local bands make enough money a night to pay my current fee. The images as shown in my pbase.com account are as edited and presented to the band without any additional post processing.
Also, the crowd is a must have in local band shooting. I know it was already mentioned, but it can't be said enough IMO. Your shots could just as well have been made at a practice session, no one would ever know the difference. Try backing up and getting the heads of the crown on the dance floor silhouetted against the band on stage. This shows depth and energy, all needed for good band pix. Also, try to get some images of the drummer and guitar player at slower shutter speeds, say 1/15 to 1/45th. This will let the drum sticks and hands/fingers of the guitarist blur to show action. Maybe like this:

Hope you don't think I'm hijacking your thread, not my intension.

Stranger · Sep 19, 2007

@skieur - They where not really at a concert but at a party with a live band. I understand what you are saying about the audience though but these shots were taken within the last 2 minutes of their last song. The crowd didn't exist as we were probably the last 5 people at the event

.

@Craig - Thanks, i decided not to charge them and posted the pictures but i have not heard from them at all so i dont know if they will use any.

@jstuedle - Very nice picture of bands on your site. The problem with this band is once again that everyone left already so they were kind of motionless. The shots i did get they actually posed as i pointed the camera and started to shoot. Without that, they would be standing motionless not into it all. I did not think to try the slowed shutter speed :-/ probably would have turned out nice.

Thanks for all the great tips and if the opportunity comes up again i will be sure to try to put them into play and see what i can come up with