I love to think I am good at shooting live bands! After all, I am an award winning photographer 😉 – also, my A-Level coursework was ‘Live Band Photography’ AND I now get paid to do it… so I thought I may have picked up some tips and tricks along the way…
Personally, when I am photographing live bands I take into consideration the genre of music of the band. I think about how I want the viewer of the image to perceive the picture. Will the observer know the genre of music from… how I’ve edited the image, what angle I’ve taken the image from, from the image I have chosen to represent the band etc? I know it seems a lot to think about, but actually it takes seconds to do once you’ve got used to doing it. When I start up, I immediately think “genre? angle? where should I be?”… ta-da!!
Another good tip which I picked up from Daz Monroe of The Featherz… three song rule!
Pretty straight forward. Bands tend to look their best during the first 3 songs of their set. They are at their most energetic and tend to ‘show off’ the most during that part of their set… so take the opportunity to snap away.
I have a slight spin on this! – I usually wait till they have played at least one song, so I’m not up in their faces as soon as they are on stage. Then I keep my camera on standby just in case!! Take the standby as an opportunity to move around… go to the back of the venue, the sides etc. If you’re able to go back stage, have a look back stage and see if you can get an good angles from there. THINK before you CLICK.
I know this one is hard… but… don’t stick to one member! I know you’re gonna want to photograph the ones you have the hots for the most…….. which is also usually the frontman… BUT resist temptation and see if you can get the drummer! The bassist! … I guess the guitarist also 😉 The rhythm section tend to get ignored alot… so brighten their day by getting some sexy shots of them. They tend to be self-adoring just as much as the singer and guitarists.
Editing!
My advice is… don’t over do it on the editing. Adjust the saturation and exposure a bit, and leave the rest alone. Don’t play around with filters and grains, just keep it simple. If all else fails and the picture is a little too “WOW”, just make it black and white. I personally like to make the shadows as dark as possible, and to bring out the highlights. That usually looks really lush!
This also links in with genre. If a band is really ‘glam’, it is probably best to keep the image in colour for the full effect! However… if the band is a bit grunge of indie… black and white never fails! Editing is good because you have AGES to perfect the final image. You can really get your teeth into making a good final image… don’t waste that time by just wanting to get the pics out.
A-Level Photography Final Piece – Brett Anderson of Suede
A Level Photography – Final Piece – Byron Jones of Rollin Stoned
On the subject of editing – you make take thousands of pictures BUT stick to perhaps 5 (10 at the most) FINAL edits. You can always go back and edit more later… but the final 5 should be your best, the ones that you are proud of and the ones that have answered the question you’ve set… in my case “what genre of music are they?”. You will definitely have hundreds of crappy blurry ones, and you’ll also have tones of cluttered ones! Try and dig out the fresh, crisp, ‘perfect’ image. Also if you are a constant clicker… with your very fast shutter speed… you’ll have LOADS of the same picture… please don’t be a douche and edit ALL of those just cos they came out good. PICK one and STICK to it!
Lastly, for now… don’t try and be a smart arse!
Just because you have been given a camera for Christmas, and are a dab hand at using auto-focus… doesn’t mean that you are a professional.
Fuuck, I’m no professional! I wing it… I professionally wing it 😉
There is nothing worse than someone who really likes to show off because they think they know what they are doing. Sorry, but there was only one Annie Leibovitz. Be inspired by others work, love what you, and don’t be big-headed about it. Believe it or not, your attitude will show in your final outcomes. Peace and love!
So final comments :
1. Genre?
2. Angle?
3. 3 Song Rule
4. Edits
5. Influences?
HAVE FUN!
Much love ❤
Jodie
Winning Photography Piece for World Wide Competition – judged my Rankin.
Self-Portrait as Mick Jagger. Inspired by David Bailey.
JodieBowie 