Shooting musicians... help!! Please!! I'll bake ya a pie....

[saravrose]

So, there I am a couple nights ago, tipping out my bartender while he's talking about the latest concert he has coming up with his classical guitar students at the private college...
he is such a nice man and is incredibly passionate about his music and completely devoted to his students. That said, I asked if the 'concert' (more of a hyped up recital) were open to the public.. And that I would like to go.
Now, Brian gets this look in his eye that only means mischief and asks if I could come and bring my camera with me... More for his personal use than anything, he would like to have some photos of his students and himself for his studio and classroom.... He promises that the main stage area is going to be pretty well lighted and I know that the 'artsy' style is going to appeal to him more than technical perfection (thank god!).. but, where do I go from here?
In my mind i'm thinking of silhouttes and b&w.. along with close-ups of just the instruments and hands etc..
I don't do this, have never done it and haven't really considered this kind of work before.. But it seems like a challenge and if I can get half the shots that are starting to form in my mind it could be a really fun night... What I need is practical advice taking photos of musicians in a concert, how to deal with them, how to get to where I need to be without being rude.. He has promised me backstage clearance?? (not sure what that means exactly).. any and all advice no matter how trivial you may think it is will be a lot more than I know and very much appreciated..

sari.

[dzstudios]

Okay - These is the NUMBER ONE GOLDEN RULE in our studio (without it, all the other advice would be futile):


BE PUSHY!

PUSHY will take you a long way, when you are limited by kit, skill and experience. And even further, if you are not.

That specific concert, on that specific nite only happens once. Ever. One chance to capture for your client (the artists in this case) that magical performance, that grin, that intense concentration. It can never be reproduced.... Not in this case yet, but in future, a lot of people may have invested a lot of money on this one night..

So- if you have to be a little bit more 'pushy' than usual in order to get good shots - BE PUSHY!

We are all grown-ups, so use your discretion - but rather step out of your 'comfort zone' and be firm but polite: no-one is going to bring the pictures to you on a platter -- YOU have to go and GET them...

Don't be an ass - I've kicked out a speaker lead onstage at a festival - I'm still in therapy to recover from the trauma. However, everyone (all 10,000 people) has forgotten bout it - and the band is still using the pictures for promo today (I keep on telling myself that in the mirror. Every day.)

ASK for access - don't HOPE... stage managers, promotors etc. never even think of photographers, they aren't going to OFFER you good access.

Because these are not professionals, used to the limelight, arrive early and TALK to artists and WARN/EXPLAIN to them that you are there to take pictures and the better access you have, the better the shots will be...

MOST every single artist I have ever dealt with, actually feel flattered being photographed. They are PERFORMERS which means they LIKE the limelight - otherwise they would play in their front rooms.


And - at the end of the day - when the performance is long forgotten, they have magical pictures which capture every sweat drop, every frown and the energy of that performance.

Have FUN (and consider everyone else's advice on here) and come and show us how you got on - I'll be watching this space!

PS: Actually, for us, the rule is: Be RELENTLESS and REPENT LESS - because as the stakes gets higher, I would rather lock horns with a bullying stage manager (against my very, very sweet and polite nature) and get the 'magic shots' than bring my client mediocre shots because I didnt try hard enough)

[dzstudios]

PPS - I like apple. Pie that is.

[saravrose]

I make a killer caramel apple strusel...:D :D :D
thanks for the thoughts.... if you saw me in real life you'd understand why i'm concerned.. I stopped dreaming of being over five feet tall in the ninth grade and i'm maybe a hundred pounds.. i'm just little, and tend to get overlooked and pushed around a lot. And in this kind of environment i'm not sure how that's going to work out.
However the director is my personal friend and has promised that he'll make every attempt to help me however he can. I tried explaining that I do portraits and landscapes and still life where I have all the time that I want to get the shot. No matter, he's sick of P&S photos with three or four of his students posing in front of the double doors of the theatre... (his words not mine).. I'm going to give this a try, perversely enough my best stuff comes from when i'm not thinking things through, and I know that whatever I come up with will be a marked improvement from what he's used to.
I'm just not looking forward to the newspaper photographer's that are going to show up.. (I know one that he mentioned and the Noink shooter is a jerk)...Wish me luck in any case. It's about two weeks away....

sari.

[cdifoto]

Off topic but FWIW...I like the small girls! :cool: :D

[saravrose]

Off topic but FWIW...I like the small girls! :cool: :D

:D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D ......

[bachscuttler]

Are they having a rehearsal, either at the venue or elsewhere?

Unless time was money (which it isn't for me) I would want a dry run and even a chance to process them.

DZ is quite right...musicians LOVE the limelight (I was one for 25 years!)
Classical may be a different ballgame, the concentraion level of the musicians will be at a higher level than making a ****of themselves biting heads off bats onstage and you won't want to distract them, but as DZ said, be relentless and replentless.

I would try and capture the fact that they are at one with their instruments...get in close and capture the instruments and facial expressions (together) like this (http://www.bachs.shutterschool.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10001/normal_IMG_4976-01.jpg) and even closer to get some 'technique' shots like this (http://www.bachs.shutterschool.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10001/blues.jpg) and go for interesting angles (get down low) like this (http://www.bachs.shutterschool.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10001/strat.jpg)

Find out wether you are allowed to use flash.
Lighting rigs can cast ugly shadows so you will need to be prepared for that. I can't imagine they will be using Pink Floyds' old rig for a classical guitar concert so you should be ok.

Hope this is of some help from an amateurs' point of view.

[saravrose]

Are they having a rehearsal, either at the venue or elsewhere?

Unless time was money (which it isn't for me) I would want a dry run and even a chance to process them.

DZ is quite right...musicians LOVE the limelight (I was one for 25 years!)
Classical may be a different ballgame, the concentraion level of the musicians will be at a higher level than making a ****of themselves biting heads off bats onstage and you won't want to distract them, but as DZ said, be relentless and replentless.

I would try and capture the fact that they are at one with their instruments...get in close and capture the instruments and facial expressions (together) like this (http://www.bachs.shutterschool.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10001/normal_IMG_4976-01.jpg) and even closer to get some 'technique' shots like this (http://www.bachs.shutterschool.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10001/blues.jpg) and go for interesting angles (get down low) like this (http://www.bachs.shutterschool.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10001/strat.jpg)

Find out wether you are allowed to use flash.
Lighting rigs can cast ugly shadows so you will need to be prepared for that. I can't imagine they will be using Pink Floyds' old rig for a classical guitar concert so you should be ok.

Hope this is of some help from an amateurs' point of view.

the last two were exactly what I was tossing around. rehearsals hmmm... I should ask, I can probably get a lot of the closeup shots before concert night... good ideas. thank you.

sari

[blackshadow]

From what you described and looking at your equipment list - I think you are going to be best served using the 50mm lens fairly wide open and jacking the ISO to 1600 or 3200. Sounds like you have good access at the venue so getting in position to frame good shots shouldn't be a problem.
Don't be too worried about the newspaper photographers - I'm often surprised how inferior the shots "professional" newpaper photographers get at gigs that I shoot.
Most of all have fun with it!

[Murphy66]

I might be able to add some insight here since I've been a working musician since 1975. (It just hurts to type that).

Rehearsal is an excellent way to get close to the musician(s) without being a distraction to the audience. Concert time is when you use the longer lenses in my opinion.

Classical musicians are usually more high strung than jazz or rock. You'll have to get their permission to shoot whereas jazz and rock players don't get bothered as much by cameras and LOVE to see gig shots.

Use rehearsal to get VERY close to the musician and the instrument. By close I mean in their lap if needed to get that angle you're looking for. Once they see your work, they'll understand what you're doing and invite you that close later.

In performance, you must balance the beauty of the shot with against the distraction to the musician and the audience. A front row seat or even sitting on the floor between the musician and the audience is most likely your best place.

With classical guitar, a good angle might be on the floor looking up at the hand over the sound hole (the right hand) with the face just out of focus. A selective depth of field thing. Same thing would be to shoot down the neck of the guitar (where the tuning pegs are) and catch the face in the background. Then flip your DOF and get the face in focus. Just experiment!

Please see my thread on 'Conductor in Rehearsal'. They're not great shots and I absolutely screwed up the White Balance but at least you can see how close I was able to get in rehearsal as compared to performance.

Best of luck! Enjoy!

And you really can't screw up, once a musician sees himself / herself performing, their egos will kick in and you'll be their best buddy.

(That last part is spoken from experience).

[DwightMcCann]

All phenomenally good advice!

[bachscuttler]

All phenomenally good advice!

Thats a compliment indeed coming from the master :)

[DwightMcCann]

Being good at something doesn't give anyone a monopoly on knowing how to do it even though it does tend to give one a sense of whether advice is competent. If I could think of something additionally useful I would chime in.

[saravrose]

and I was worried that it'd take weeks to get the advice I needed.. thanks soo much.. the more I think about this the more I really want to do it... I have a suspicion that you are all right about musicians egos as well... although I imagine the classical musicians to have varied personalities.. but, by the way my friend jumped at the oppurtunity to have me take photos it gave me an impression that they are more than likely going to be very receptive... My only concern is competing with the other photographers there. I know that my style is going to be drastically different from the other guys.. but, then I think about Brian saying he's not happy with the results he's been getting leads me to think that he wants something different.... and then my mind goes a little into overdrive at the idea of not having to shoot the ordinary.... i'm rambling.. excuse me. Oh, by the way he's going to let me into the rehearsal rooms and performance areas in a few days... while their running their light and sound checks etc.... So, I won't be walking into it blind without knowing what it's going to feel like...
wish me luck...

sari

[Murphy66]

Now, you're going to post the results, aren't you?

[saravrose]

Now, you're going to post the results, aren't you?

ofcourse... that is if there any good.... ;) ;)

[zenden]

This is good to read. I have found my usual shyness / politeness has taken a backseat when I have a camera in my hand , in order to get closer. This gives me another little push to get that elusive shot.
Okay - These is the NUMBER ONE GOLDEN RULE in our studio (without it, all the other advice would be futile):


BE PUSHY!

)

[zenden]

I am sure there will be more than one good one. Go with your instincts , take lots and then some more and then share your best ones to learn and get better.
good luck from another amateur.
ofcourse... that is if there any good.... ;) ;)