Band Shoot

I've been preparing to shoot my friends band now for about two months. I've never done anything like this before and although there's no money involved I still wanted to give it my best effort(as you do).

So here's two from the first batch, what do you guy's think.
If they're good enough they are going to use them for their upcoming album promos and possibly cover. It's a once in a lifetime oppurtunity for an amatuer like me, so I'd appreciate your feedback/critique.
Thanks Smudge.

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Nice work, smudge! I like #2 better as the guy in front left in #1 doesn't quite look right (I think it is the angle of his head).

Thanks RockSlut. Your the second person to metion his head in no 1 so I'll probably leave it out of the main bunch and throw it in the overspill.

Do you think they're too dark. Not the detail in say the faces, but the general feel. They wanted gritty, London street lads dressing smart that kind of thing...ahhhhhhh self doubt is a killer. Oh well I can't change the theme or do them again, so I guess I'll just burn em off and send em off, they like em or they don't.

Thanks again.

I like #1 better, strange head angle and all. In #2, the fellow on the far right....his face does not seem to be in focus. I'd rather have a strange head than an OOF head

I like the pictures. They seem a little soft. What camera, lens, light, settings?

The setting is good, and the lighting is good for a band shoot. It gives the feeling they wanted.

What was the light setup?


I like # 1, the light is better.

It is odd that the same guy, is the problem in both photos. Did he have a trouble staying still and holding a pose?


Good work though

okay - my son is in a band - punk - (actually soft punk but don't tell him that), and I had him his buddies a look. As far as the guys head looking odd - he and his mates think that is a plus - but they still like the 2nd shot better because it is "different" then the normal shots they see. Me and all that stupid marketing education keep yelling in my head the subject superior position of 1 is stronger then 2nd subject inferior positioning. But then again - if this is the type of band that plays basement pubs... that may be the target you are looking for. And for that - my son and his buddies still spend tons on disc's - while I buy only the occasional - and from iTunes... so I am not your target audience. Either way - they are very cool - wish I had taken something like them. Cheers!

Croasdail, thanks for that, good to see your son and his friends like it. You made me think about something that hadn't even entered my head. ' superior ',' inferior'. As if I didn't have enough to think about...thanks anyway. My friend said that in the "superior" shot, he thought the jead singer looked like some gang boss, I guess thats down to the subconcious looking up at him, type thing. Ooooh were getting into deeep messages now.

Eric. Camera 20d, 17-40L. two elinchromes / ranger power pack. Hard light, silver brollies to pick out the detail in the brick work and cast heavy shadows(moody) as opposed to softer diffused light. Fairly fast shutter speeds to cut down on the ambient light and fade edges to dark.

The bass player(oof) was a bit fidgety, but the oof is my fault, simply not enough DOF.

wow those are REALLY REALLY REALLY awesome pictures! I give them 5 thumbs up!!! The ONLY critique I have is for you to watch out for the blend of the guy in the middle and the background in the first picture... I see that you tried at backlighting the wall, but it still seems that he blends a bit...

How many strobes did you use for this?! This is truly amazing!

I'm definately interested in the lighting setup as well...

I like them both, so much I can't decide which shot I like the best.
My only thought on the second shot is lightening up their suits.
The two middle guys in dark suits lose the detail compared to the first shot.
But they are both great shots, well done......
The shots remind me of the album cover from 'The Specials' albums, but that just shows my age.
The composition and facial expressions are very similar.
Marty

jo3, Jacobphoto, thanks very much for your comments. Your right about the suits not standing out enough against the brickwork. I did try and light the back wall for that purpose and it seemed better in the original, but once i'd played with contrast and brightness(to increase the moodyness)they seemed to blend a little. Lesson learned.

There were two 110w/s strobes and a reflector various bottletops. In both shots they were placed directly opposite eachother. In one, subject light is a silver brollie (for hard light)high, left of camera.BG light is a silver brollie tucked away to left of shot at top of stairs.This was low down so it was the same effective height as the high light at the bottom of the stairs. The idea was that the hard light would pick out the detail in the brickwork and cast heavier moody shadows.

Shot two the light position was the same we just turned the group around. Shifted subject light slightly to light faces.

The band have now seen the shots and are really happy. I've explained the bits I'm not happy with and said I'd like to do some more. The good news is they're up for it. I'm currently eyeing up an urban rooftop for the next round of snaps. Watch this space.

Thank you very much for commenting.

Don't worry about inferior vs superior.... let branding geeks like me worry about that.... I still really really like them.