Sporting a platinum and diamond chain bearing the initials of his Slot-A-Lot label, hometown rapper Chingy performed a tight and kinetically-charged set at the new Chaifetz Arena.
Out of the starting gates was Chingy’s first cousin, protégé, and Slot-A-Lot artist Young Spiffy, who tag-teamed with another hypeman to whip the crowd into shape before Chingy took the stage and throughout the set.
The St. Louis rapper dropped a parade of singles during his high-energy performance, including “Dem Jeans,” “Fly Like Me,” and “Holidae Inn.” The biggest eruption from the crowd, however, came with the closing performance of “Right Thurr,” which Chingy introduced as something to “bring it back to the start.”
Chingy appeared as part of the five-artist bill for St. Louis University’s Rock, Rap, and Rawhide event during the opening weekend of the new arena. Barry Manilow performed the inaugural performance the night before.
Shooting Notes:
After shooting from the soundboard for Barry Manilow’s performance the night before, Chingy’s set was one of the first experiences I had at the front of the stage in the new Chaifetz Arena.
Unlike the Pageant, the arena’s house stage is a more modest four-feet high, which changes the dynamics a good deal, especially for performers like Chingy, who made frequent trips to the edge of the stage.
While the difference is only a foot, this translates into a meaningful shift, bringing performers closer and allowing for more applications of wide-angle effects without as severe keystoning.
On stage, Chingy and his crew were in constant motion. With two other photographers in the pit, along with a videographer, it was an exercise just keeping up with the rapper.
We shot for the first three songs.
Lighting:
Two spotlights lit Chingy during the set, with a very nice array of background and supplemental lights coming into play as well. In fact, Chingy’s set was one of the better lit sets of the evening, with a nice, bright feel and plenty of variety in the backlighting.
Exposure:
Thanks to the spotlights, I was able to lock down the exposure at 1/400 and f/2.8 at ISO 3200. I could have dropped to ISO 1600, but I wanted the increased stopping power of 1/400. While this shutter speed is pretty blisteringly high for rockers, I’ve found that this is just about where I like to shoot more active hip hop and R&B performers.
Lenses & Gear:
I shot with the Nikon D3, Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8, and Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8. As is evidenced in the shots above and also in the full set below, I utilized the wide angle of these lenses for a lot of the set. Still, I made sure to grab a few tighter shots of Chingy as well, for which the 70mm end of the midrange zoom was perfect.
End Notes:
This set was highly challenging due to the activity on stage, what with Chingy and his crisscrossing support, but it was also flat out fun to shoot. One aspect I really appreciated was the love Chingy showed to his fans, continually reaching out to fans throughout the set.
This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 30th, 2008 at 12:25 am and is filed under Music Photography and tagged with chaifetz, chingy, def jam, nelly, rap, set list, slot a lot, slotalot, st. louis. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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Dude, your shots are so amazing. None of mine can even begin to compare to yours, especially being a first time shooter. When you mentioned that 12mm getting really wide, it really DOES! Those are some of my favorites, especially the vertical shots, as it gives the photo an almost distorted feeling without destroying it like a fisheye would. Amazing man… truly amazing.
(Haha, sorry to have gotten in your way, too)
Hey Chris, thanks! It was nice meeting you and Ryan last Saturday, I’ll keep an eye out for your shots. I saw a few from the Starting Line and Augustana that looked good.
No worries about moving around in the pit, I hope I didn’t get in the way of any of your shots. As far as I’m concerned, everyone is equal in the pit.
The Chaifetz Arena certainly isn’t a bad first shooting gig by any stretch. My first show was at Off Broadway, ha.
Another thing I’d suggest, before jumping into places like the Pageant that require passes, is just to go to shows like the Billiken Club, the Gargoyle, the Bluebird, and other venues that are camera-friendly. You can build up a portfolio of live work and then you’ll have something to show publicists and editors.
These shots are incredible.
All of your work is amazing!
Keep it up.
Hey Brody, thanks for dropping by and for the feedback, I appreciate it. Glad to hear you enjoy these shots.
Good first job (at least first job we can see) from your new living room. I think you will have lots of fun and bring some good pictures from there.
Hey Andi, thanks. This set is from the second concert in the venue, and hopefully there will be many more. Thanks for the support.
Cool man — great ideas. Where are the Gargoyle and Bluebird located? Are they just venues for local bands trying to get their names out?
And what do publicists usually want? If you have to show them your work to prove you are good enough, par se, will they want prints, or what? You have to show you are good with your skills, but what do they get in return?
Chris, the Gargoyle is at Washington University. It’s the analogue to the Billiken Club; a small, student-run club that books a lot of indie stuff. The Bluebird is downtown, and they do more indie stuff too, and a good mix of national artists. And then there’s also Cicero’s in the loop.
None of these places has spectacular lighting, but you’ve got to cut your teeth somehow.
Publicists just want more press for their clients. Technically speaking, having a photographer just shoot their bands is not doing them any good, but if those images are published somewhere – a paper, a magazine, or even just a website – that’s worth something to them.
Alternatively, if the shots are usable to the publicist, they might want to use the images to promote their band.
ok, i’ll try to rent a 5D/1DmkIII for my first big deal.
i’ll tell u what, i’m leaving this sat for U.K. ! :)
Ez,
talk soon Todd
Hey G, have fun in the UK! Got some shoots lined up?
[...] Led by Kenny Vasoli on vox and bass, the Pennsylvania-based four-piece ripped through a tight 45-minute set as part of the “Rock, Rap, and Rawhide” event, following a performance by rapper Chingy. [...]
[...] received support at the event from Chingy and The Starting Line, the latter of which performed one of their very last shows before taking an [...]