November 14, 2008 – Co-headlining with Secondhand Serenade, Cute Is What We Aim For stormed the stage in an high energy, pop punk throwdown. Led by frontman Shaant Hacikyan, the band delivered fan-favorites like “Curse Of Curves” and “Practice Makes Perfect” that had the sweat flying, both on-stage and off.
Photographer’s Notes:
I wasn’t really sure what to expect with Cute Is What We Aim For, but I have to admit, these guys brought a really upbeat set that the crowd simply ate up.
There was lots of action on stage, with singer Shaant Hacikyan at the center of much of it. The frontman was in constant motion, pouncing on the monitors with an infectious delivery that energized the house. Tracking the singer and getting clean shots was the trick of the night – the latter proved especially difficult due to Hacikyan’s mic position and perpetual motion.
The stage lighting for this set was provided by the house lights, and I supplemented with a bit of flash using two remote units.
The Nikon 24-70mm was used for the majority of this set, with a switch to the 14-24mm for a hot second once or twice.
This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 18th, 2008 at 12:54 am and is filed under Music Photography and tagged with 2008, ciwwaf, cute is what we aim for, Dave Melillo, emo, fueled by ramen, Jeff Czum, live, Music Photography, pop punk, power pop, rock, Shaant Hacikyan, tour. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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Nice set… I’ve listened to the band a few times. They were at the Creepy Crawl when I shot them last. It’s cool you got to use flash again at Pop’s… seems to be where it’s at.
I like 2, 3, 5, and 9. Especially 5. And especially this .
This is cool as well.
Great pics. Any advice for making contacts for concert photography? I’ve done a few shows, but would like to do more and establish relationships with bands/management, etc.
Thanks.
CiWWAF was the first real concert gig I’ve been to, so it’s pretty interesting to see your photos. I find Shannt and his gestures fun to watch in the audience. Pretty great shots, especially for bassist.
Hey Chris, thanks for the comment. Flash is where it’s at for venue’s like Pop’s, especially if the tour does not have a lighting set up.
While I was initially hesitant to shoot there, Pop’s has been great to me.
Hey Josh,
My best advice would be to shoot as much as possible. If you want to establish yourself with bands, their publicists, and their management companies, develop your style and consistency.
To do this, shoot as much as possible. Shoot anything and everything. While everyone wants to start off with the bands they love and listen to, sometimes this also means shooting local bands and digging into your scene.
Hey Jessie,
I found Shaant quite the interesting character. He isn’t an easy subject, but no one can say he’s boring. Quite an active guy on stage.
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