Opening up for No Doubt, pop-punkers Paramore lit up the stage with an exuberant performance that saw the five-piece band dominating the monitors and whipping the pit into a frenzy.
While normally I try to limit the number of shots I post in the main set of a performance, Paramore is just one of those bands that begs for an extended treatment. In other words, this one is for the fans.
Images Copyright © 2009 Todd Owyoung. All Rights Reserved. Re-posting and unauthorized use is strictly prohibited.
Images Copyright © 2009 Todd Owyoung. All Rights Reserved. Re-posting and unauthorized use is strictly prohibited.
Photographer’s Notes:
Having seen Paramore at Warped Tour 2008, I went into this set with high expectations, and the band did not disappoint. Whether it’s just another year under their belt, sharing the stage with veteran rockers No Doubt, or both, Paramore has refined their live show even more and put on a great show.
I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect with regard to lighting, but was pleasantly surprised by the lights Paramore had for this concert. The lighting, for the most part, mirrored the band’s kinetic set, with lots of bursting from arrays of lights at the back of the stage.
While it look a lot of careful timing, hustle, and a little luck, it really paid off to watch the position of the lights in relation to the band members of Paramore. These lights were raised to about 8-9 feet tall, so shooting from the photo pit, the angles for these lights worked out perfectly for beautiful backlights.
Spotlights took care of the some of the frontlighting, while yellow, magenta, and blue accents came from above to round out the band’s look.
I shot this set primarily with the Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8, though I also made use of the Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8. Due to the band’s movements, I kept the shutter speeds as high as possible. Thanks to a small bit of daylight filling in and the spotlights, there was generally plenty of light to make this happen.
I shot this set primarily at ISO 1600 – while I could have shot at a lower ISO, the D3 has such clean files at that sensitivity that I never hesitate to pump it up to that setting if it means achieving more motion-stopping power.
End Notes:
If you have the opportunity to photograph Paramore, they’re a great set of subjects. I’d love to see them stick around for a while and rock a few arena tours.
Stay tuned for the No Doubt concert photos; they’re coming up!
This entry was posted on Monday, July 13th, 2009 at 9:09 pm and is filed under Music Photography and tagged with best, hayley williams, images, Jeremy Davis, Josh Farro, Music Photography, no doubt, paramore, photographer, photography, photos, Taylor York, top, Zac Farro. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
Welcome to ishootshows.com, your source for music photography featuring daily concert coverage, portrait features, and photo advice from professional music photographer Todd Owyoung.
Support this site by purchasing your photo equipment through my affiliate links to B&H Photo Video or Amazon.com
Learn more about how you can support the features of ishootshows.com.
A Day To Remember are known as one of the hardest working bands among their peers; a minute into one…
I have some exciting news. I’m very pleased to announce that the band Slayer are licensing an …
This weekend, my brother Chris Owyoung and I will be shooting something a little exciting: a concert…
This is a public service announcement and an open letter to fans who insist on shooting photos and v…
I have some exciting news. I’m very pleased to announce that the band Slayer are licensing an …
Paramore — Making concert photographers everywhere scream with joy for Hayley’s hair whips: http://digg.com/u18GqQ
Thumbs up! Awesome set!
Thanks, FG!
Nice work Todd! I saw this same show about a week ago. They put on a wild show. At one point the bassist did a cartwheel flip over the back of the guitarist. It was very high energy and you did a good job of capturing that.
Hey Paul,
Thanks for the comment. Yup, Paramore has great energy on stage, and they really got me pumped for No Doubt. Glad to hear these images captured the band’s energy for you.
Damn. Nice shots as usual. I think you even took her hair into account when composing these photos, similar to when you shot Dragonforce. Though, his hair is probably more challenging. But I just had to say it, and her hair is so delicious (what does that even mean!?). #14 is so cool.
I really enjoy the lighting in 6.
And I believe she wears the same pants and shoes as I do. She’s rockin’ SAMBAS!
Hey Chris,
Thanks for the comment, nice to hear from you. Yeah, Hayley’s hair was definitely a consideration when composing these shots – I had to leave a bit of room when she was headbanging. DragonForce was actually easier to shoot, since their hair was just flowing and in the frame from one shot to the next. It’s a bit harder when someone is doing hairwhips.
Another great set by Todd Owyoung: Paramore!
http://ishootshows.com/2009/07/13/paramore/
absolutely the BEST photos ive seen of them on this tour!
they are AMAZING
the colors are brilliant!
i felt like i was there :D
these are just flawless really.
Hey Alex,
Thanks for the comment. It’s always my goal to make the “best” images of a band on any given tour, so I’m happy if I’ve succeeded in doing that for you. Thanks for the kind words.
Amazing shots again, I really like the second to last picture, the back of her legs are backlit, its really freakin sweet. What lens did you use? I never seem to get these shots correctly, though I am closing in on them.
Hi Joseph,
The second to last image was shot with the Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8. Thanks for the comment.
Well it’s worth the wait!! Who knew Hayley could do pretty so well… I always thought she was cute. :) I must confess, Todd’s been whipping Harry Potter to do some magic on his cameras. They’re so amazing-zing…
Hey Lvynne,
Thanks for the kind words, glad you think these images were worth the wait. The No Doubt photos are still coming up.
Todd, theese are so awesome, i love how red her hair is! (who doesnt?!) I might accually have a chance too shoot them w/ no doubt at gibson ampitheater, Im deffinatlly getting excited! deffinatly gonna keep some of your tips about her hair in mind!
Hey Justin,
If you do get to photograph Paramore, use as fast of a shutter speed as you can get away with. Good luck, thanks for the comment.
D-D-D-D-DOMINATION! One hit KO.
Ha, thanks, Brian.
Great set, Todd… Nice one – The light through the hair combined with the high(er) shutter works so well man, gotta love cameras that are happy to play up around higher iso!
Sime (One day till Benicassim!! NERVES man)
Hey Sime,
Thanks for the comment. The D3 has been nothing short of a revelation for concert photography. With my old D2x, ISO 1600 looked pretty well rough, but on the D3, it’s so clean. Not flawless, but so clean that I can print 20″x30″ with a properly exposed shot and noise is no problem.
Good luck with the festival.
Paramore — Making concert photographers everywhere scream with joy for Hayley’s hair whips: http://digg.com/u18GqQ
Todd your consistency and composition is really amazing man …. thank you so much for sharing … can’t wait to see no doubt
Thanks for the kind words, Corey. Composition is one of the things I always try to pay attention to when shooting. A well-composed shot can make a good subject look great and elevate mediocre lighting to something worth looking at, so it’s often front of mind for me. Composition is what I consider the fun part of capturing these moments.
As for consistency, editing is really important. Not post-processing, but simply what one chooses to show to others. Show only the good stuff and there’s your consistency.
@estuarypalomino You’d like this: http://tinyurl.com/mvokqe
RT @toddowyoung: Paramore — http://digg.com/u18GqQ <– He does amazing stuff!
Hey Todd, nice shot!
Can I use your pics on my website? I’ill give you the credits on the albun’s description. I’m waiting for the answer, thanks.
Hi Caique,
Glad to hear you like the shots. You’re welcome to link to this page if fans would like to see the images. Sound good?
Images Copyright © 2009 Todd Owyoung. All Rights Reserved. Re-posting and unauthorized use is strictly prohibited.
that’s the first time i’ve seen you have to use that. have you been having problems regarding that lately?
and great shots as always man. that 6th shot is just amazing :)
Hey Pat,
No, I haven’t had any particular problems with re-posting lately, that notice is simply as a reminder to Paramore’s enthusiastic fans. I’ve selected a larger-than-normal set for the fans, so I hope that they’ll respect the images and copyright.
Thanks for the comment!
Wow, these are so incredible! You did an amazing job!
Thanks, Brittni, I appreciate the feedback.
so colorful!
lovely set!
Thanks, Essa.
i’ve been watching your website for a long time, and this is the first time i’ve said anything.
i love how you work the composition
i love how you work the lights
looking forward to more amazing stuff, keep it up!
Hi Gilang, thanks for the comment. Thanks very much for the kind words.
Great pix!!! You are seriously talented!! I shoot with a Canon 5D & I’ve been having issues with capturing too much movement when I take pix at concerts. Any suggestions on how to avoide this??
A high shutter speed is the best way to minimize motion blur. If freezing motion is your top concern, get your shutter speed as high as possible. Fast lenses, high ISO, and wide apertures will help you do this.
[...] suppress the urge to high-five my fellow photographers during the set. Even Paramore, who put on an amazing performance, were only a warm-up for No Doubt’s headlining [...]
Wow…her hair looks like it is on fire…great photos. Makes me want to go take pictures, even if it’s not of bands…lol!!
Hey Jeni, thanks for the commentt. Yeah, Hayley’s hair was especially fiery this time, much more so than when I saw her at Warped Tour last year.
thank you so much!
awesome live shoot.
You’re welcome, thanks for the comment.
OMG I love the 6th photo and all those with the red-haired singers!!!
(maybe cause I’m red-haired too)
Hey Benny, thanks for your pick.
oh…shit…!!!!!!
nice shotz….
i reallly love it…
it was soooooo…cool….
hi Todd. I’m really enjoying your work very much. I’m trying to improve my photo work in concert and yours is a good example to do it!
Hope you can visit my personal space.
Good work!!
Regards from Queretaro Mexico.
[...] caught Paramore opening up for No Doubt earlier this year, I was excited to see the pop-punk heavy weights for their headlining [...]
@ann95 to mo?e uda ci si? co? z tego: http://bit.ly/2pPSyt albo: http://bit.ly/itqX1
[...] Paramore Opening For No Doubt 2009 @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheater [...]
I’m not sure if these are the same kind of lights, but the purple lights in some of the pictures here always give me trouble. We don’t do concerts, but I think these are the same lights some dj’s use at receptions. Shooting only natural light, I have a TERRIBLE time using these lights to not make all the facial features blend together. I eventually resorted to using a small fill flash to overpower the trouble-maker lights. Any suggestions on how to get decent shots without fill flash?