Following the cakewalk-shoot of Five Finger Death Punch, Lamb of God at Mayhem Fest was a whole other story. Green and blue washes, lots of hair whips, and the frenetic movements of singer Randy Blythe made this set a true challenge.
However, for all the difficulties, every time Blythe came to the front of the stage, put on foot up on the monitors, and unleashed a guttural scream, everything came into line.
Photographer’s Notes:
Lamb of God were just a taste of the punishing sets to come – compared to Rob Zombie, these guys had easy lighting. And, hyperbole aside, the lighting was actually great when it was up.
There was a wall of monitors at the front of the stage, so I favored the Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 on the Nikon D3 for Lamb of God’s performance. The Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 came into play mostly for cross-stage shooting (you can see this for the shot of bass player John Campbell.
About the author: Todd Owyoung is an internationally published music photographer specializing in concert photography and band portraits. He also grills a mean steak.
Contact Todd for image licensing and assignments wherever the rock show lives. You can also get in touch with Todd via Twitter.
You did good all the same, I think they always have a hard light set up to work with.
I put one of the water shots I mentioned earlier of Randy in my new portfolio. I was surprised at the amount of detail I pulled out, low light and red never good.
Hey Todd, I’m assuming the monitors, or at least the position you were in, made it impossible to get a shot of (drummer) Chris Adler? Or was he just covered in darkness?
Hey Christopher – you know, I don’t recall what the case was. I think I was too busy chasing Randy around. The monitors were pretty much a wall that didn’t help – don’t recall if Chris was on a tall enough riser or not.
what tips can you give me for when your shooting and have white bright lights from behind the performers… like in your first photo from your slideshow.
You seem to not like the bands for the music, just for the pics… Damn if it wasnt for you photographers the pit would have gone all the way to the stage D:
Even if I don’t listen to the band, I don’t photograph for myself; I make these images for the fans.
But even if I weren’t shooting and doing my job, the barriers would still be there and the pit would not extend to the stage. Security are also in that space to catch crowd surfers and prevent people from getting on stage.
I came here for the Dir en grey pictures but then noticed you had a Lamb of God set, too, and it made me just insanely happy! Now I’m going to search what other gems you’re hiding here!
Welcome to ishootshows.com, your source for music photography featuring daily concert coverage, portrait features, and photo advice from professional music photographer Todd Owyoung.
Good stuff. That Cain’s Ballroom shirt is the business! I shoot a lot of my shows at the historic 423 :) http://www.cainsballroom.com/
Hey Kevin, thanks for the comment. Looks like a cool venue!
You did good all the same, I think they always have a hard light set up to work with.
I put one of the water shots I mentioned earlier of Randy in my new portfolio. I was surprised at the amount of detail I pulled out, low light and red never good.
Hey Jim, thanks for the feedback. For whatever reason, I shot the least amount of images for Lamb of God – fun set nonetheless, though.
Photos Live : Lamb of God sur ishootshows : http://bit.ly/cJDtxq
Photos Live : Lamb of God sur ishootshows : http://bit.ly/cJDtxq
Hey Todd, I’m assuming the monitors, or at least the position you were in, made it impossible to get a shot of (drummer) Chris Adler? Or was he just covered in darkness?
Hey Christopher – you know, I don’t recall what the case was. I think I was too busy chasing Randy around. The monitors were pretty much a wall that didn’t help – don’t recall if Chris was on a tall enough riser or not.
Photos: Lamb of God (@lambofgodband) rocking the big stage at Mayhem Fest 2010 http://bit.ly/akjNlu
what tips can you give me for when your shooting and have white bright lights from behind the performers… like in your first photo from your slideshow.
My advice is to compensate for the difference in exposure from the darker treatment that precedes it.
Uhhh.. now I’m worried about the lighting for Zombie. I’m tuned in and ready to see. Regardless of the circumstances, great shots, Todd.
Hey Vanessa,
For the most part, Zombie had pretty similar lighting to his late 2009 tour, which I photographed, if you’re interested:
http://ishootshows.com/2009/11/16/rob-zombie/
Lots of red up front, then cyan/blue for the second song, and then more red/orange for the third.
Hey Todd,
nice work! I really remember the challenge to shoot LOG just for the same reasons you mentioned in notes, crazy lights, movements, monitors :) (http://www.photoshooting.sk/concert-photography/lamb-of-god-live-at-mmc-bratislava/) But the show as a whole was absolute great!
You seem to not like the bands for the music, just for the pics… Damn if it wasnt for you photographers the pit would have gone all the way to the stage D:
Hey Kieran,
Even if I don’t listen to the band, I don’t photograph for myself; I make these images for the fans.
But even if I weren’t shooting and doing my job, the barriers would still be there and the pit would not extend to the stage. Security are also in that space to catch crowd surfers and prevent people from getting on stage.
I came here for the Dir en grey pictures but then noticed you had a Lamb of God set, too, and it made me just insanely happy! Now I’m going to search what other gems you’re hiding here!
Hey Marjo,
Very glad you enjoyed these images. I wish I had more to show you! Hope you find other bands you like here. Cheers.