I’ve lost count of the exact number of times that I’ve photographed Jack’s Mannequin, but I think it’s up there around 6-7 over the last three and a half years. Maybe more. Despite having shot Andrew McMahon and crew a fair amount, they always put on a lively show that has me coming back for more.
Cameras Used:
Lenses Used:
As you can see from the second to last image in the main set, Andrew McMahon’s piano is set back far enough that it’s a midrange shoot at best. I relied on the Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 VR for most of my shooting, which was just about right for these distances, especially for shooting from farther down stage left, which I like to do for Andrew McMahon. The Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 was necessary for wider framing, but I prefer the telephoto for most of my work at this gig.
If you’re shooting this show, you should know that Andrew McMahon does go up on his piano a throughout the show. For my show at the Pageant, McMahon climbed up at the very start of the gig when only the red backlights were up (though plenty of camera flashes were going off in the crowd, so catchflash was an easy thing to make happen).
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This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 31st, 2012 at 12:00 am and is filed under Music Photography and tagged with andrew mcmahon photos, jack's mannequin photos, pageant. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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Nice work as always Mr. Owyoung.
Question for you sir. Do you think if you bumped the contrast and or blacks up a bit it would get rid of some of the lighting haze in your shots or do you not edit your photos that heavily?
To me, increasing contrast even more would only look like what it is – artificial contrast. I do make adjustments in post, but not to the point of trying to kill all reduced contrast from haze. Then the blacks look artificially deep and then you have some other problems, I think.
I understand what you are saying. Thanks for your reply!
Great shots, Todd. I saw JM back in November at a small (~500) venue here, and you definitely captured the spirit of his performance. I especially like the second standing shot.
Hey Doug, thanks very much for the kind words. Glad to hear I captured this band’s energy for you.
Hello from the North, Todd!
Well it looks like my first “real” gig is going to be Jack’s Mannequin playing tonight in Toronto. As soon I found out I came here for my “research.” Of course, you delivered.
Great shooting and thanks again for sharing!
Alistair
Hey Alistair,
Nice, have fun. I like to shoot Andrew McMahon from about his keyboard and (house) right, even from far right so you are shooting almost down his front mic – it can add a little interest, I think, and most photographers don’t shoot him that way. Good luck.
Thanks Todd, my man. You’ve helped me with my A game with your website.
Alistair
Fantastic shots ! Im shooting an August Burns Red show tonight with a Canon 24-70L lens and my 5DMK2. What aperture do you prefer with your Nikon 27-70 ? This will be my first show using a photo pass so Im super excited. This site has really encouraged me to go out and pursue a career in music photography.
Thanks for everything
Hi Lance,
Thanks for the comment, and I’m glad to hear that this site has helped you.
I almost always shoot at f/2.8 with my zoom lenses, unless there’s so much light that I can use a lower ISO, a high shutter speed and finally stop down. The sharpness on my three f/2.8 zooms is good enough that stopping down is often my last concern.
Thank you so much for the quick response. I really appreciate all that you do for guys like me aspiring to be part of this business. What would be your best advice for achieving the right focus ? It seems like you have a Ive run into situations where I feel like I have this perfectly composed shot but then get the head of the guitar or mic stand as main focus point. At f2.8 it seems like it would be difficult to get multiple members of a band in sharp focus. The members of August Burns Red typically come up to front of stage in straight line and I want to be able to get all of them in focus from a side vantage point .
Thank you so much for the quick response. I really appreciate all that you do for guys like me aspiring to be part of this business. What would be your best advice for achieving the right focus ? It seems like you have a Ive run into situations where I feel like I have this perfectly composed shot but then get the head of the guitar or mic stand as main focus point. At f2.8 it seems like it would be difficult to get multiple members of a band in sharp focus. The members of August Burns Red typically come up to front of stage in straight line and I want to be able to get all of them in focus from a side vantage point.