R&B and neo-soul singer Anthony Hamilton delivered an energetic set Independence Day weekend as part of the Celebrate St. Louis festival series July 5, 2008.

Packing the Solider’s Memorial Park, Hamilton wasted no time laying into a tight and animated performance, working the length of the stage with nearly every song. Hamilton’s performance was the second of this year’s festival series, the first of which was a performance by soul singer Joss Stone.

Photographer’s Notes:

I’ll say one thing: Anthony Hamilton loves to work the stage. Tracking this R&B singer was a nice work out as he went from side to side a dozen times during the first two songs.

Exposure & Metering:

I shot this set locked at 1/400 at f/3.5 and ISO 1600.

When Raheem DeVaughn strides out into the spotlight, there’s no mistaking one simple fact: this man is a born entertainer. And as such, he knows how to satisfy a crowd.

After a powerful performance by Solange Knowles, Raheem hit hard right out of the gates, going big in his own unique brand of R&B and Neo-Soul.

While backed by a full band, the self-described “R&B hippie neo-soul rock star” put on a one-man show and seemed to save nothing for the finale.

In the first two songs alone, the singer criss-crossed the stage a half dozen times, serenaded an individual member of the audience, and dropped to his knees in a dramatic crescendo of showmanship – all without breaking a sweat.

Raheem DeVaughn is touring in support of his album Love Behind the Melody, which dropped earlier this year.

Photographer’s Notes:

Having photographed Raheem before in his performance opening for Jill Scott two months ago, I knew I was in for a fun shoot with the singer’s headlining tour.

Checking in with the venue, I was informed that there would be a two-song limit. While this didn’t sound like much, it ended up being plenty of time for Raheem, who presented more photo ops in two-songs than some performers do in an entire set.

The venue was filled seating for this performance, including the floor. As such, there was no barricade for this performance, but there was plenty of room to move around uninhibited at the front of the stage.

My favorite part of this performance came at the very end of the second song, when Raheem dropped to his knees while grasping the mic stand with two hands. I thought this was great, but the scene topped itself as Raheem laid out on his stomach, propped up by his elbows, a mere foot from the edge of the stage.

Lighting:

Two spotlights in the balcony provided the key lighting for Raheem, supplemented by a nice range of background lighting. While many other R&B/Neo-Soul performers at the Pageant received a similar spotlight treatment, Raheem’s overall lighting effects were by far the most lush, with plenty of interesting background treatments.

Lenses & Gear:

I shot with the Nikon D3 using the Nikon 24-70mm and Nikon 70-200mm. The 24-70mm stayed on the camera for much of the set, providing the perfect range of focal lengths with which to capture Raheem’s activity on stage.

Exposure & Metering:

I shot this set around f/2.8, 1/500, and ISO 1600. As always, due to the spotlights the Pageant uses, exact exposure with them is challenging, since the light sources flicker in intensity in addition to tint.

End Notes:

As I have now come to expect, Raheem put on a killer show full of great photo opportunities, always eager to put on a show for the camera. Throughout the set, the energetic singer worked the audience and engaged them with every chance he had – the mark of a true entertainer.

Stepping out into the spotlight in a silver-studded vest, matching slacks, and his signature aviator sunglasses, there was no doubt: Musiq Soulchild was home. The acclaimed soul singer slid out onto the stage and into the spotlight with all the ease of walking into his living room, greeting 1,500 of his closest friends.

And then it was game time.

Musiq started big out of the gate with his charasmatically charged “Buddy,” holding nothing back from his fans in a performance that would set the tone for the night.

Much to the delight of the audience, the entertainer went on to indulge his fans by asking them to join in on a number of songs, notably on his performance of his single “Halfcrazy,” from his sophomore album Juslisen (Def Soul, 2002).

While he did his fair share of working the stage, the set was remarkably more mellow and free of hype or pretense; Musiq was content to let his voice do most of the work.

After all, it’s all about the music.

Photographer’s Notes:

Having recently photographed Raheem DeVaughn, Trey Songz, and J. Holiday, I was curious as to how Musiq Soulchild’s performance would differ from a photographic standpoint.

As it turned out, Musiq was more calm and collected than his contemporaries in some regards, particularly when it came to his physical performance. The singer did work the stage, front to back, side to side, but overall didn’t have the spot operator chasing him too far and long.

What this show did share with the other recent soul/R&B shows I’ve shot is that it all came down to gesture.  Due to the constant, unvaried lighting throughout the set, expression and pose are at their most critical for shows like this. For me, this emphasis is a refreshing challenge, and one of the reasons I love taking on a variety of assignments.

Lighting:

Lighting for this gig was what I was expecting: one spotlight in the balcony and just a splash of accenting from the lights above and behind.

Other than a few instances of stronger magenta lights from the back, the spotlight dominated the performance.

Exposure & Metering:

Due to the constant illumination by a spot in the balcony, I shot within a fairly narrow range that averaged out to be around 1/400 and f/3.2 at ISO 1250. When using the Nikon 14-24mm halfway during the set, I went to f/3.5 and ISO 1600, and stayed there when switching back to the 24-70mm. I went as low as ISO 1000 for this gig. Gotta love spotlights.

The only real executive decision that had to be made was in letting Musiq’s ultra-white shirt blow out in order to keep detail in the singer’s face.

Gear & Equipment:

I used the Nikon D3 and the trio of f/2.8 zoom lenses: the Nikon 14-24mm, Nikon 24-70mm, and Nikon 70-200mm. They weigh a ton combined, but they also cover 14-200mm at a sweet f/2.8 aperture, which is hard to argue with.

Jill Scott didn’t bring her three Grammies, but you could hear every one of them in the electrifying performance the virtuoso singer delivered at the Fabulous Fox Theatre.

Scott treated the sold-out crowd of 4200 to a rich set list, starting off with “Let It Be” from her 2007 release, The Real Thing: Words and Sounds Vol. 3, followed by that album’s title track.

After her performance of “The Real Thing,” Scott paused between songs to reiterate the song’s second verse for the uninitiated.

I ’m more than a toy for your satisfaction
I’m a pay-per-view on the TV screen
Your main attraction

By the end of the night, there was no doubt about the veracity of these lyrics. Fact: the woman’s got pipes.

Photographer’s Notes:

Just as with shooting Raheem DeVaughn‘s opening performance, photographing Jill Scott’s set proved an interesting challenge given the setup of the Fox Theatre. Without a dedicated security/photo pit, I shot crouching down in the aisles of the venue and generally tried to stay as out of the way as possible. This approach, combined with the layout, restricted composition to a degree, but the spectacular production won out in the end.

I shoot for the first two songs, and was glad that I brought my casual kicks instead of my dress shoes. While the latter would have been perfectly at home in the posh theatre and among the well-dressed crowd, flexible and comfortable shoes were an absolute must for this gig.

Unlike the high stage of the Pageant, the Fox Theatre’s stage is only about four feet, which would have made standing all too conspicuous.

Lighting:

The production opened with a loose grid of shifting lights behind Scott, which created a fantastic backdrop of color and texture with the surprising amount of smoke being generated on stage. During the first song, this curtain of lights rose to reveal the full band and backup singers, along with a variety of more environmental lights. During the first and second songs, this mix included reds, greens, yellows, purples, and blues.

Light on Scott herself was warm, thin light from high above – no such luck with a spotlight for the first two. While the front lighting was weak, there was generally more than enough action in the background to keep things interesting.

Since much of the lighting occurred at the back of the stage, I shot primarily from fairly acute angles to keep the background as lively as possible. Shooting from the sides produced the best mic separation, but simply didn’t do justice to the lighting production.

Exposure & Metering:

Since the light on Scott was relatively constant, I shot within a fairly narrow range – around f/3.2 and 1/250 at ISO 2500, give or take a third-stop in any direction.

Lenses & Gear:

I shot with the Nikon D3 and Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 for almost the entire set. Given the moderate distance from the performer, the range of the telephoto was most welcome. I did switch to the Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 for just one shot of the full stage, knowing I’d be remiss if I missed capturing the full setup.

End Notes:

Below are two snaps of the Fabulous Fox Theatre itself, in between sets. You can see that despite the size of the venue, there is actually a good deal of haze in the place, which was put to good use during Jill Scott’s performance. The Fox is a wonderful venue.

As he bounds through the aisle of the Fabulous Fox Theatre, whipping the venue’s 4200 audience members into a frenzy, it’s clear that Raheem DeVaughn knows what the ladies like. And that’s dancing.

Ladies love dancing.

The Grammy-nominated singer, with band in tow, was happy to provide the jams that had people spilling out of their seats and onto the carpeted aisles. DeVaughn is currently touring in support of his 2008 release, Love Behind the Melody (Jive), which features singles “Woman” and “Customer.”

Photographer’s Notes:

This was a relatively easy shoot, though it was made a little more complicated by the layout of the venue itself. The Fox Theatre makes a fantastic live music venue, but it’s actually much more suited to musicals. With guest seating set up in the orchestra section, right up to the stage, access to the front was limited to three aisles. For most of the set, I shot from either these aisles or the gap between the orchestra seating and the start of the regular seating, about five meters back from the stage.

I had two songs for this shoot, and no restrictions to positioning other than those imposed by the physical layout of the seating and the venue. The shoot was definitely a little different than shooting at the Pageant, but the grand scale of Fox is always adds a nice luxe element to the shoot.

One interesting aspect of DeVaughn’s set was the use of title cards, which he changed throughout his set to correspond with his song choice, and the use of a sign language interpreter, the duties of which were handled by spoken word artist Malik Yousef.

Lighting:

Lighting-wise, this gig was a breeze to shoot, as a big bright spot from far in the front of the house lit up DeVaughn and tracked his every movement. The precise color temperature of the spot flickered minutely, changing casts during the two-song shoot, while accent lighting touched on blue, purple, and red hues.

I was pleased that the backdrop curtain included a sprinkling of LED lights, which shifted in color and added a little interest to the background of a few shots.

Exposure & Metering:

Thanks to the spotlight, the amount of light for this gig was plenty. After evaluating the exposure, I decided on f/3.2 and 1/320 at ISO 1600.

Lenses & Gear:

I shot this set with the Nikon D3 and Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8. The range of the telephoto was perfect due to the very limited shooting positions, and worked well for tracking the singer as he moved across the length of the stage.

End Notes:

Compared to the other two R&B performances I photographed this month, those of J. Holiday and Trey Songz, Raheem DeVaughn provided an interesting contrast in approach, not to mention venue. While the two Pageant shows provided very close positioning, this performance at the Fox Theatre allowed for a slightly more relaxed shoot. While the alloted shooting time was only two songs instead of the full-sets of the previous shows, I was pleased that DeVaughn’s set still provided plenty of variety in pose and expression.

J. Holiday @ the Pageant — 2008.02.26
Trey Songz @ the Pageant — 2008.02.26