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5 Tips For Better Band Portraits & Promos

Todd — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 06:01:29 +0000

Glam rockers Semi Precious Weapons photographed at Gramercy Theater in NYC

Band portraits. One photographer and at least one person – or five or six – who makes music. Lights, camera, action.

Whether you’re shooting editorial portraits on tour or producing material for a promotional campaign, here are five easy tips for shooting band portraits and promos.

These Here are five simple but important tips for shooting band portraits and promotional photos:

Confidence
Fluidity
Names
Positioning
Positive Feedback

Before the technical details and lighting setups, these are five indispensable aspects of working for bands in my book. Let’s drill-down.

Party rocker Andrew W.K. photographed on Warped Tour 2010

1) Confidence

Bands are like wild animals: they can smell fear.

If the golden rule of sales is “Always Be Closing,” then for any type of portrait shoot, I propose “Always Be Confident.” In my experience, confidence is contagious, and there’s no better place for it to begin than with the photographer.

Confidence on the part of the photographer produces confidence in one’s subjects, which always translates into better images. When you project professionalism and confidence, subjects are more willing to trust, experiment, and invest themselves in the shoot.

For editorial portraits on assignment that may take place under extreme time frames, this approach is especially critical. In these quick types of shoots, you’re in control of the shoot until the moment you show your subjects that you’re not.

Portraits of pioneering thrash metal band Slayer photographed in 2009 in a 4-minute, 3-light shoot in the band's gear trailer

2) Fluidity

Going off the first tip of confidence, one thing I always strive for in my portrait sessions is a sense of fluidity in the shoot itself. Smooth transitions in positioning, looks, and lighting. Quick and seamless changes in all these areas not only save time, but they set a good working tempo and help establish your control.

This sense of fluidity also translates into multitasking as well. For example, if an assistant is moving a light, I take that opportunity to give direction and feedback, ensuring there’s a minimum of downtime.

Whether it’s a time-tight editorial shoot or a commercial shoot with handlers and art directors standing by, efficiency is never wasted.

Forever The Sickest Kids, who taught me that when in doubt (and when photographing six band members), get in close

3) Names

I’ll tell you guys a secret: I’m horrible with names. And yet, this doesn’t stop me from calling out individuals for a six-piece group when I need to pose them minutes after meeting them.

The trick is simply to memorize the names and faces of everyone in the band ahead of time. Before any shoot with a band who I don’t personally know, I make it a point to memorize the roster, which I consider essential for building rapport and confident direction.

On my first portrait session with Forever The Sickest Kids, their guitarist Caleb noted, “You’re the first photographer to actually learn our names before a shoot!” It’s a small thing, but knowing the names of each and every band member is essential in my book.

Accurately and confidently calling out a band member’s name is not only the most efficient mode for direction (it sure beats pointing and saying “Hey, can you…), it shows a band a simple but important level of investment into the shoot. I find that this level of connection always puts the band more at ease, which translates into more compelling images.

If for some reason you can’t memorize ahead of time or you simply forget, kindly asking for a reminder is a simple act of consideration that will not go unappreciated.

UK electro rock band Deluka photographed their 2010 release, "You Are The Night"

4) Positioning

Together with light and subject, composition is a core pillar in the dynamics of photography, and band portraits are no exception. Very rarely does the Red Rover look of a line of people straight across the most successful arrangement for a compelling portrait.

In my portraits with musicians, I always strive to break up the group and position the members in a natural way. As a general starting point, I tend to position core or senior band members up front in the stagger, but I constantly shuffle members around during the shoot. If nothing else, rearrangement from time to time helps keep everyone fresh and breaks the tedium.

The Dillinger Escape Plan photographed in late 2009 on their headlining tour for "Option Paralysis"

5) Positive Feedback

Positive feedback is an essential tool for any portrait shoot, and band portraits are no exception. I always strive to give my subjects a stream of communication letting them know how the shoot is going, whether it’s positive feedback on an adjustment to posture or the lighting.

In addition to verbal encouragement, one thing I generally try to do is show the band (and any of their representatives on-site) how the lighting looks on the camera’s LCD.

This act serves two purposes. First, it keys the band into the very specific look we’re working with and involves them in the visual process. Second, this establishes the authority and expertise of the photographer. After involving everyone in the specific look we’re creating, I always find that people relax, excitement builds, and the best images are made.

UK punk band TAT photographed on Warped Tour 2009

End Notes:

Whether shooting editorial portraits on location or a commercial in the studio, these five simple tips I always keep in mind for my own work. Better yet, these are tips that anyone can implement – they have nothing to do with your camera gear, lighting setup, or the level of band you’re shooting.

Have fun, guys.

The New Heathers, photographed for the release of their 2009 EP, "The Fuel, The Fire, The Spark"

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DIY Beauty Dish Band Portraits

Todd — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 06:01:50 +0000

It’s been a full year since I designed and built my first DIY beauty dish, the “Chinatown Special.” So, after shooting with the dish for all of 2010 and the year coming to a close, I thought I’d put together a collection of band promos and portraits lit with this inexpensive light modifier that’s made from a stainless steel mixing bowl, a pizza pan, and a little spray paint.

Building a DIY Beauty Dish

I built my first DIY beauty dish in December of 2009. Since I already owned an Lastolite EZYBox Softbox, I decided to use that accessory’s bracket in my beauty dish, and went to source the other parts at a restaurant supply store.

As it turned out, a 16-quart stainless steel mixing bowl and a small 8″ pizza tray were perfect for this design. A trip to Home Depot and a couple hours of work later, and I had my finished dish.

If you haven’t built your own beauty dish yet, check out my detailed tutorial for making your own DIY beauty dish and grab some popcorn for the video tutorial.

Why A Beauty Dish Kicks Butt

The main reason I built a beauty dish was for use in promotional portraits for bands. After working with softboxes and umbrellas, I was looking for a compact light modifier that I could take on-location for shoots. Softboxes and umbrellas a great for the light they throw, but I was looking for something that was a little easier to work with in unpredictable (read: windy) conditions. Enter the beauty dish.

With a middling light quality, the interesting thing about a beauty dish is that it can almost be as soft or as hard as you want.

By itself with no other light sources for fill, the beauty dish as the key light can create a relatively heavy look with deep shadows. For a lot of the metal bands I shoot, this sort of dramatic, moody look is perfect. Used in combination with reflectors or other fill, the beauty dish can work to produce great light that can contribute to a very soft look.

But enough talk – here are samples of a beauty dish for band promos and portraits.

Beauty Dish Examples – Portrait Photography

Photographer’s Notes:

95% of these portraits were shot with the following equipment:

Cameras Used:

Nikon D3

Lenses Used:

Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8

Lighting Equipment Used:

Nikon SB-900
Nikon SB-600
Manfrotto 9′ Quick Stack lighstands
Nikon SD-9 battery pack

In all cases, the SB-900 was used as the key light fired into the beauty dish, with additional accent lighting from other SB-900s or SB-600s.

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Like these images? Order prints by clicking through from the slideshow below or the images above.

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Simply clicking through either B&H or Amazon.com here for your purchases helps me bring you free content like these 6-tips for the new concert photographer, and naturally it doesn’t cost you a cent more. If you do grab some gear, drop me a line! I’d love to hear about what you picked up.

End Notes:

A year in with my beauty dish and I’m loving it. Want to make your own? Check out the tutorial: The Chinatown Special Beauty Dish.

Photos: My Chemical Romance @ The Pageant

Todd — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 06:01:04 +0000

I never had the opportunity to photograph My Chemical Romance in the glory days of the hugely theatric Black Parade days, when the band was rocking out with spotlights, costumes, and all that glorious high production.

But photographers: Never fear. The band is still a blast to shoot. But you better come prepared, or they will destroy you.

Photographer’s Notes:

I’m convinced that My Chemical Romance is just one of those bands that loves crazy, spazzy lighting. Sort of like Dillinger Escape Plan or Underoath, just less extreme.

But don’t think I’m complaining – the band has such a tight live performance that it’s still a thrill to photograph them. You just have to bring your A-game.

Cameras Used:

Lenses Used:

Overall, the band’s high-energy energy performance was both a blessing and a curse – tons of movement, dim-ish lighting, and general chaos in the pit all combined for a tough job. On the flipside, this same fantastic intensity made for lots of photo opportunities – if one was fast enough to catch them.

The Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 was easily the champion of this show, and handled most of the heavy duties on the Nikon D3. The Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 was useful for a few longer shots, but legendary as the midrange for usefulness at this MCR show.

Mikey Way is probably the easiest subject of the band – he moves around enough to make things interesting, but not enough that tracking was ever an issue (like it was for his bro Gerard). Also, Mikey rocks the power stance pretty much all the time, so be wins bonus points there, too. Gerard is a close second because of the bright hair, though.

Lighting was much better than MCR’s previous tour, which was humbling to say the least, but still consisted of lots of quick backlighting that flared up and lit up the haze beautifully. Since most of the lighting comes from the house rig, the details of the front and back lighting will be up to your venue. At the Pageant, the front lights are so high up that they weren’t great for catching Gerard at the front of the stage, but your gig may be different.

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Preview: My Chemical Romance @ The Pageant

Todd — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 15:32:40 +0000

Here’s a small preview from My Chemical Romance’s sold-out performance at the Pageant this week – the one and only Mikey Way. Another snap of his bro Gerard after the jump.

Cameras Used:

Lenses Used:

The full set of images is coming Friday, along will the full shooting notes for this set – so sit tight. In the meantime, here’s the video for the band’s new single, “Na Na Na”:

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Portraits: Owen Pallett

Todd — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 14:29:32 +0000

Before photographing The National at The Pageant, I had the pleasure of meeting up with musician Owen Pallett for a photo shoot. One light, a beauty dish, and a little ambient light later, here are the results.

Photographer’s Notes:

Normally, I’m quite used to quick, gorilla-style shooting, but this experience was a little different. A little more than an hour before Owen was scheduled to start the show, I was introduced to him by our mutual friend Heather, who was on the tour. As a surprise to both Owen and myself, Heather informed us that we were going to be shooting a couple portraits.

There are times when living five minutes from the Pageant come in handy, and I booked it back to grab a little lighting gear while Owen changed into his stage attire.

I went into this shoot with the intent of using the Nikon 85mm f/1.4G AF-S, and the lens performed beautifully. You can read more about this lens in my extensive review.

Cameras Used:

Nikon D3

Lenses Used:

Nikon 50mm f/1.4
Nikon 85mm f/1.4

Lighting Gear Used:

Nikon SB-900 Speedlight (2x)
Nikon SD-9 Battery Pack
Chinatown Special Beauty Dish

For this shoot, I used a Nikon SB-900 as the key light on Owen, triggered via CLS by another Nikon SB-900 on-camera. For this sort of quick shoot, the speed and flexibility of CLS is beautiful.

Since we were shooting well after the sun went down and past the blue hour, the only ambient light used for these exposures were streetlights. I shot between f/1.4 and f/1.8 at around 1/40 on the Nikon D3 for this set.

End Notes:

Special thanks to Heather for setting this up and being all around awesome. Thanks to Owen for being a great subject, and thanks to Jason for assisting.