copyright JMG 2008
OK. So we're back to class.
I've found that one of the mainstays of a young photog, is the "band photograph"
EVERYONE has a friend/friends that always need band shots. Band shots are good for two things and two things only.
1) Drinking money for the weekend
2) Drinking money for the weekend and something little for your portfolio.
If you take a shot, you should charge. Freebies are cool in a FEW circumstances, which I'll get into in another post.
Why should you charge for band shots? Because if they EVER want to make it, it's the photos people see first, before hearing the music AND there is no band out that that can't like scrape together, say, a tenner a member.
Now, there aren't many ways you can photograph a group of people trying VERY hard to look cool in front of your little black box.
So how can you make them look CW hot.
Well there's the PS route, which makes everything look better (I guess..)
then there's....(sharp intake of breath)....creative originality.
When I'm asked to shoot bands, which is often, I always take a look to see what else is out there.
Older, more experienced photogs, designers, creative types will ALWAYS look at glossies, books, the street for inspiration. So can you. Do not be afraid to steal, in a creative sense.
Annie does it (a lot)
Steven Spielberg does it (Jaws was a Moby Dick update.)
And so can you. But what separates Leibovitz and Spielberg from out right plagiarism, is that they're genius enough to borrow mear PARTS of something and make it their own, something old but yet entirely new.
My theory is that on occasion they borrow the right stuff that triggers something familiar in the minds of dealers/studios/photo editors who remembers something but can't put their finger on it. With the internets it's getting easier to suss out where the inspiration comes from though.
Now, back to to subject of this post. Like the title sez: stay off the railroad tracks. That's MY rule No. one. the other rule is: Stay off the wall.
Keep those in mind.
When shooting bands, you should first LISTEN to their music and try to capture an essense of that in your photos. There's a bit of every band in the photos above.
To get in the right mind-set, I like to think that I'm shooting the bad for Fader, Anthem
or XlR8R which pushes me to making all my band portraits IMPORTANT, NEW and PROFESSIONAL.
You can also meet with the band to get some input on how they would like to see themselves.
You'd be surprised how awesome and different your band pics will look if you take the time to think them out.
I'll leave ya with two from my bookshelf
Annie Leibovitz's American Music
and VX: Ten Years of Photography in Vibe
EXTRA CREDIT: watch this awesome interview with music/band photography master Anton Corbjin and and one of the best music vids ever made by Mark Romanek.
I've found that one of the mainstays of a young photog, is the "band photograph"
EVERYONE has a friend/friends that always need band shots. Band shots are good for two things and two things only.
1) Drinking money for the weekend
2) Drinking money for the weekend and something little for your portfolio.
If you take a shot, you should charge. Freebies are cool in a FEW circumstances, which I'll get into in another post.
Why should you charge for band shots? Because if they EVER want to make it, it's the photos people see first, before hearing the music AND there is no band out that that can't like scrape together, say, a tenner a member.
Now, there aren't many ways you can photograph a group of people trying VERY hard to look cool in front of your little black box.
So how can you make them look CW hot.
Well there's the PS route, which makes everything look better (I guess..)
then there's....(sharp intake of breath)....creative originality.
When I'm asked to shoot bands, which is often, I always take a look to see what else is out there.
Older, more experienced photogs, designers, creative types will ALWAYS look at glossies, books, the street for inspiration. So can you. Do not be afraid to steal, in a creative sense.
Annie does it (a lot)
Steven Spielberg does it (Jaws was a Moby Dick update.)
And so can you. But what separates Leibovitz and Spielberg from out right plagiarism, is that they're genius enough to borrow mear PARTS of something and make it their own, something old but yet entirely new.
My theory is that on occasion they borrow the right stuff that triggers something familiar in the minds of dealers/studios/photo editors who remembers something but can't put their finger on it. With the internets it's getting easier to suss out where the inspiration comes from though.
Now, back to to subject of this post. Like the title sez: stay off the railroad tracks. That's MY rule No. one. the other rule is: Stay off the wall.
Keep those in mind.
When shooting bands, you should first LISTEN to their music and try to capture an essense of that in your photos. There's a bit of every band in the photos above.
To get in the right mind-set, I like to think that I'm shooting the bad for Fader, Anthem
or XlR8R which pushes me to making all my band portraits IMPORTANT, NEW and PROFESSIONAL.
You can also meet with the band to get some input on how they would like to see themselves.
You'd be surprised how awesome and different your band pics will look if you take the time to think them out.
I'll leave ya with two from my bookshelf
Annie Leibovitz's American Music
and VX: Ten Years of Photography in Vibe
EXTRA CREDIT: watch this awesome interview with music/band photography master Anton Corbjin and and one of the best music vids ever made by Mark Romanek.
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