Band Photoshoot

[JDTurner]

I'm very much a beginner, wouldn't dare call myself a photographer yet, but I'm striving! I want to take a photoshoot of a band that my friends play in, but I'm short on ideas. I was hoping you guys could help out a little. Its a rock band with a girl lead singer. They are a pretty diverse group in terms of looks. This is just for fun really and to help them get a more professional look so they could be taken more seriously. I'll be shooting on a Canon 60D with a 50mm II f/1.8 or a 28-80mm. I also have a wide angle extender but I'm not sure of its specs (I just borrowed it from my bro-in-law). Any help would be much appreciated! Thanks!

[nickbedford]

I suggest checking out some of the Band Portraits, tutorials etc on www.ishootshow.com for a starter.

The best thing you can do first is to look around at professional band portraits (and by professional I mean "obviously awesome" portraits). Don't settle for less when seeking inspiration. That being said, you will be limited in what you can do given your limited gear, lighting etc. Do you have any external speedlites?

Using the 50mm F/1.8 at around 2.8 will improve the quality of the image produced by the lens a little but still give you some nice bokeh. The 1.8 is a little rough at 1.8 sometimes, but you should also experiment with f/1.8 anyway.

The 50mm on the 60D is obviously best for a flatter, portrait perspective (it's equivalent to 80mm on a full frame camera). You will need to move back a bit of a distance to get the whole band in the frame. This lens will also be great for individual portraits.

Your 28-80mm will also be useful, though it's not quite as wide on a 60D as may be useful. Band portraits often work really well with wide angle shots, giving that slightly warped perspective. 17-18mm on the 60D's crop sensor will be quite good for that.

When it comes to quality band photos, lighting, the pose of the band, nice bright contrast and a clean image (noise) are a major part of achieving a great result.

[graciousness]

I can't advice on the technicalities of your gears and other stuff you may need as I'm a clueless beginner, but can give only some advice coming from past music industry background. You will need a decent external flash though, that I can say, and don't bother with the built-in flash (seriously).

You cannot get a more professional band photos than concert or stage shots, I think. The lighting is dramatic, the energy is pulsating and it's quite invigorating and inspiring to take action photos when they're performing. Taking photos of the crowd, too, is quite fun. Take the stage photos when their faces are stagelit, and if you're allowed flash photography, fill flash if you find photographic moments that require lighting up their faces or whatever your central focus is. Backstage shots are great, too, as they also provide raw, action shots, before and after shows.

Have tons of memory cards and charged up batteries. You will constantly be taking photos and you don't want to run out of either of those. Don't be afraid to just shoot, shoot, shoot. You will not get the perfect shot everytime, but if you get one or two great ones from the entire night, that's a win. Ah, and shoot in RAW! You will definitely need to do post processing on the photos and only RAW files will give you the opportunity to edit photos more dynamically. You can turn bad photos to good photos if shot in raw; jpeg is very limited with what you can fix.

If they are looking for photos out of the stage, you should reserve a day when you can just hang out with them, walk around all over the place, the streets, in interesting buildings, their homes, etc, and just shoot, shoot, shoot. You want to capture the dynamic of the band when they are together and in an environment that they can also be relaxed together. I wouldn't even attempt to do any studio shots of them to take their 'portraits' as you have mentioned that you are a beginner and don't have all the proper gears for this. Take their photos at their natural best, candidly, or even posed so long as they are relaxed and natural.

I hope this helps. Sorry I have no technical advice but I hope this gives you ideas, anyway.

[JDTurner]

Cool! That website is amazing! Definitely an inspiration. I do have access to a external speedlite, maybe even two with a sync. I like the idea of candid shots, I'll have to set that up with them. Thanks for the help, it means a lot. I'll definitely post them here whenever we do the shoot!

[nickbedford]

Originally Posted by graciousness

I hope this helps. Sorry I have no technical advice but I hope this gives you ideas, anyway.

The live shots is a good idea, especially the "backstage" possibly with a black and white treatment (always shoot raw!). There's nothing more natural and interesting than a shot of the band hanging out, even if it's a quick "Waheeey" pose.

I agree that if you don't have any experience with flash / artificial lighting, you may want to just stick to available light, but it's definitely the way to go in the future.

Here are some of my own shoots which you might be able to get something out of. I've been wanting to do more myself since I've now got some decent lighting to work with (as in the Tyse Lee Promo shoot).

Nick Bedford, Photographer Archive Tyse Lee Promo 11 Mar ’11
Nick Bedford, Photographer Archive The Monster Goes Rawrr 23 Jan ’11
Nick Bedford, Photographer Archive Finabah “Killing For Bad Dreams” 09 Jan ’11