Band shott - help please

mehfesto2

Okay, so a local band asked me to take their promo shots this weekend.
The earliest they can meet is 2pm and other than a small, dark studio they've built themselves, there's nowhere for us to go for a shoot.

I was planning on bringing them out near a golf course near me where there's a wee lake and bashed up, graffiti'd old storehouse. Unfortunately, my flash isn't working at the moment and I expect by 2-3pmish it won't be the brightest time of the day to be taking pics.

Essentially, what I want to know is:

• What should I ask the band to wear? I was thinking all dark clothes against the pale storehouse.
• Composition-wise is it still 'cool' to have the Lead Singer nearest the camera with the rest of te band in the near distance?
• What are the most important things to be included in a promo shoot, anyway?
• What can I use as 'emergency' lighting??

King Eric

Should still be fairly bright at 2/3 unless its a superovercast day, if it use, use it in your favour, if anything the light shud be nice around then approaching sunset.

You can use anything for light, band shots can have that dirty unperfect look to them

worklamps normal bulbs or even car headlights can work

I'd get the band to bring a few sets of clothes, even a change of t-shirt so you can veto something that looks terrible (politely) It also means the shots will have a longer lifetime if you can make them look different and like they were taken on different days.

Keep your cool, even if its all falling apart you need to appear confident so everyone stays relaxed and happy out for the photos. Keep talking to the lads in the band, be sure to show them a couple while your doign them, so they can discuss them with you adn tell you tehy love/hate them.

Lead singer out front is a fairly usual thing and a safe bet, if you can avoid it and do something more clever and interesting all the better.

It's always nice to get shots far away for website/cd and then closer up (nearly just like headshots) so if the photo gets printed small it has more impact.

Shoot Raw if you can, shoot lots and lots to avoid people blinking and get different expressions etc. Keep talking to the people your shootign and dont be afraid to move them around

Tis no harm lookign thru a few wesbites for ideas before you head out too
I've a links page on my site with links to a load of music phtoographers if you wanna start there. http://www.endadoran.com/links.html

hope some of the above rant helps

oh and bands are always late. Always

Tactical

Hire a flash for the day.

Why not hire a studio? A marquee could also perhaps do if really stuck.

Dress, that'll very much depend on the type of band.

Smelltheglove would definately be one of the best people to get advice from on this subject, no doubt there are a few more members too who'll be well able to advise in relation to bands.

Shoot lots, shoot RAW, plently of memory cards, spare battery.

If the location is going to be used in a commercial sense i.e. for advertising, consider if a property release is going to be required.

Just remember that if it can go wrong it will go wrong. So spare kit is never a bad idea.

If the light starts to fade too soon, push your ISO up and sensor noise is an issue consider grainy black and white shots.

Have you spoken to the band about what they have in mind?

Very best of luck with the shoot, it'd be great to see how the shots turn out and of your experiences of the day and post processing.

xshayx

What type of band is it? A band or a singer with backing? I was never keen on band shots where the singer was most prominent in the shot. The type of band can also determine thoe location best suited. "there nowhere to go" - is this solely from an idea point of view, or lack of transport? How far would you/they be prepared to travel.

Check out www.myspace.com/cindyfrey - some great promo shots, maybe some ideas

Last one I did:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/xshayx/sets/72157605084000702/

sheesh

you realise that alot of the classic band portraits are just shot against a brick wall if they are anyway gritty and urban in look you can easily just go with a dirty laneway.

but on the main research what other bands are doing and how they look a flash would be nice and bring some kind of reflector (large white sheet/A0 paper) and a step ladder. If you can manage to bring some one that will act as a assistant that would probably be good too.

John

Speaking as someone who is sent promo packs by lots of bands, try and do something that isn't four scraggly young men standing in front of a wall looking moody. Boring looking promos go to the bottom of the pile, usually never to re-emerge.

smelltheglove

There are a few different ways to approach this but most importantly it depends on the style of the band and the age. If they are a youngish band a skatepark would do great, often loads of graffiti and edgy looking and you could also use the gang of lads out skating as a nice background. You can use a high ISO too as said before band shots dont need to be perfect.

One thing I used recently that I loved was a net type gate, very very cool, also try back alley, even if it is behind your local supermarket where there is loads of rubbish.

With composition it is true that the lead singer is usually to the front, and a lot of my hubbies band pics were taken like this but many bands do not appreciate it. In music often the lead singer is known to have lsd, lead singer disease and bands often appreciate equality between all of them. I would advise putting the most edgy looking guy forward, also the most attractive as this will attract the girls to the shot!

Definitley go with a couple of different outfits, I would suggest also sleevless tshirts and long sleeve tight tshirts, the sleevless make it a bit more edgy and the long sleeves look great if the guys are toned, also mention if they wear leatherette bracelets and neckwear to pile them on, it looks great, thick wristbands also if they are more metal. You will be surprised musicians actually think out their look quite well. (Usually) . Also maybe mention that they should try to stay away from other band tshirts, they dont want to be advertising Metallica on their album cover.

I would try rent a flash or borrow, you could get a great shot then when you are on the ground and have the lads group around you heads together and pull a few faces, could work very well again depends on style of band though. Also mention to bring along the guitars and drum sticks etc as you can get a backstage looking shot like the lads are waiting to go on.

Beach shots can be very very cool for a more tame singer songwriter style band.

Thats all I can come up with for now, hope it helps, if not maybe let us now age range and style of band and may be able to give more tips.

Fajitas!

Go have fun, do something different, don't just rent a flash for the occassion, stick to what you know. If they like Metallica, let them wear a Metallica t-shirt.

Don't just fit them into a location because it suits their age bracket or musical style, go for something that works.

Hugh_C

... and avoid stereotypes

Dragan

Do you know what kind of music they play? What they are like on stage? Do they have any undelying image which they have developed themselves?

To be honest, with most bands, you have no idea what kind of music or attitude you are getting as all the shots that appear in promo's , in mags etc....are all the same.

You really want to try and set them apart if you can.

homerun_homer

You would want to pick a location that suits the band's sound and their work ethic. Like a punk band pictured against a brick wall or a working class band pictured in a boozy, snooker hall. Find out who they are and what their sound is, I am sure you know already, but since you didn't describe I can't advise on what sort of location I would try and pick for this situation.

Fajitas!

Actually, breaking it down to what you need...

* What should I ask the band to wear? I was thinking all dark clothes against the pale storehouse.
* Composition-wise is it still 'cool' to have the Lead Singer nearest the camera with the rest of te band in the near distance?
* What are the most important things to be included in a promo shoot, anyway?
* What can I use as 'emergency' lighting??

Get them to wear what they are comfortable in, maybe a bit more dressed up than their day to day clothes, or if they have a style of clothing on stage, go for it. Make it either relevant to the settings, or so irrelevent that it looks good.

Composition wise, it's whatever works. If you're going to go for the whole 'lead singer out front' then do another shot for each of the rest of the band the same way. Even two up close, the other two behind, and so on... Play with it. See who interacts with who.

Most important things in the promo shot are a) the band and b) room to put in text/logo/etc - Remember that it's most likely not just going to be presented as a bare photograph, give people a chance to use it as a poster, or in an article, and it'll work much better.

Emergency lighting dosn't have to be emergency - The sun is the handiest source, add in a diffuser like a giant cloudy sky, and you've got some perfect soft light, akin to the biggest softbox you can get your hands on.

John

What not to do.

mehfesto2

Thanks to everyone for the help.
They're a band akin to any 'indie' band out there at the moment, but a bit more instrumental than most Ive heard.

They are totally style-less to be honest. Brown combats with black t-shirts being the order of the day for one lad. The drummer is pretty damn cool, though. But they just dont care about clothes or that - tey're more interested in guitar pedals and drink.

My idea so far is:
Take them down to the park's graffiti'd storehouse's doorway and shoot from below them. Doorways shots are probably overdone, but the bass player is a bit shorter than the rest and I reckon, I could either sit him on the bottom step, or have him on the top step.

The idea of making them stick out without being too 'kooky' seems a bit beyond me. Props seems like a good idea, but what props are 'cool', y'know?

Thanks again everyone. I feel a bit better about it now.

smelltheglove

Prop wise I wouldnt know what you could use other than their instruments unless there was something in their name that could create a kind of pun.

DotOrg

mehfesto2 wrote: »

Essentially, what I want to know is:

[*]What should I ask the band to wear? I was thinking all dark clothes against the pale storehouse.

get them to wear the clothes they want people to see them in. If they just look like average indie blokes then no point telling them to dress all in black. It's their image you're portraying, if they don't have any style you can't cure them

mehfesto2 wrote: »

[*]Composition-wise is it still 'cool' to have the Lead Singer nearest the camera with the rest of te band in the near distance?

did you ask the band, depends on the type of the band and the character of the members, if it's Guns N Roses you're shooting, Axl will probably jump to the front. Lead singers, very often are the most outgoing in the band, they often like being the centre of attention

mehfesto2 wrote: »

[*]What are the most important things to be included in a promo shoot, anyway?

the band will just want to make sure you don't catch them making stupid faces and the photo looks professional

mehfesto2 wrote: »

[*]What can I use as 'emergency' lighting??

the sun or an off camera flash are best but if you have a modern dSLR, you can push the iso up to 800 or higher and use any ambient light there is

AnCatDubh

emergency lighting?

From Cabaal's poor mans lighting thread - http://www.shuttertalk.com/articles/diylighting

Looks quite literally emergency lighting.

John

mehfesto2 wrote: »

The idea of making them stick out without being too 'kooky' seems a bit beyond me. Props seems like a good idea, but what props are 'cool', y'know?

Make them smile, you rarely see that in a band promo!

sheesh

I couldn't find the one of them wear just a sock each



Ah it was something like this


or else a boyband spoof pose

Fajitas!

Pssssh, they're not in front of a brick wall, sheesh. Ergo, that *can't* be a band photo

melekalikimaka

Fajitas! wrote: »

Ergo

i LOVE that word