Vans Warped Tour, the summer camp of punk rock. Every year many people get their start shooting shows by covering Warped Tour. I didn’t get my start shooting Warped, but covering it did prepare me for how to handle shooting an all-day music festival in the scorching heat without water. It’s an experience unlike any other and sort of a right of passage for music photographers, especially for those in the punk/alternative field. I’ve decided that not doing a tutorial guide on how to shoot warped tour would be irresponsible, so here are some of my tips (I know Todd Owyoung has a great article on the same thing and I purposely haven’t read to avoid any plagiarism).
Gear (Technical and Professional):
You can shoot warped tour with almost anybody and any glass. You’re shooting outside, and your equipment doesn’t need to be top notch. Afraid of using your kit lens because of its aperture limitations? Bust it out! You’re shooting in daylight!
Remember to bring extra cards, and batteries. It’s an all-day event. Sometimes we all need a reminder to bring extra cards and batteries.
Warped tour is an all-day event. Make sure you have sunscreen, comfortable sneakers, and appropriate clothing. And please wear deodorant, your pits will smell at the end of the day when you’re shooting verticals
Check out smaller bands:
The reason for this is simple – the little bands are the ones that are going to get big next year. Imagine having photos of Katy Perry from that one summer she spent sweating it out with the best punk had to offer on Warped Tour. I wish I did!
Last, but not least, be creative.
If you shoot vigorously like I do, then you can shoot 10+ bands at Warped. Do something different. Yeah, that jump shot is great, but the only way to separate warped photos from you and every other person shooting Warped is to be creative and different.
Nick Karp is your favorite photographer’s favorite photographer. He captures the moments the rest of us miss. Follow his work.
Vans Warped Tour, the summer camp of punk rock. Every year many people get their start shooting shows by covering Warped Tour. I didn’t get my start shooting Warped, but covering it did prepare me for how to handle shooting an all day music festival in the scorching heat without water. It’s an experience unlike any other and sort of a right of passage for music photographers, especially for those in the punk/alternative field. I’ve decided that not doing a tutorial guide on how to shoot warped tour would be irresponsible, so here are some of my tips (I know Todd Owyoung has a great article on the same thing and I purposely haven’t read to avoid any plagiarism).
Gear (Technical and Professional):
You can shoot warped tour with almost any body and any glass. You’re shooting outside and your equipment doesn’t need to be top notch. Afraid of using your kit lens because of its aperture limitations? Bust it out! You’re shooting in daylight!
Remember to bring extra cards, and batteries. It’s an all day event. Sometimes we all need a reminder to bring extra cards and batteries.
Warped tour is an all day event. Make sure you have sunscreen, comfortable sneakers and appropriate clothing. And please wear deodorant, your pits will smell at the end of the day when you’re shooting verticals 😉
Check out smaller bands:
The reason for this is simple – the little bands are the ones that are going to get big next year. Imagine having photos of Katy Perry from that one summer she spent sweating it out with the best punk had to offer on Warped Tour. I wish I did!
Last, but not least, be creative.
If you shoot vigorously like I do, then you can shoot 10+ bands at Warped. Do something different. Yeah that jump shot is great, but the only way to separate warped photos from you and every other person shooting Warped is to be creative and different.
Nick Karp is a professional photographer and freelance music writer. He recently relocated to NYC and dyed his hair bright pink because that is the kind of thing people do in the music business.
We have dedicated a lot of blog space over the last two years to helping make you, the reader, a better music photographer. Those efforts will no doubt continue in the future as we believe the role of education in someone’s life is one that lasts from the cradle to the grave, but today we are turning our focus from the ins and outs of the industry to those who are currently setting the standard for professionalism. There are probably hundreds, if not thousands of photographers covering the world of alternative music right now, and in time we hope to highlight as many of them as we possible can. Right now however, we want to focus on 10 people with unique perspectives on the current music scene that we feel everyone should know and follow online. You can learn from them, or you can just enjoy their work. Either way, please support these hard working people:
At the risk of overstating his current level of influence, Adam Elmakis pretty much sets the bar for photography in the alternative music scene. He has photographed everyone you can think to name, but he’s best known for his work with A Day To Remember, Of Mice & Men, and Pierce The Veil.
Harnessing the power of social media to further her presence and influence like few have been able to accomplish, Ashley Osborn is an innovative photographer with a perspective on life like no other. If anyone works harder than her to make photography their life I have yet to meet them.
Sometimes photographers rise to popularity by capturing dozens upon dozens of artists at every level of stardom, but that is not the case for everyone. Grady has been around the music industry, as well as the modeling world, but he’s probably best known for capturing the rise of rapper G-Eazy from underground clubs to sold out stadiums, both on stage and off. His notoriety rose right along with G’s stardom, and today it’s hard to talk with anyone in photography or music without one of their names coming up.
If you’re a fan of Mayday Parade there is a good chance you have swooned over the talent of photographer Thomas Falcone once or three dozen times over the last few years. Thomas can capture any artist in a way that makes you drop your jaw, but his time on the road with the men of Mayday has allowed him to work with them on an entirely different level. It’s both personal and professional, making you feel as if you’re right next to the band no matter where they happen to be around the globe.
Most the photographers on this list so far have become synonymous with artists who are currently able to headline all over the world. Molly Louise Hudelson works with that level of talent as well, but her best work is done when capturing the artists still trying to cut their teeth in this crazy business of entertainment. If you want to see the artists who will be headlining in one or three years from now, Molly’s work is a good place to start.
Vince Dwyer spends a lot of time on the road with The Word Alive, which offers him unique access to the world of hard work and metal that (lucky for us) he then shares with people around the globe using only his camera. Like others on this list, his talent has grown along with the artists he’s dedicated his life to capturing, and with each new tour it seems he only gets better.
It’s not easy making it as a freelance music photographer in 2015, but Nick Karp has somehow found a way to make it work while also living full time in New York City. His ability to hustle day and night, show to show, is right up there with the hardest working bands in music today. On any given date he may be capturing anywhere from one to ten bands at one or more shows in various corners of the city, and once summer arrives with festivals every other week his schedule only grows more hectic. Nick also has a heart for education, as anyone familiar with this blog has seen through his numerous columns on music photography basics, so really there is no reason for you not to follow his work from this point forward.
We hate not being able to use someone’s real name in a feature like this, but the photographer most commonly referred to as Sedition has chosen to keep his identity a bit harder to come by than most. What we know for certain is that he spends his days driving your favorite bands from show to show, and at night he uses his Canon 70D to capture moments that will make your heart skip a beat. His work with models is pretty incredible as well, and with Warped Tour fast-approaching, you can expect a wealth of new images to be produced in weeks ahead.
You would be hard pressed to find a single person in music, maybe even the planet, with a bad thing to say about Mike Wilson. The world may have a shortage of truly good people, but Mike is a hard working guy who also happens to be incredibly kind and ridiculously underrated. He spent the beginning of 2015 with Cartel, and the work he came back with will make you fall in love with the band even if you know understand why everyone lost their mind over the release of Chroma. His work is that good, and even though he has a few years of experience under his belt it’s clear he’s nowhere near reaching the peak of his abilities. I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if Mike found himself where Elmakis is at today within five years time, if not sooner.
Originally a name synonymous with PupFresh, Teri Cwiek has become a brand all her own over the last two or three years. She can currently be found touring around in vans with bands on the cusp of taking the scene by storm, and all day everyday she shares scenes from her time on the road through her various social networks. As the average age of our team here at Haulix is around 30, we are not always familiar with the artists Teri is working with, but that doesn’t really matter when you see the beautiful images she is able to produce. Like the hustle shown by Nick Karp, Teri has the kind of driven, business-oriented mindset to actually make her passion her life, and we encourage everyone to seek out her work as soon as they are able.
There is something about the way Matty Vogel captures live performances, especially those of rapper Hoodie Allen, that defies explanation. Regardless of the place where the photo was taken, Vogel finds a way to make every concert photo look as if it captures a once-in-a-lifetime moment. His behind-the-scenes work is no different, offering intimate access to some of the biggest names in music today. He’s a favorite of our entire staff, and we cannot wait to see what he produces while on tour with Wiz Khalifa, Fall Out Boy, and Hoodie Allen all summer long.
Hello, everyone! After an extended break we have returned with the latest installment in our ongoing series aimed at informing aspiring music photographers about the realities of life in the industry. If you missed one of the previous columns, you can catch up using this link. If not, welcome back! We’re happy you stuck around.
This blog exists to promote the future of the music industry, and to do that we need input from people like you and your music-loving friends. If you have any questions about the content in this article, or if you have an artist you would like to see featured on this blog, please contact james@haulix.com and share your thoughts. We can also be found on Twitter and Facebook.
We don’t instantly become good at photography. There’s no magic wand that you waive to enhance your skills. It’s a growing process and we continue to learn everyday to enhance our craft. I did a podcast with James Shotwell where we talked about the first show I ever shot and I admittedly said how awful I truly was. I still back this, but I want to go in a little further on why I was so bad, and what I wish I could have changed.
My gear was too good for my knowledge. I wish I didn’t shoot that show in program (auto). Shooting at f8 at 1/60 makes no sense when outdoors. I regret not knowing the basic fundamentals of photography before going out and shooting. If so, my shots would have been exposed properly, and maybe I wouldn’t hate myself for ruining photos of my favorite band, Against Me!.
The only photos I looked at prior were a few that were in alt press. My favorite image back then was one Jesse DeFlorio took of Geoff Rickly at Warped Tour at Nassau Coloseum, which was my first warped tour I ever attended. Geoff broke his nose on the third song and started gushing blood down his face, resulting in one of the most dynamic warped tour photos I’ve ever seen. I thought everything had to be cropped tight and to the frame. I didn’t vary in anyway. I feel like I barely shot any wide shots; however still I feel like I understood the rule of thirds naturally.
I should have turned around. there was an entire sea of people screaming their heads off to these bands. Bands aren’t the only subject at concerts. Why didn’t I capture them, especially since the venue I shot it at is gone, and it overlooked the beautiful manhatten skyline?
I should have shot raw. I didn’t know any better. Maybe I could have fixed some of these awful mistakes I made, if I shot RAW. Maybe…. Raw isn’t a magic wand to make your photos instantly better, but it certainly can help fix your mistakes.
Something subtle, my watermark. My text based watermark makes me cringe. It’s almost as bad as Comic Sans. Almost.
Lastly, I take photography very seriously. In fact, I take it way too seriously. I’m shooting four shows this week, and I really need to reflect that I’m doing a job that many people would love to do. I’m going to do something I haven’t done in the photo pit tonight since my first show, smile and appreciate my access of being up close to document world class artists performing, as my job.
Nick Karp is a professional photographer and freelance music writer. He recently relocated to NYC and dyed his hair bright pink because that is the kind of thing people do in the music business.
Hey there! Welcome to our blog. We thank you for finding time in you busy schedule to spend a few minutes on our site. The post you’re about to enjoy is the latest installment in our popular podcast series, Inside Music. If you like what you hear, the entire catalog of episodes can be found and enjoyed through iTunes. Subscriptions and reviews are always appreciated.
This site exists to promote the future of the entertainment industry, and to do that we need input from people like you and your entertainment-loving friends. If you have any questions about the content in this article, or if you have an artist you would like to see featured on this blog, please contact james@haulix.com. We can also be found onTwitter and Facebook.
On this episode of INSIDE MUSIC, host James Shotwell chats with professional music photographer Nick Karp. Nick has lead a career driven by his own love for photography, and in this conversation he shares his journey with listeners, as well as his advice on how others can begin their own pursuit of a career in entertainment. It’s a little less personal than our previous episodes, but we think it came out pretty great.
The music you hear in the intro to ‘Inside Music’ this week is “Past Tense” from Sudden Suspension. You can learn more about that song, as well as the album it hails from, on the band’s official website.
You may already know this, but ‘Inside Music’ is now available on iTunes! Click here to subscribe.
For those who listened to the episode: Here is the photo Nick discusses at length ==>
Hello, everyone! After an extended break we have returned with the latest installment in our ongoing series aimed at informing aspiring music photographers about the realities of life in the industry. If you missed one of the previous columns, you can catch up using this link. If not, welcome back! We’re happy you stuck around.
This blog exists to promote the future of the music industry, and to do that we need input from people like you and your music-loving friends. If you have any questions about the content in this article, or if you have an artist you would like to see featured on this blog, please contact james@haulix.com and share your thoughts. We can also be found on Twitter and Facebook.
The best camera you have is the one on you. For years I’ve thought that saying was the biggest cliche in the history of photography. I’ve debated and fought this countless times. My iPhone isn’t nearly as good as the guy with a Canon 5D MKIII. I’d even take a Rebel series camera of my that. I’m here to say that I was wrong.
On December 30th, I was privileged enough to see Patti Smith in concert at Webster Hall. I tried to apply for press countless times for the show, but was met with rejection each time. Patti Smith does not allow photographers; something that I think is very hypocritical as Patti Smith is a photographer herself and even had a relationship with Robert Mapplethorpe, an incredible photographer.
The day prior, Patti Smith also performed at Webster Hall, and a had surprise opener in Michael Stipe of R.E.M. It was his first public performance in years. With the idea that he would perform again the next day, I immediately looked up the guidelines for the venue and found out they did not have a camera policy, so I brought in a Fuji mirrorless camera, a camera which most would not even fathom calling optimal gear for a show. I wasn’t shooting for anyone, but just myself because of my love for R.E.M. Don’t get me wrong, I got the ticket for Patti Smith, but I LOVE R.E.M.
I got to the venue early and was about 6 rows back. I snapped less than 150 shots the entire show and thought nothing of it. I had a few shots I liked, but nothing that I would even consider my best work. Just shots to say, “Hey, I saw Michael Stipe and Patti Smith!”
I posted one photo on a message board and got an email later that night from Rolling Stone Magazine asking for images from the show. Why would they want a shot from a little Fuji. I sent them 15 of my best shots of the show and they bought the usage for them. What? Why? … I didn’t even use my gear.
Maybe it’s because I’m thick skulled, but I couldn’t imagine not published anywhere without my pro-gear. Maybe I’m spoiled in that thought, but regardless if a magazine like Rolling Stone took a photo that wasn’t on quality equipment then anyone really would. This was a point and shoot camera after all.
In the past, I’ve been guilty of judging people by equipment. I’m here to say that I was wrong.
Hello everyone! After a brief break to celebrate the holiday we have returned with the latest installment in our ongoing effort to inform aspiring music photographers about the realities of life in the industry. This column is dedicated to photo releases and how they may or may not impact your interest in working with certain artists. There is a lot to read, but professional photographer Nick Karp has done a great job of breaking everything down into easy to understand chunks, each with real world example.
This blog exists to promote the future of the music industry, and to do that we need input from people like you and your music-loving friends. If you have any questions about the content in this article, or if you have an artist you would like to see featured on this blog, please contact james@haulix.com and share your thoughts. We can also be found on Twitter and Facebook.
This week, something happened that is not necessarily uncommon in concert photography, but something I neglected to think about. I was asked to sign a photo release to shoot a show. What is a photo release? In music photography, it’s a contract that a band sends the media that indicates some rules and regulations.
What they state:
All photo releases are different and they can vary on how strict they are. Below are a list of different type of contracts I’ve been sent, with my opinion on them.
Editorial Release:
Usually this release indicates that your photos can only be used for the publication you are shooting for. This is the least restrictive of all of the releases, and most of the time is only implicated to prevent a photographer from selling the image for non official merchandise. You still retain copyright of the photos and most of the time management will allow you to use the photos for your portfolio and other publications (magazines, newspapers, etc.)
Example: This letter serves to confirm that you, (Photographer) , may photograph (first five songs, no flash) of Matt and Kim on the condition that any material arising from the photographic session to be held on (Date) at (Venue) ______________________________, is used for editorial use, in the following publication(s): ________________________________________. The license hereby granted to you to photograph the artist is limited to the above grant only and NO right to use the photos for commercial purposes (e.g., for use as posters, calendars, T-shirts, prints, etc.) either to be sold, to be distributed free or to be otherwise exploited in any manner whatsoever unless prior permission has been obtained from Matt and Kim and their management.
Pre Approval Release:
This release usually indicates that the artist must approve all photos prior to them being published. Some bigger artists have this release to rely that their image isn’t tarnished, but weirdly enough a lot of older bands are starting to have this in their release. Maybe they want to hide a double chin or some eye wrinkles. I have not signed a release like this and I’m indifferent about it. My job as a photographer is to make my subject look as good as possible, and I don’t think I need someone telling me that my photo does not meet their imaginary criteria.
Example: Photographer hereby acknowledges and agrees that the Photographs to be used hereunder are subject to the prior approval of Cheap Trick.
Injury Clause:
An artist doesn’t want to take responsibility for you being an idiot in the photo pit. Protect your gear at all time. It shouldn’t be the artist’s responsibility anyway (unless they assault you and then that becomes a whole different issue in of itself.)
Example: You acknowledge that you are performing your services at your own risk and voluntarily assume such risks and accept full responsibility and liability (including indirect liability) for your own safety. You and [Periodical/news crew] hereby forever release and discharge us from any and all claims, demands, damages, or causes of action which you may have against us for all personal injuries, known or unknown, and damage to your property, caused by or arising out of your services.
Artist using photos release:
This isn’t a rights grab release (discussed below.) This release indicates that I still own my photos, however, the band are allowed to do what they please without compensation including but not limited to; Posting on social networking, using photos for merchandise, and basically whatever they want. I will not sign this. You should not sign this. This is exploitation of your intellectual property.
Example: In addition, in consideration for the rights being granted to Photographer hereunder, Photographer agrees to provide, at no charge, to Cheap Trick Unlimited, duplicate negatives and/or transparencies (as designated by Cheap Trick Unlimited of the Photograph(s)). Cheap Trick Unlimited shall have the right to use the Photograph(s) for any and all commercial and non-commercial purposes whatsoever relating to Cheap Trick and Cheap Trick’s activities and Cheap Trick Unlimited shall have no obligation to make any payment to Photographer, the Publication or any other third party in connection with any of such uses.
Rights Grab:
What is a rights grab? To keep it simple, it’s a release that indicates that after you take photos of an artist, your work is not owned by you, but by the management company/band. I’ve never sign this type of release and I never will. Some artists will pay you a dollar for this which indicates a “Work for Hire”, but either way you lose the rights to your photos. They can do whatever they want with the photos. You have 0 rights to them. Hey, maybe if your nice, they’ll let you use a photo that you took for your portfolio! This is never worth signing, no matter the band.My photos are mine and will always remain mine.
Example: (a) Photographer does hereby assign unto Company all of Photographer’s right, title and interest in and to the copyright of all the Material created, and all parts and elements thereof, including all derivative rights therein, the exclusive right to register copyright in the name of Company, and any and all causes of action arising under the rights assigned by Photographer to Company under this agreement. All Materials shall, from the inception of their creation, be considered a “work made for hire” for Company within the meaning of the Copyright Act of 1976 (Title 17, U.S.C.), as amended. If it is determined that any Material does not so qualify, then such Material, and all rights therein shall be automatically assigned to Company by this Agreement.
(b) Photographer does hereby assign unto Company all of Photographer’s right, title and interest in and to any other intellectual property rights that Photographer may claim in the Material, or any part thereof.
The worldwide copyrights(and all renewals and extensions thereof) in the Photographs are from the inception of their creation and forever thereafter owned solely by The Cult (and their designees). In the event that the undersigned Photographer, the aforesaid newspaper or magazine or any other persons or entities wish to make any use of the Photographs other than as hereinabove expressly permitted, the prior written consent of The Cult shall be required (which The Cult may withhold or grant in The Cult’s absolute discretion), failing which consent, any such use, reproduction, dissemination, publication or distribution shall constitute willful copyright infringement and subject the photographer, the newspaper or magazine, the user and all others concerned to civil and criminal liability as willful copyright infringers. The worldwide copyright in the aforesaid concert (and all elements thereof) together with all rights of reproduction, distribution, publication, and dissemination by any and all means and methods are exclusively owned and controlled by The Cult (and their designees).
How to avoid these releases:
Ask to waive the release: Tell the connection that you will only shoot the show if the release is waived. Sometimes that’s all it takes. What’s the worse they say? “No”? You have nothing to risk.
Shoot from the crowd: Many photographers do not shoot Kiss from the photo pit mainly because of Kiss’ rights grab release; however, many buy front row tickets and shoot from their seats, insuring that they own their Kiss photos and they even get to shoot the whole show! Granted, you may not be able to bring a DSLR into the venue, but there are many mirrorless cameras that can capture amazing photos (especially with their light rig.)
Sneak In: I mean, you can try right? Don’t be surprised if negative consequences result in this including being blacklisted.
Try to go through the opener: I actually got to shoot a rights grab artist without signing their release by shooting the opening acts, and never being presented a contract to sign. This won’t work all the time, but if it happened to me…
Festivals: Sometimes bands with a release will not present said release for a festival. This isn’t always the case.
Don’t: Don’t support this barbaric request. Tell the publicist why you won’t sign the release and leave as that. Maybe they’ll get the memo and waive their release for good.
All in all, I do not support signing releases. I don’t want the usage of my intellectual property to be hindered. I don’t care if my favorite band has a rights grab (they don’t), I will refuse to sign it and move-on with my life. There are plenty of bands without releases.
Nick Karp is a professional photographer and freelance music writer. He recently relocated to NYC and dyed his hair bright pink because that is the kind of thing people do in the music business.
Hello, again. Welcome to the second Advice column of the week. We received such an overwhelming response to our last photography feature that we partnered once more with Nick Karp to create a third installment in what appears to have become our latest ongoing series aimed towards bettering the music industry. We have several additional photo-themed columns planned, but we are always looking for suggestions on topics worth covering. If you have any questions regarding the content of this blog, or if you would like to learn more information about the services offered by Haulix, please email james@haulix.com and share your thoughts. We can also be found on Twitter and Facebook.
Following my local music scene played a huge influence on my desire to shoot bands. Within a local music scene comes a DIY culture behind it, and bands performing at unconventional venues was the norm. Shooting bands at VFW halls, Leigon Halls, Basements, living rooms, and even backyards was not a rarity, and if I am being completely honest I would have to say that shooting at those establishments is much harder than shooting at an arena or other large scale venue. Arena shows have big production budgets, including lighting with front and back lights. You can shoot at low ISO’s and still produce a correctly exposed photo. DIY venues however, may only have a single florescent light bulb in the entire room.
So, how do you capture great moments in a situation like that? Flash. Shooting these type of shows often requires you to break some of my unwritten rules of the photo pit, but there is a reason good reason for such rule violation. 99% of the time there is no photo pit, or anyone making sure you stick to the ‘3 song rule,’ and with the band’s blessing, flash can be allowed. The follow is a list of techniques I use for shooting at these types of venues…
Flash bounced off ceiling:
The technique I have found most useful is having an external flash aimed directly up to bounce forwards on the ceiling. This distributes the light equally over the band member you are trying to shoot. That said, this method can only work with a lighter colored ceiling as black/dark ceilings will absorb too much of the light.
When using this technique I try to have my power high enough so that my ISO is 800 or so. My shutter remains around 1/100 and my F stop is at f4. Some examples of bouncing a flash against a ceiling can be viewed below:
In this picture you can see how the light spreads pretty evenly over bass player Nicholas Inman(You Blew It!) and some of the fans.
In this photo, lead singer Damian (Fucked Up) is in the crowd. There is virtually no light in the crowd, so I bounced a flash at the ceiling to try and get some light on him. It worked and this is the image.
Flash at 60 degrees:
This is a technique I use when the ceiling is really low, like when shooting in a basement. The bottom of the photo will not be lit up as much as the top so I suggest upping the shadows and blacks in post production. An example of this can be shown below.
Here you can see what happens when I use a 60 degree flash. You want to keep your flash power low enough to not blow the highlights out. In post I raised the shadows and added some contrast. Lucky for me, TMP had floor lights that went on and off, and they gave me a little extra light to work with in this tiny basement.
For this one, I did the same exact thing with my lighting as the shot before, except there are no floor lights. Check out the bass and you can see how grainy it is from pushing the shadows. The light was bright enough to light the bass below, but dark enough where it didn’t blow his face out.
Dragging the shutter:
Dragging the shutter is what occurs when you use flash to light up the subject and have a shutter speed so low (Around 1/20 – ½) that you’re able to move the available light in the photo. You can either bounce the flash to the ceiling or point the flash directly at the band. If you do the ladder, make sure to ask the band’s permission prior because having a flash directed and flashed in your eyes Is distracting when you are performing. If pointed at the band, I try to have my flash power low, and even with that, my ISO at 400 or so. My aperture will be somewhere around f 5 -6.3 and again, shutter will be at 1/8th. An example can be seen below.
Here’s a somewhat extreme look of dragging the shutter. You can see that theirs is two Pat Butlers [Singer of Sleepy Hahas]. My shutter speed was at ½, so this is an extreme case of dragging the shutter. I feel as if this photo gives off a psychedelic feel.
In this shot of Zealot, I had my shutter speed faster than I did than the previous photo. This is at 1/25th of a second where the photo is not heavily distorted, but I obtained enough back ground light to slightly move bend the light so my subject and the room lights can pop.
Using off camera flash:
Off camera flash is something I do very rarely mainly because of venue limitations. Although some would allow me to set up a flash or two on the sides of the venue, I choose not to because my equipment is out of my sight. Despite this, off camera flash is one of the better methods to use when shoot at DIY venues. The way I set is up is to point the flash at the middle of the stage and then shoot about 45 degrees towards the center of the stage. If I’m using a second flash, I can point that flash to my other side of me, 45 degrees towards the center of the stage, or if I can put it behind the band, I will set it up directly across from the first light. An example of when I use off camera flash is below.
In this shot you can see one of the the flashes in the back of the phot. The lead singer was lit up by another flash to camera right. The flash was so powerful that my settings were ISO 500, 1/100, F9.
For this shot, only the flash on the back was used. The other flash was having a hard time being triggered. You can see the difference not having a back flash makes, and how essential it is to have that front flash.
Pop Up Flash.
I hate it. There’s a reason top of the line equipment doesn’t have pop up flashes.
Nick Karp is a professional photographer and freelance music writer. He recently relocated to NYC and dyed his hair bright pink because that is the kind of thing people do in the music business.
