Great tips for our musicians and speakers...
•Bring a camera to every gig. And arrange for someone to take the photos while you play! If your photographer doesn't show up, your soundman, lighting tech, spouse, significant other, etc. can take the photos for you. In a pinch, the band members can take turns shooting candid pics of the other performers.
•If it's an important event, use two photographers. This is insurance in case one of the photographers doesn't show up, a camera malfunctions, or a photographer doesn't know what the hell he's doing. It's much better to have twice as many photos to choose from than to have no photos at all!
•Ask the photographer not to zoom in on every shot. You can crop the photos with software (such as Photoshop) afterwards. This helps ensure that the photographer doesn't cut off heads or other important aspects of the photo. The flip side is that your photographer doesn't try to shoot the stage from 50' away. The flash just won't reach that far, and you'll have a dark, wasted photo instead of something you could have used.
•Spend a few minutes with the photographer to go over the highlights of your show. If you have any flashy production numbers, or crowd favorites that always pack the dance floor, pass that information on so the photographer has something to work with. Fog effects, flash pots, choreography, lasers -- make sure they get photographed.
•Take photos during the sound check. This is important if you're using a non-professional photographer. You give the photographer some practice time with your camera. When you review the photos, you get a chance to offer suggestions to the photographer. If the sound check songs are part of the regular set list, when they are played later in the evening, the photographer has already had a chance to 'practice' on them and can perfect the shots so they look perfect. Of course, after the sound check is also a great time to either download the photos to a laptop, switch the removable memory for a fresh card, or delete any photos that aren't up to par.
•Don't post bad photos on your web site. Out of focus, too light or too dark, red eyes, etc. -- toss 'em out and use the shots that make everyone look like they're alive, fer cryin' out loud! You can salvage some otherwise bad photos by cropping, using red eye correction, or the sharpen feature found in photo retouching software programs, such as PhotoShop Elements.
•Don't post a million photos. Keep the number of photos on the site to a manageable number. If you really want to host lots of photos, separate them by year, or by venue. Don't expect your visitor to surf their way through 50 uninteresting shots to find the one good one. Put the best shots out there near the top of the page.
•Use thumbnail (preview) photos on your site. Link them to larger photos, but keep the file size reasonable. If someone needs a larger photo, they can request one; there's no need to force the casual viewer to download a 2MB photo by default.
•Show some variety. Show a mix of photos from several different venues. It makes it look like the band has done a lot of performing. Do it even if it means doing some free gigs and maybe even opening for other acts you normally wouldn't perform with. Six months from now, who cares that you opened for Polkatallica? As long as you have some great stage shots, no one will know the difference.
•Schmooze with the stars. An occasional shot of band mates posing with celebs adds interest. They don't even have to be taken at your gigs. It could be a music store event or clinic that one of your band mates just happens to be attending. Take your camera everywhere, especially if it's a small one.
•Rehearsals are also a potential source for candid action photos. Even more so if the rehearsal space has character. Maybe there are lots of posters on the walls. Or the walls are bare (or you've covered the walls with white or dark bed sheets to make the band stand out more). Put the band's name on the bass drum, too. You can do this before the shoot, or afterwards with the help of photo editing software such as PC Paint or PhotoShop.
•Go on location! Get photos of the band at the beach, at the local fair, at a parade, at the zoo, on children's playground toys, in the snow, with famous landmarks in the distance; you get the picture. They all add interest and, in turn, make the band look interesting. Travel expenses for the photo shoot may also be tax deductible (check with your tax advisor).
•Bring a camera to every gig. And arrange for someone to take the photos while you play! If your photographer doesn't show up, your soundman, lighting tech, spouse, significant other, etc. can take the photos for you. In a pinch, the band members can take turns shooting candid pics of the other performers.
•If it's an important event, use two photographers. This is insurance in case one of the photographers doesn't show up, a camera malfunctions, or a photographer doesn't know what the hell he's doing. It's much better to have twice as many photos to choose from than to have no photos at all!
•Ask the photographer not to zoom in on every shot. You can crop the photos with software (such as Photoshop) afterwards. This helps ensure that the photographer doesn't cut off heads or other important aspects of the photo. The flip side is that your photographer doesn't try to shoot the stage from 50' away. The flash just won't reach that far, and you'll have a dark, wasted photo instead of something you could have used.
•Spend a few minutes with the photographer to go over the highlights of your show. If you have any flashy production numbers, or crowd favorites that always pack the dance floor, pass that information on so the photographer has something to work with. Fog effects, flash pots, choreography, lasers -- make sure they get photographed.
•Take photos during the sound check. This is important if you're using a non-professional photographer. You give the photographer some practice time with your camera. When you review the photos, you get a chance to offer suggestions to the photographer. If the sound check songs are part of the regular set list, when they are played later in the evening, the photographer has already had a chance to 'practice' on them and can perfect the shots so they look perfect. Of course, after the sound check is also a great time to either download the photos to a laptop, switch the removable memory for a fresh card, or delete any photos that aren't up to par.
•Don't post bad photos on your web site. Out of focus, too light or too dark, red eyes, etc. -- toss 'em out and use the shots that make everyone look like they're alive, fer cryin' out loud! You can salvage some otherwise bad photos by cropping, using red eye correction, or the sharpen feature found in photo retouching software programs, such as PhotoShop Elements.
•Don't post a million photos. Keep the number of photos on the site to a manageable number. If you really want to host lots of photos, separate them by year, or by venue. Don't expect your visitor to surf their way through 50 uninteresting shots to find the one good one. Put the best shots out there near the top of the page.
•Use thumbnail (preview) photos on your site. Link them to larger photos, but keep the file size reasonable. If someone needs a larger photo, they can request one; there's no need to force the casual viewer to download a 2MB photo by default.
•Show some variety. Show a mix of photos from several different venues. It makes it look like the band has done a lot of performing. Do it even if it means doing some free gigs and maybe even opening for other acts you normally wouldn't perform with. Six months from now, who cares that you opened for Polkatallica? As long as you have some great stage shots, no one will know the difference.
•Schmooze with the stars. An occasional shot of band mates posing with celebs adds interest. They don't even have to be taken at your gigs. It could be a music store event or clinic that one of your band mates just happens to be attending. Take your camera everywhere, especially if it's a small one.
•Rehearsals are also a potential source for candid action photos. Even more so if the rehearsal space has character. Maybe there are lots of posters on the walls. Or the walls are bare (or you've covered the walls with white or dark bed sheets to make the band stand out more). Put the band's name on the bass drum, too. You can do this before the shoot, or afterwards with the help of photo editing software such as PC Paint or PhotoShop.
•Go on location! Get photos of the band at the beach, at the local fair, at a parade, at the zoo, on children's playground toys, in the snow, with famous landmarks in the distance; you get the picture. They all add interest and, in turn, make the band look interesting. Travel expenses for the photo shoot may also be tax deductible (check with your tax advisor).
