Music Photography | Landscape Photography | Portrait Photography

One Concert : Two Very Different Photo Shoots

Jul 20, 2010 Concert Photography, Photography Discussion

Saturday night (July 17, 2010 for the record) and The Marquee Theater in Tempe, AZ is packed. The occasion –  Silversun Pickups and Against Me. (Two quick random notes: The box office line was out of control. I don’t think anyone bothered to buy tickets until the night of the show. Thanks to the very kind couple who let me cut in line so I can get my photo passes squared away. The other thing – I do not understand why The Marquee Theater was so hot. It was almost unbearable to be in the venue for this show.)

The crowd seemed close to 50-50. Many people were there to see Against Me who probably had little or no interest in seeing SSPU. I was there to see SSPU and shoot photos.

The Tale of Two Different Photo Shoots

Against Me came on stage with lots of energy and commanded the crowd’s attention. The stage was set with white lights on stage right and left set in back of the band. They used no over head stage lights – none at all. It was easily the best lighting conditions to photograph music. Photographing the Against Me set went smoothly with no struggle. (Photos of Against Me Live in Tempe can be found on my Flickr page.) Thanks for keeping the photographers in mind with your stage set up.

Silversun Pickups hit the stage about 30 minutes later and things couldn’t be different. I knew when the house lights went off and the drum kit was lit in with a light blue spotlight that I was going to have some fun. SSPU played a great set – I loved it. The whole show was played under red and blue spotlights. (See my article about photography and concert lighting) Red lighting is the hardest light to work with when taking concert photos. I tried to wait for the white spotlights but it wasn’t going to happen and the longer I waited the more chances I had of missing my shots.

The dynamics of concert photography and only being allowed to photograph three songs means you have to make decisions on the fly. If you wait for the right moment every time to press the shutter you will miss your shot. As with any other type of action photography (yes music is action photography) you need to anticipate the moment and sometimes it’s a guessing game. Just guess right more often than not.

Silversun Pickups was one of the most difficult shoots I’ve had in a long time which is why I absolutely love the photo of singer/guitarist Brian Aubert posted above. When the stage light is less than optimal for photographs try to capture the emotion of the performer. In your post production process maybe things will come together as they did for me. (This was also some of the most extensive post production work I’ve had to do for any music photo.)

What’s the most difficult light you shoot in? Do you have lighting conditions you prefer to shoot it? Let everyone know by posting a comment below.

This website is managed by GRT2 Studios. GRT2 Studios is a Digital Marketing Agency, in Tempe AZ, specializing in great content creation. WE ARE DIGITAL CONTENT AGENTS. Send us an email if you would like a free Marketing 2.0  brand  consultationGRT2@GRT2Studios.com – We look forward to speaking with you.

Tags: concert photo, Concert Photography, GRT2 Studios, live music photography, music photo, photography lighting