Utilizing Extreme Rock Band Lighting to Capture the Moment!

If you have been following me the past few years, you would have noticed that I have taken a real interest in photographing live up and coming & well established bands; primarily based in New York City.

There is nothing more challenging and outright awesome than walking into dimly lit bars and venues than trying to capture key moments and the band’s personalities as they perform their tunes on stage.  As a freelance photographer who shoots many different genres of photography, this is basically walking into an ultimate training ground to learn how to tackle light in any situation.  Point blank – shooting bands trains my eye and technique in any photo shoot I do; whether it is a wedding, family party or corporate event with dark lighting, fast moving targets such as sports, children running in parks, etc, or even if I am shooting portraits, headshots, etc. with studio lights.

Every so often, I will get a venue such as the Gramercy Theatre or the Bowery Ballroom where the lighting systems are much much better.  Pair that with a band who has their own feel brought into the presentation and it provides unique experiences to capture some wonderful and meaningful shots.  I feel I accomplished just that when Star Killer, a local NYC band with a great following, took the stage at the Bowery Ballroom in June this year.  Using extremely bright whites and amazing laser effects with blues, my challenge was actually adjusting the camera to handle the lighting instead of usually preparing to get shots where there wasn’t enough.

Take a look at 2 images that resulted from this performance.  I took advantage of the band stepping into the light to capture a blend that produced emotional imagery.

I just entered these images in PDN’s Ultimate Music Moment Contest.  Please help me become the People’s Champ by clicking on each image and submitting your vote!  Also send me a note and let me know what you think of these shots!

Here are the direct links as well:

Entry #1  – http://www.ultimatemusicmoment.com/bin/Rate?image_id=2002702306

Entry # 2 – http://www.ultimatemusicmoment.com/bin/Rate?image_id=2002702305

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 28th, 2011 at 2:31 pm. It is filed under - music, FEATURED and tagged with - music, - rock band, band, band photography, bowery ballroom, challenge, concert, contest, extreme light, gramercy theatre, lighting, music photography, pdn, rock, star killer, ultimate music moment contest. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.