October 26, 2008 – This past weekend I did a shoot with The Upright Animals, a great group who I’ve had the pleasure of working with several times in the past. However, in contrast to the live work we’ve done before, the task for this shoot was a set of promos to coincide with the band’s upcoming EP.
Photographer’s Notes:
Overall, the Animals were looking for some simple five-up shots for now, so we poked around and threw down near a warehouse.
It was insanely windy during this shoot, such that we had to relocate at one point due to strong gusts that were giving the lightstands and umbrellas a world of trouble, even with sandbags.
Pretty simple set up for these shots, with two SB-600s into 45″ umbrellas in front, an SB-600 as the backlight. There were some SB-800s kicking around, too, but they weren’t really used for the above shots.
David Mullis, who was assisting, took a few snaps that show the setup for a few of these shots:
End Notes:
Big thanks to David Mullis and Chris Weiss for assisting on this shoot.
Thanks to Jamie, Ben, Jim, Bill, and Jeff of the Upright Animals, too. The guys are heading down to Nashville this week to record at the renowned Blackbird Studio, which has worked on albums from a wide range of acts, including The White Stripes, Gnarls Barkley, My Morning Jacket, and The Kings of Leon.
I’m excited to hear the Animals’ new material, I’m sure it’s going to be rockin’.
13 Comments Add your own
1. Jessie | October 28th, 2008 at 9:44 pm
I like the lighting for the second one. They have a glow.
2. Todd | October 28th, 2008 at 9:50 pm
Hey Jessie, thanks for your pick. Yup, the glow is essential for that shot! I appreciate the feedback.
3. Chris | October 28th, 2008 at 9:59 pm
Yeah, that day was cold and hella windy. I really like the shots from the second location — and you know which ones. That 14-24 is just so sick! 1 and 2 are my picks - the backlighting in 2 really kicks it up a notch. Why is the left side darker in 3 than the right? Was one flash not pointing that way, or what?
4. Todd | October 28th, 2008 at 10:18 pm
Hey Chris, glad to hear you like the first two, those are two that I think work well for the band.
Only the right flash and the backlight were used for the third shot.
Thanks for the comment.
5. kemizz | October 29th, 2008 at 8:53 am
Hi Tod,
like the last one the most …, as there is more difference between the mainlight and ambient light there , which suits better for these kind of shots …(at least up to me :) )
Have you been trying correcting the 14-24’s distortion ,
I always take my bandshots with the 24-70 as 24 is already enough distorted for me ..
but the 14 put a little more drama in it …
still nice …
cheers Robin.
6. Todd | October 29th, 2008 at 9:22 am
Hey Robin,
Nice to hear from you, thanks very much for the feedback on this one. I definitely see what you mean about the differences between the keylight and ambient, that’s a great point.
I have not corrected for the 14-24’s distortion in these shots. 14mm really does bring the drama, and in no short supply.
Thanks for your thoughts on this set, I appreciate it.
7. James | October 29th, 2008 at 10:28 am
Hi Todd,
These are great shots! and thank you for sharing your setup pics.
I have a question. How does Nikon’s wireless flash work? Is it direct line of sight like Canon? I see that you didn’t use radio triggers.
I’m a Canon shooter, and the Canon’s wireless doesn’t work too well outside and it has be in the light of sight.
As much as love Canon, I am seriously considering making the switch.
Anyways, keep up the good work. Your work is awesome.
8. Todd | October 29th, 2008 at 10:41 am
Hey James, thanks for the comment, glad to hear these work for you.
Nikon’s wireless flash system works via IR triggers, same as Canon’s, I believe. So, the setup does require either line of sight triggering, or the capacity to bounce (which often is not an issue outdoors).
So far, I’m really liking Nikon’s “Creative Lighting System” of wireless flash. I’m very new to it, but it seems like quite a nice system altogether. I have always shot Nikon, so I can’t really comment on whether or not it would be better than Canon’s setup.
I can say that the new Nikon SB-900 is awesome. I’m loving the new interface, it makes it very easy to set the remote flashes.
Thanks again.
9. Bryan | October 29th, 2008 at 12:34 pm
Great portraits. It’s cool to see how you set things up, i’d like to see that more and maybe some tips on people starting out on that. I need to take classes on portrait/flash photography, it seems confusing to me. Guess that’s why I stick to concert photography. ha!
10. Todd | October 29th, 2008 at 12:38 pm
Hey Bryan,
Thanks. Yeah, I owe David for taking those setup shots, it’s fun to see those even as the photog for this shoot!
I’m just starting out with portrait services, but I plan on expanding to include promo work in heavy rotation in addition to my concert offerings.
We’re going full-service.
11. ben | October 29th, 2008 at 9:13 pm
todd is the man….i dont know another guy who could have shot in that weather…..his crew was great as well…it was soooooooo windy……….
thanks again Todd
12. Todd | October 29th, 2008 at 9:25 pm
Hey Ben! Nice to hear from you, thanks for the comment. You guys rocked it, I was just talking to Jim about setting up the second shoot when you guys get back.
13. claude | November 25th, 2008 at 5:35 pm
hi todd, i’m following your blog for a while now and i am fascinated by your concert pics but also by your band portraits. i shot a few concerts myself as well (only regional bands) with my canon 400d (xti). i’m thinking about an upgrade now and just wanted to ask if you have any idea wether the 50d or the 5d mkii would be better for mainly concert photography (plus some studio photography as well). you can have a look at some of my concert pictures at http://flickr.com/photos/32927259@N00/sets/72157603369646851/ if you like. i’d appreciate any advice.
thanks,
claude.
speak up
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