June 10, 2009 – Opening up for Aerosmith on the Guitar Hero tour opener, Mississippi’s 3 Doors Down started off the evening with a big dose of no-frills rock – just a taste of the spectacle that followed.
Photographer’s Notes:
3 Doors Down was a challenge shoot primarily due to position, but we photographers in the pit still benefited from abundant lighting and the dominating stage presence of frontman Brad Arnold. I wasn’t all that familiar with the band aside from their work with the National Guard on the video “Citizen Soldier,” but I was pleasantly surprised by the show.
As Aerosmith’s stage setup included a catwalk into the pit seating, shooting was limited to one side of the stage. Due to a crate for videographers in the photo pit, fans, and speaker monitors on the stage, lines of sight were limited for much of the band, though Brad Arnold generally was in fine position, and thus the singer was a prime subject.
Aside from angles, lighting also played a role in the coverage of this event. Arnold was well lit with spotlights from the front for the entirety of the three-song limit; the rest of the band didn’t fare quite so well, often left to play in the dull washes of blue and red that covered the stage.
The exposure for this set was roughly ISO 800 at 1/400 and f/3.2, give or take a stop.
The Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 was the primary lens used for this set, with supplemental help from the Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8.
This entry was posted on Thursday, June 11th, 2009 at 9:43 pm and is filed under Music Photography and tagged with 2009, 3 doors down, 3dd, aerosmith, images, live, Music Photography, photographer, photography, photos, pictures, tour. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
Thank goodness for spotlights. Snaps of 3 Doors Down, openers for Aerosmith on the Guitar Hero Tour: http://cli.gs/jUY0Sb
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My name is Todd, and I love the rock show. My work has appeared in publications such as Rolling Stone, SPIN, the New York Times, Alternative Press, Metal Hammer, Entertainment Weekly, and Billboard Magazine. I'm available for worldwide travel for editorial and commercial assignments.
GREAT shots! I’ll be shooting 3DD July 10th in Bismarck,ND and after seeing these am even more amped up!
One question, after watching some concert footage from youtube, I noticed he covers his face alot, was there a particular side you stayed on or did you move around alot?
Hi Jordan,
I didn’t really notice him covering his face too much, though Brad Arnold does move around a good amount — he’s pretty animated in general. I don’t think one side is really better than the other, I’ve seen good shots from both sides. Pick your poison.
We need to see some Aerosmith photos!!!
Nelson,
Ha, don’t worry. I’ll be posting those shots — probably tonight or tomorrow, we’ll see. I’ve got Phish tonight, Dave Matthews Band tomorrow, and Brad Paisley on Thursday. It’s going to be a busy week.
The lights seem awesome … nice shots!
Also looking forward to see Aerosmith’s and especially Phish’s!! ;)
Cheers,
Daniel
Thanks for the comment, Daniel. I’m off to shoot Phish in about half an hour, so stay tuned for those shots. I might be posting the Aerosmith shots tonight or tomorrow, we’ll see how it works out.