The rules are simple:
First three, no flash.The bad news:
After that, things can get a little messy.The good news:
This is what I do.My name is Todd Owyoung, and I love the rock show. I’m a photographer specializing in live music coverage, and I write ishootshows.com, a website and blog dedicated to concert photography.
After bringing my camera to a concert on a whim several years ago, I found myself at the intersection of two life-long passions: image making and music.
In my time behind the lens, I’ve had the opportunity to photograph talents such as The Police, Joan Baez, Ani DiFranco, Tony Bennett, Yoko Ono, and the Strokes.
I graduated from Washington University in St. Louis magna cum laude with a BA in Visual Communications.
Throughout the year, on average, I photograph two to three bands a week. I drink tea everyday.
Artist’s Statement:
As an avid music lover and visual artist, concert photography is a natural extension of my passions. With every performance, my goal is to push past strict documentation to create images that speak to the iconic power of music and its makers.
Beyond the lasting memory of even the performance itself, I want my images to remain long after the music has faded.
Show after show, I strive to realize a unique style emphasizing exacting composition, attention to gesture, and a keen consideration for lighting. Driving each of these core elements is desire to create definitive images that are backed by a highly technical execution.
I work almost exclusively with the available stage lighting in my live music photography, preferring to capture the unique look and feel of each event as closely as possible.
While I ultimately seek to transcend the events I photograph, creating the images is an effort born entirely out of attention to the moments, big and small, that make up every performance.
Whether it’s a quiet moment of zen in a singer’s pause between songs or a guitarist going big with a solo over the top, I search for the defining moments of a performance to reveal the expressive core of the individual.
32 Comments Add your own
1. Scott | July 11th, 2007 at 8:12 pm
hey mate just wondering if u sell your photos if so how much
2. Todd | July 11th, 2007 at 10:06 pm
Hi Scott, Prices and availability depend on the artist and image, as well as the print size, but let me know what you’re thinking.
3. Liv | July 21st, 2007 at 6:45 am
Nice shots you got there! I was wondering if you might allow them to be used for graphics? Like say banners, avatars, wallpapers…not for profit, of course!
– Liv
4. Todd | July 21st, 2007 at 2:27 pm
Hi Liv, glad you enjoy the images. Which images are you interested in using? It’s not possible to do this with all images, given certain permissions for various performers. Feel free to e-mail me to discuss.
5. Anand Sankaran | August 6th, 2007 at 10:53 am
Todd
This is Anand, from dpr. I saw your site through your “status” in gchat :).
Great site you have here. Subscribing to your blog.
anand
6. Todd | August 6th, 2007 at 1:05 pm
Hey Anand, thanks for dropping me the note, it’s good to hear from you. I’m new to this blog-style site, but it’s been fun developing the content. Hope you enjoy the future features — while concert photography is a very specific topic, let me know if there’s anything you’d like to see as a photographer.
7. Knitty Couture - Website &hellip | November 5th, 2007 at 10:26 pm
[…] theme for Knitty Couture for the last few weeks. The graphics and layout design was done by Todd Owyoung’s coworkers at Kiku Obata & Company. I did all of the coding of the design and WordPress […]
8. kenny | November 15th, 2007 at 10:25 pm
huge fan of your work! talked to ya on flickr before…but i was wondering, do you use noiseninja or anything? looks like the skin tones are smooth…great stuff man!
9. Todd | November 16th, 2007 at 2:29 pm
Hey Kenny, I do use Noise Ninja on some images, but it depends on the type of lighting, ISO used, and other factors. Thanks for the comment.
10. Paul | November 19th, 2007 at 2:35 pm
Hey Todd,
nice meeting you at the VHS or Beta show ! Speak soon
Paul
11. Todd | November 21st, 2007 at 9:48 am
Paul, good to meet you too. I’ll have the VHS or Beta shots up shortly.
12. Sarah | November 27th, 2007 at 10:27 pm
Sites like yours are very beneficial to the photographing community. Everything is written very clearly and you’ve made the technical details easy to understand. I will make sure I check out your fantastic portfolio!
13. John | January 14th, 2008 at 8:29 pm
Nice site. Great work. I’ve also read your posts on DPR and I appreciate the time you spend to help others. Good luck to you.
14. Sharon | January 15th, 2008 at 2:00 am
Hi Todd,
Do you license you photographs to mag’s, newspapers, record co. etc., and obviously the size and useage comes into it but could you give me an example of what you charge?
15. Todd | January 15th, 2008 at 11:10 pm
Hey Sharon,
Fees depend on usage, but if you want to get a ballpark for what to charge, I would look at the rates of photo agencies like Getty and Retna for their licensing fees. Web-resolution images might start at $50/image, while royalty-free licensing for higher resolution images would be substantially higher.
Feel free to send me an e-mail if you need any more specific advice.
16. Nick Ohlman | January 16th, 2008 at 9:12 am
Todd,
This may be a little personal but I was the registrar at the St. Louis Art Museum and the curator of Asian Art was Steven Owyoung. I was wondering if you are related to him as he had the best eye for arranging art work in an exhibition space of anyone I ever worked with. I met his wife Di on several occasions and his sons who were much younger as I left the museum in 1999. I found your name as my daughter (junior at Nerinx Hall) is into photography and music (follows the group Ludo) and she is planning to go your show at the Pagent and shared your card with me. Thanks for the time,
Nick Ohoman
17. Todd | January 16th, 2008 at 9:10 pm
Hi Nick,
Yes, I’m Steven’s son, so we must have met years ago. I’d be happy to stop by to meet you at the Pageant when you see the show, just send me an email if you’d like.
Best,
Todd
18. Doug | January 24th, 2008 at 3:15 pm
How in the heck are the rest of us going to get a shot in edge wise with you out there taking these shots. Stop hogging all the good pictures dude!
Todd,
I have told 100 other people about your site here. I keep comming back for the latest shoot you have done and find something more amazing every time. But really man leave some crumbs for the rest of us starving artists!
Cheers
Doug
19. Todd | January 24th, 2008 at 8:41 pm
Hey Doug! Good to hear from you. Thanks very much for spreading the word about the site, I hope to make it as much for other concert photographers and music lovers as anyone.
In the six months that I’ve been writing ishootshows.com, I think it’s gotten better and better, I’m excited to write some other tutorials and how-to features for the site. Stay tuned!
Todd
20. tinaho | April 9th, 2008 at 4:46 pm
Love your site and it is very inspiring. These are the two interest of mine I would love to combine and you have mastered it. Very informative.
21. Todd | April 17th, 2008 at 11:11 am
Thanks, Tina! Glad to hear you enjoy the site, let me know if you have any requests for articles or anything you’d like to see here.
22. Nick | April 18th, 2008 at 1:33 pm
Hey todd….i met you at the chevelle concert not too long ago….if you could, let me know when you get those photos up….nice meeting you.
23. Woody | April 24th, 2008 at 9:44 am
Just discovered your website, and it’s a godsend for the technique tips and inspiring as well. Looking forward to seeing you around the Lou.
W.
24. Ryan | April 27th, 2008 at 5:40 pm
Hi Todd…an absolute pleasure meeting you last night! I’ve been having a lot of fun looking through all your great photos. Hopefully our paths will cross once again in the near future!
25. Todd | April 27th, 2008 at 6:05 pm
Hey Ryan, thanks for stopping by. It was great meeting you and Chris at the show. See you in the pit!
26. layla | April 27th, 2008 at 6:14 pm
What kind of tea do you drink?
With or without sugar?
27. Todd | May 2nd, 2008 at 3:08 pm
Hi Layla, I’ve been drinking a lot of high mountain oolong lately. I also drink a lot of Dragon Well.
I’ll add sugar to black tea – in the mornings sometimes I’ll have a cup of “first flush” darjeeling with a bit of sugar.
28. Ollie Millington | May 3rd, 2008 at 12:21 pm
Hi Todd… been looking at your work on flickr on and off for some time, just thought I would drop a note to say how constantly inspired I am by your work. Its still early days for me and music photography but your works deffinately inspiring me on a regular basis. Hope everythings good on your end
Ollie
29. Todd | May 3rd, 2008 at 3:37 pm
Hey Ollie. If any of my work inspires you, that’s a huge compliment to me, so thank you. Everything with me is good, just a bit busy. Two shows this weekend!
30. Neetu | May 3rd, 2008 at 10:42 pm
Hello, favorite person ever.
31. Ollie | May 4th, 2008 at 8:27 pm
Everythings cool thanks. Gave horse race photography a go today… went quite well but realy exausting (the winners enclosure was about 1/2 a mile uphill and going back and forth for 5 hours takes its toll) Being buys always good. Towards the end of last year I had an awards show and three gigs in 5 days… don’t realy fancy that again in a hurry. Im trying to get some photo passes for a few festival this summer, any ideas as to what I should mention in e-mails to press organisers? Thanks , Ollie
32. Ollie | May 6th, 2008 at 3:47 pm
Busy*
speak up
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