Opening the floodgates for crowd surfers, metalcore sextet The Devil Wears Prada showed off their chops as devout practitioners of the breakdown.
Photographer's Notes:
It's been a while since I've photographed a metalcore band, so I considered this set my trial by fire of the night. Followed by Saosin and Underoath, I found The Devil Wears Prada to be the easiest set of the night with regard to photography, as well as one of the most fun and rewarding.
Frontman Mike Hranica on the death growl was a fantastic subject, with lots of animated action on the front monitors throughout the set. He frequently went up on the speakers, often laying a hand down on them as he doubled over in his vocal duties, which made for some great up-close-and-personal photo ops.
While there was plenty of action on stage, this set felt like the most “easy-going” and manageable of the night. Some of this was owed to the number of members on stage and the relatively tight space, which limited movement and made the band's movements more predictable.
I utilized the Nikon 14-24mm and 24-70mm for this set, heavily favoring the ultra-wide angles. Even with large and numerous monitors positioned at the front of the stage, there was plenty of opportunity to get in close to these guys.
In addition to the stage lighting, I supplemented with one Nikon SB-600 speedlight to create more dramatic contrast and cut through the ubiquitous red wash of the performance. This flash was used off-camera and triggered wirelessly.
End Notes:
I'd photograph these guys again in a heartbeat. This shoot was a blast, and a great way to ease into the much more frenetic sets of Saosin and Underoath. Stay tuned for those write-ups, coming up!
