Band Promos??? Help asap

[mpphoto12]

Ok i am in need of urgent help on something. My friend and his new band wants some promo pictures. I have seen many pictures of bands done with fancy strobes and lighting on spot. I have also seen soem basic ones on location with just a camera and prime lens. So im really nervous because i have seen shots done for his previous band by someone else and they were very good. I plan on seeing the spot a day or two before i shoot it so i know what light to deal with. We plan on shooting down at the Jersey shore but im not sure where. Gear i will have of mine and borrowed gear of my friends will include:


1 Alien Bee 800, 2 crappy delicacy 180s strobes with white umbrellas.


2. 3 cyber syncs.


3. Rebel XT and 50D.. 70-200 2.8, 50 1.8, 18-55,


4. Gitzo tripod


Now i plan on using some cool strobe effects for the first time like lighting from behind the group of 4 band members. I have seen cool effects this way. But as far as using all of these three strobes i dont have much experience. And tips? i am shooting these soon and am in a rush to find info. Thanks !

[Sean Setters]

The thing you have to worry about when doing a band shoot is depth of field. You need enough light on the subjects to allow you to use narrow enough apertures to capture every band member in focus (of course, using a wide-angle lens helps too). Depending on how the band members are arranged, this can be challenging. Umbrellas work great for lots of different types of shoots, but depending on the "edginess" of the band, you might want to forgo the umbrellas and go for a harder-light look (possibly gelled a certain color for effect). That might also help you in getting enough power to shoot at narrower apertures.


Check out the strobist flickr group for "band" and you'll be inundated with hundreds of things to look at. Try browsing through those results to get ideas on posing, lighting, and creativity.

[mpphoto12]

Thanks Sean now i got the answer from the master strobist himself. :)

[Sean Setters]

No, just a disciple. Mr. Hobby is the master strobist. ;-)

[peety3]

First thought: tell us what gear YOU have, and what gear you KNOW inside and out. Even if you're shooting the band promo for free and they really need the pics, you're going to have a hard time holding their attention if you're busy chimping and trying the gear.


Skip the cool strobe effects unless you know how to pull them off 100%.


Go into the gig with 2-4 "recipes" queued up and ready to go. Try a recipe, fiddle with it for 2-5 minutes, then move onto another recipe, etc. Be willing to drift with it as needed, but don't go into this expecting to start with a "cool unique effect" - get something usable "in the can" before reaching out to your extremes. Trust me, the client can smell fear...

[mpphoto12]

Haha thanks i completely understand where you are coming from. I have used alien bees and strobes before but never with a group like this. I have seen that HDRs are popular with this? i am actually getting paid a good amount which is why i want to do it right so all help is good.

[peety3]

HDR with people is really tough. HDR with flash is really, really tough.


HDR with people and flash...you get the idea.


I've done HDR of a person speaking at a microphone. Only way I was successful was a high frame rate camera and let 'er rip.

[Sean Setters]

HDRs and portraiture don't easily mix--the amount of time it takes to snap off 3 (or 5) pics makes it difficult to eliminate motion blur (especially when you have several subjects). I'd say give it a try, but don't be banking on an HDR being the best shot.

[neuroanatomist]

HDRs and portraiture don't easily mix--the amount of time it takes to snap off 3 (or 5) pics makes it difficult to eliminate motion blur (especially when you have several subjects). I'd say give it a try,


If you're going to try it, use the auto exposure bracketing feature (0, -2, +2) - set your shooting mode to continuous and fire a burst. Sean is right - in a full second (the XT shoots at 3 fps) people will move, especially if they're not posing for the shot. But, you might get lucky...

[peety3]

If you're going to try it, use the auto exposure bracketing feature (0, -2, +2) - set your shooting mode to continuous and fire a burst. Sean is right - in a full second (the XT shoots at 3 fps) people will move, especially if they're not posing for the shot. But, you might get lucky...
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Not to be nit-picky, but three shots doesn't necessarily take a full second. The first shot happens (almost) instantly, though on a Rebel we're talking ~175ms. Successive shots happen every 333ms (if the shutter speed is fast enough, usually 1/250th or 1/500th), though with a sync speed around 1/200th it probably isn't right at the 333ms mark.


However, the OP's been talking a lot about using flash, and those don't recycle fast enough to do high-speed drive. At flash recycle speed, people WILL move.

[neuroanatomist]

Not to be nit-picky, but three shots doesn't necessarily take a full second. The first shot happens (almost) instantly, though on a Rebel we're talking ~175ms. Successive shots happen every 333ms


Thanks for the correction! ~160 ms might not make a difference, but then again, it might!



However, the OP's been talking a lot about using flash


HDR with flash? Hmmmmm...

[mpphoto12]

thanks guys really helps ! any ideas about just using natural light ? perhaps a reflector for shots on the beach?

[Sean Setters]

How many band members are there? Personally, I like to light up the faces of all the subjects in my photos. However, the more subjects you have, the harder it is to use reflectors to accomplish the lit-face look on everyone.

[mpphoto12]

theres 4 guys in the band. Should i tell them to bring instruments to pose with? they are an acoustic pop band like Dashboaard Confessional type stuff.

[Sean Setters]

theres 4 guys in the band. Should i tell them to bring instruments to pose with? they are an acoustic pop band like Dashboaard Confessional type stuff.
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Depends on what they want for their shots. Some bands identify with their instruments...others just want to pose with their hands folded across their chests. If they brought the instruments, you could always do some setups with and without instruments.

[mpphoto12]

yeah im doing both for sure to make sure i get anything they think of. Also, it is for their Myspace website so some waist up shots are needed of each member for their bio page..