Professional band photos?

[stratotastic]

We've decided to get some pro shots done for our website, brochures, promos, etc. We're thinking of doing a suit shoot for function/corporate stuff, and a "rock-n-roll" shoot for bar and club business.

 

Just wanted to get some dos and don'ts from you guys that may have gone through this. Also what do you consider to be ballpark rates for this type of thing (Philly area)?

 

Last, should we assume that taking band shots is a specialized style/skill that not any wedding photographer can do, or is it considered pretty basic to a pro and most of them could pull it off?

 

Thanks,

Nate

[Vito Corleone]

It's definately best to go with someone who has experience and a good eye for band photos. Baring that, go in with a good idea of what you want. Most any good photographer can get you a good photo with good compostion, good coloring and good lighting. But as far as best representing how you want your band to look---you know that better than anyone. I've gotten good band photos just by going down to the family photographer at the mall, but if you're going to do that, it's best to decide well in advance how you want everyone to dress, pose etc as much as possible.

[Chicken Monkey]

If you can't get a recc from another band, I'd just go with a pro photographer with a good reputation. Shooting a wedding party or family is THAT different from shooting a band.

 

And you can look up "bad band photos" if you want to know what not to do: don't stand in front of a brick wall, don't be "wacky", don't clash clotheswise w/ bandmates, etc.

[mstreck]

Nate, I tried to do that a couple of years ago. We tried two different photographers, different settings, etc. None of them really made us happy, but it turns out that we didn't need them. The best pictures that helped us get gigs weren't of the band, but rather the crowd having a good time. And those pictures came from a friend of the band that we call "Camera Guy". He's not a pro - and we don't pay him - but he always has a camera in his hand. He gives us a flash drive with whatever pics he took and Amy and I go through them and toss the ones that don't do much for us - and post the keepers. We found that the more crowd pics we posted, the more people (and venues) started to get interested in us. Pictures like that are pure gold.

 

I know you guys are a lot like us, so maybe you don't really need an official band pic?

[Chicken Monkey]

You'll eventually want a promo shot for press, I'd think.

[stratotastic]

Nate, I tried to do that a couple of years ago. We tried two different photographers, different settings, etc. None of them really made us happy, but it turns out that we didn't need them. The best pictures that helped us get gigs weren't of the band, but rather the crowd having a good time. And those pictures came from a friend of the band that we call "Camera Guy". He's not a pro - and we don't pay him - but he always has a camera in his hand. He gives us a flash drive with whatever pics he took and Amy and I go through them and toss the ones that don't do much for us - and post the keepers. We found that the more crowd pics we posted, the more people (and venues) started to get interested in us. Pictures like that are pure gold. I know you guys are a lot like us, so maybe you don't really need an official band pic?

 

Thanks Mike. We definitely do a bit of that already. We at least need a formal pic of ourselves as we try to market toward higher-end gigs, including this agency that's wants to put is on their roster. Also want something we can put on gig posters and stuff so people recognize us from gig to gig. Need to put some faces to the name.

[Chicken Monkey]

Oh, you mean like this?

 

Is the guy under the window in the band? He looks like he accidentally wandered into the shot. Not to mention the horrible lighting on Mr. Wacky.

[stratotastic]

 

Is the guy under the window in the band? He looks like he accidentally wandered into the shot. Not to mention the horrible lighting on Mr. Wacky.

 

 

Yep. That's why we're getting photos done. That first "shoot" was outside the space after practice one night when we were first getting together. It consisted of my camera on a tripod and me running into the shot before the timer went off. Just needed something/anything at that time. We've been getting plenty of gigs off it, but we're trying to scale things up now.

[Chicken Monkey]

 

Yep. That's why we're getting photos done.

 

 

Oops--didn't realize that was your group. There's a lot of hilariously bad band photos out there (a lot worse than yours), so I thought you'd dipped into that pool. Our current press shot (since adding a new member) is pretty horrible, too. Taken spontaneously by a wife, with no thought to coordinating clothing, being well groomed, etc. Just three chumps giving the camera a goofy smile. Fortunately, we've got some good live shots of the new lineup to use until we get a better shot taken.

[stratotastic]

Oops--didn't realize that was your group. There's a lot of hilariously bad band photos out there (a lot worse than yours), so I thought you'd dipped into that pool. Our current press shot (since adding a new member) is pretty horrible, too. Taken spontaneously by a wife, with no thought to coordinating clothing, being well groomed, etc. Just three chumps giving the camera a goofy smile. Fortunately, we've got some good live shots of the new lineup to use until we get a better shot taken.

 

Haha, no offense taken. Everything you said is true, and I have no problem laughing at ourselves.

 

You did bring up a good point though, regarding adding a new member. Today we got a $600 quote for a shoot . It would suck to shell out that much then have someone bail and have to re-do all over again. (Not that we would ever spend that much, but the point still stands.)

[Vito Corleone]

Haha, no offense taken. Everything you said is true, and I have no problem laughing at ourselves. You did bring up a good point though, regarding adding a new member. Today we got a $600 quote for a shoot . It would suck to shell out that much then have someone bail and have to re-do all over again. (Not that we would ever spend that much, but the point still stands.)

 

$600 is a lot.

 

We spent about $250 on our band photos. A local pro photographer without a lot of previous band experience but she wanted some band photos in her resume. We set up in the bass player's garage. She brought a white backcloth and some lighting. We knew ahead of time how we wanted to dress and basically how we wanted to look. Left it to her to make sure we were lit properly and the composition was good. She also did some post-production work with retouching and even moving heads around. (Photoshopping someone's head in from another shot if it looked better. It's next to impossible to get 5 people to all look good in the same photo at the same time.) It really doesn't need to cost a ton of money if you put some thought into it ahead of time. I think the biggest mistake most bands make is just showing up and expecting the photographer to make it work and create some "magic". It doesn't usually work that way.

 

You wouldn't go into a recording studio to do a demo without knowing what songs you want to record and having rehearsed them somewhat. A photo shoot should be approached the same way.

[n9ne]

For what it's worth....one of my former bands went the cheap route, and just had a friend with a good-quality camera take what we felt were acceptable photos.

 

Our agent took one look at them and asked, "Ummmm....no offense, but were these taken by a friend with a camera? Because that's what they look like." It was that obvious.

 

To my untrained eye, they seemed okay. But for anyone who knew anything about professional press kits, these pictures had "amateur" written all over them.

 

The bottom line is, your press kit is your band's image and in most cases, your first impression. If club owners or agents see a photo that looks amateurish, then you probably won't get a chance to show them otherwise.

[wardjames]

 

$600 is a lot. We spent about $250 on our band photos. A local pro photographer without a lot of previous band experience but she wanted some band photos in her resume. We set up in the bass player's garage. She brought a white backcloth and some lighting. We knew ahead of time how we wanted to dress and basically how we wanted to look. Left it to her to make sure we were lit properly and the composition was good. She also did some post-production work with retouching and even moving heads around. (Photoshopping someone's head in from another shot if it looked better. It's next to impossible to get 5 people to all look good in the same photo at the same time.) It really doesn't need to cost a ton of money if you put some thought into it ahead of time. I think the biggest mistake most bands make is just showing up and expecting the photographer to make it work and create some "magic". It doesn't usually work that way. You wouldn't go into a recording studio to do a demo without knowing what songs you want to record and having rehearsed them somewhat. A photo shoot should be approached the same way.

 

 

I think there's something to the white backdrop thing. There's so much that can go wrong with a photo shoot that a controlled environment like that seems like it takes away a lot of the uncertainty.

 

I'm curious about how you guys talked about dressing before the shoot. It looks really good. You're coordinated, but not overly so.

[Vito Corleone]

 

I think there's something to the white backdrop thing. There's so much that can go wrong with a photo shoot that a controlled environment like that seems like it takes away a lot of the uncertainty.

 

 

I've taken enough band photos over the years to have learned that using a cool location either detracts from the photo or makes it look dated/cliche. The in-front-of-the-brick-wall shot was cool when The Ramones did it in 1976. Better now 35 years later to just use a white backdrop. If you want to add some color or something to the pbackground, that can always be added in later. (Photoshop is amazing.)

 

 

I'm curious about how you guys talked about dressing before the shoot. It looks really good. You're coordinated, but not overly so.

 

 

Thanks. The look was a result of having the problem---that many bands have---of leaving stage-dress to each member's devices and always having a couple of guys who show up looking sloppy or it doesn't fit with the rest of the band. It was acceptible to do that for bars, but as we've moved up the ladder how we dressed and looked as a band has become more important. We decided we need a more-uniform look, but didn't want to wear matchy-matchy uniforms. So we decided to go for a look where everyone wears either gray or black with a "splash" of a particular color. So we essentially have two outfits: either our formal (suits) look or non-formal and we'll call the color before the show. Last night was purple. So everyone shows up with their "splash" of purple. We often take it a step further for weddings and match our colors with the wedding colors.

 

It's noticable how often we get comments at gigs about how "you guys look great. You all look like you're in the same band". Well...yeah....we ARE...

[rangefinder]

 

We decided we need a more-uniform look, but didn't want to wear matchy-matchy uniforms. So we decided to go for a look where everyone wears either gray or black with a "splash" of a particular color.

 

 

Simple and effective. You'd think more bands would do this sort of thing.

[Vito Corleone]

 

Simple and effective. You'd think more bands would do this sort of thing.

 

 

Well, we didn't exactly come up with it on own own. Like pretty much everything else we do, we saw some other band doing it first. But yes. Simple and effective. And cheap and easy. Most of my "outfits" are the same jacket and jeans with a different colored t-shirt underneath which matches somebody else in the band who is wearing the same jeans and shirt they wore the last gig but with a different colored tie or scarf. It really doesn't take much to dress up an otherwise simple look.

[StratGuy22]

Oh, you mean like this?

 

Yup, for the love of god, no brick walls, and no train tracks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I know I'm busting your balls a bit here, if you're going to use that shot, you need to relight it, so the one guy isn't in the dark... I honestly didn't realize you were a five piece, until the guy on the right was pointed out.

 

Pay some money, I'm sure you'll like the results, there's some good advice here!!

 

[Vito Corleone]

 

I know I'm busting your balls a bit here, if you're going to use that shot, you need to relight it, so the one guy isn't in the dark... I honestly didn't realize you were a five piece, until the guy on the right was pointed out.

 

 

Yes. Having one guy in a shadow isn't acceptible on any level. Even an amateur photographer should have caught THAT error. That's akin to using a photo with somebody's eyes closed.

[flanc]

I've spent hours on this site before looking at comical band photos. The "Hall of Douchebags" kicks ass and, I've been in shots deserving a spot in the Hall. LOL

 

http://www.rockandrollconfidential.com/hall/index.php

[TrickyBoy]

Oh, you mean like this?

 

You went brick wall... We went goofy. It all depends on what you're trying to portray as a band. I mean we ARE goofy, so trying to look cool makes absolutely no sense.

 

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[Vito Corleone]

 

I've spent hours on this site before looking at comical band photos. The "Hall of Douchebags" kicks ass and, I've been in shots deserving a spot in the Hall. LOL

 

 

Me too. I'm just relieved to find that I DON'T have an old pic on that website. I'm thinking that, just for fun, I should scan all my old band promo shots and start a thread here just for laughs. And maybe it can serve as a nice "do NOT do THIS" instructional thread....

[Lee Knight]

Deb:

Is this what you

were looking for?

 

Uncle Rico:

Nah, I was thinkin'of somethin'

a little more... soft around the edges.

 

Deb:

Hmm. Well...

 

I have a nice, soft pink sheet

I could hang...

 

and I could wrap you in some foam or...

something billowy?

 

Uncle Rico:

Yeah, billowy's good.

[stratotastic]

You went brick wall... We went goofy. It all depends on what you're trying to portray as a band. I mean we ARE goofy, so trying to look cool makes absolutely no sense.

 

That definitely works for you guys. I like it. Another vote for the white background too. Hmm...

[TrickyBoy]

 

That definitely works for you guys. I like it. Another vote for the white background too. Hmm...

 

 

Another advantage of the white background is that should you lose a member, you photoshop him/her out and just photoshop in newguy!

[Lee Knight]

I worked in a band where the leader was a graphic artist/web designer by day. And they seemed to be going through bass players. So he standardized their photo with a white backdrop and literally photo-shopped any new guy in. He had the markers for the lights and where everyone stood in the master shot, permanently put down on the floor. The new guy would stand in the spot of the old guy, by himself (I did this very thing as the new bassist), and the shadows would completely emulate the master photo. New guy = new pic? Maybe not!