recent promo shots

eas

HI all

was asked to do some promo shots for a local electronic music producer, also a friend of mine. Thought I'd post a few of the ones I'm happiest with.

A few weeks ago I visited the Blackrock swimming pool (sea side of the dart station) and thought this would be a good location for the "assignment".

PP workflow on these went something like this > raw conversion > contrast boost > lowered saturation > colour balance > sharpening.

anyhow, fire away any feedback/cc/questions.

thanks for looking

melekalikimaka

very very nice shots, I think i'm gonna be doing something similar on friday, what equipment you use? ny only point is he looks a little washed out in the images, even the background looks a little washed out

Omnipresence

Last shot is by far the best... colors etc...

suits dancepig...

-A

eas

thanks melekalikimaka

A d70 was used for these. a couple of my lenes are out on loan (arrgg) so I stuck with the 18 - 70 mm kit lens. Not a bad lens, but not my 1st coice for this type of stuff.

The washed out look was desired effect. It was inteneded to age the photos slightly, and maybe to give them a slightly "edgy" (trendy) feel. I guess it's a matter of opinion/taste if people like the style. I am a bit concerned how this will look in print - fingers crossed.

goodluck on Friday

thanks again for the comments

eas

aloleary wrote:

Last shot is by far the best... colors etc...

suits dancepig...

-A

ahh, so you know the pig? Figured someone would recognize him.

thanks aloeary - personally I like 1, 5 and 6 the best. 5 has a bit of "Pink Floyd" about it, Not sure if it suits him or not!

melekalikimaka

yeah i see that now, the effect works wel with the guy and the suit, did you add some vignetting too? it looks good

Shrimp

Why is he frowning?

eas

why are you asking?

Shrimp

You said, "fire away any feedback/cc/questions.".. I'm just asking the questions. Was this on perpose? was it a part of a pose?

eas

good enough - He's frowning because the sun is in his eyes.

I asked him to do his best and keep his eyes as wide as possible - no sunglasses see, hard to do.

Shrimp

ok, are you happy with that? would you prefer if he wasn't frowning?

ChityWest

I liked the first 2 and the last 2 - they have a more relaxed kind of look about them than the middle ones in my opinion. The stand out ones are the first and the last shots. They seem to work better composition-wise as well.

BaZmO*

eas wrote:

ahh, so you know the pig? Figured someone would recognize him.

thanks aloeary - personally I like 1, 5 and 6 the best. 5 has a bit of "Pink Floyd" about it, Not sure if it suits him or not!

5 looks like there's a fishing rod extruding from his crotch!

I think the first and last ones are the best considering who you're promoting.

So more importantly, when is he releasing his Countdown track????

eas

Shrimp wrote:

ok, are you happy with that? would you prefer if he wasn't frowning?

Shrimp - it would have been much easier if you cut to the chase with your first post.

does it bother me that he's frowning? If It was a glamour model, or child it would, a electronic musis producer - no so much.

eas

5 looks like there's a fishing rod extruding from his crotch!

I think the first and last ones are the best considering who you're promoting.

ha - yep, nice observation, didnt see that. think that one is off the list -

melekalikimaka

hee hee rod willy

Package

hey eas, nice shots,, how much do you chatge to do a set of promo shots?

BaZmO*

eas wrote:

ha - yep, nice observation, didnt see that. think that one is off the list -

Just rename it Dirtypig.

eas

thanks Package

depends on a few factors really. I consider who they're for, how they'll be used, the work involved in setting up - a few things really.

These where done as a favour, if they had been paid for I wouldnt have posted them.

Are you asking as a referacne or because you're interested in having some shots done?

Shrimp

ok, anyway. my opinions..

Photo 1 - I like how he is lit up but perhaps I would have positioned him a nearer the wall behind him, the ledge behind him is cutting right through his had, and this leads the eye away form him.. Still it's a well lit photo also, the black gradient at the bottom help lead the eye up..

Photo 2 - This is ok, but he looks surprised and as if he just took his hat off, perhaps some hair styling, nothing big, but just some spray to keep it in place may not have been a bad idea. I think his face is too bright. An idea might have been to hold an umbrella above him to mute some of that light. See the lighting down at his left hand, near his fingers, thats the kinda moody lighting I would have went for..

Photo 3 - ok, this one does absolutely nothing for the guys image, well from what I can imagine. It looks as tho you cropped it from a pretty big image, it also looks like digital zoom.. There's some haloing going on too.. i dont think i'd be using this photo..

Photo 4 - Nice DOF in this, like the way he's in perfect focus, in comparison to the blurry BG.. Again, pity about the frown, but I suppose you're happy with it so thats fine. Keeper..

Photo 5 - ok, is it just me or does he look like he's really rigid here, donsnt look natural at all.. He looks to stiff, and as if he wants to jump but he's too scared. Crooked horizon?

Photo 6 - this has got to be one of the best one in the set, nice composition, and exposure.

Photo 7 - this has great potential, good setting, nice tones. But that bright light to the left is very off putting, too distracting, perhaps a little crop might sort that out. Or go for a bit of HDR? Perhaps a little reflector to lighting him up a tiny bit..

All in all, a fairly consistent set, not everyday we get a portrait shots on boards.

Final though, in my opinion getting somone to do alittle hair an make-up would go a very long way.. also I'd associate electronica with modern environments. Try the IFSC, car parks, minimalist furniture/rooms, ask can u get permission to shoot in IMMA, or maybe even get him to say cheese?

Keep Snapping!

Package

yeah we (my band) are always looking for different photographers to do some shots,,, we have a girl doingsome next week for 50 quid, ive seen her work and she is good,, but yours are cool too, they look very professional,

id use them for my website and if there is one that stands out and can be used for a poster for band gigs and stuff, maybe even a cd cover..

anyway,, say,,, 3 hours, in two or 3 locations, night sure whete i want day or night yet though

ChityWest

Hi Package,

If your band are still looking for promo shots & you want them shot in a studio I would do the photography for free and the studio rent would cost 40 Euro per hour.

Split the copyright so that I can use them on my site and the band can use them however they want too.

PS There are some portraits on my gallery site if you want to check them out. Its cool if your not interested - just thought I would give it a shot in case.

LikeOhMyGawd!

Shrimp wrote:

.. also I'd associate electronica with modern environments. Try the IFSC, car parks, minimalist furniture/rooms, ask can u get permission to shoot in IMMA, or maybe even get him to say cheese?

Keep Snapping!

To Kill two birds with one stone why not do the session in Maplin and have him stand at the counter and order some cheddar?:p

rabbitinlights

Great work, The second and the last shot are by far the best.

Ps. Tell him that countdown tune is brilliant, the video clips of the conundrum spelling out dancepig is a touch of genius too.

eas

hey shrimp -

Thanks for taking the time. I think most of your points are valid.

There was a discussion regarding the location, but conflicting scheduals ment that this was an easy place to do the shoot. I agree that it may not be perfect.

sorry, don't have the time right now to answer your critque one at a time, but thanks again.

You keep snapping too!

nohshow

I'm a little at a loss to know what these photos are promoting. I'd have thought a prerequisite would be to include some reference to what the guy's about. The grafitti goes some way towards this in a couple of the pix, but you say he's into music, into electronics, and he wears a suit and frowns? Whoever it was who said shoot in Maplins was close. Shoot in his studio would be closer. Shoot at a gig. Shoot on the beach with a couple of turntables or whatever his tech of choice might be. Even a Pythonesque shot of frowning man in a suit at a desk with computer terminal on the beach would get the juices flowing.

Technically, averagely-well produced photographs (backlighting would have been nice in places, a sense of some rapport between the photog and his subject, too) of some pouting, frowning wannabe (he just doesn't look relaxed, comfortable or happy). No one's questioning your ability to snap a pic. I have nothing against your talent as a shutterbug. But to me, these are not promotional shots.

Sorry

PS The non-critical responses, you'll notice, seem to come mostly from people who know the guy and are therefore apparently judging which are the best photos of him, as opposed to the best promotional images, which, again, as I say, I don't think you've even begun to shoot yet.

Oriel

I couldn't be bothered to go into detail here, I don't like any of those - I don't know why anybody would to shoot at a location like that. Mostly the location at fault. But that's just my opinion.

Package

thanks cw, ill be in touch,,, and eas,, if your interested,, give me a pm with details and costs,,

ChityWest

Sorry I hadnt read the whole thread properly when I posted that reply - didnt mean to step on anybodys toes if I did - so I will take my offer off the table and leave this one to Eas.

eas

hey ChityWest

fair play, but don't worry about it. If you and Package want to get together go for it - didnt step on my toes anyhow.

AdeleS

From a total amateur here, I love nos. 1, 2 and the last one.

5 looks like there's a fishing rod extruding from his crotch!

That brightened up me day

eas

hi nohshow

thanks for your feedback. Certainly no need to apologize for anything, I respect the fact that you took the time to comment.

nohshow wrote:

I'd have thought a prerequisite would be to include some reference to what the guy's about.

Possibly. These are based on a requirements that he had to have a selection of high resolution images for use in magazines + zines + rags + websites ect. In these contexts the references to what he's about would be stated in other ways. i.e. - alongside an article or listings, interview etc. In some professions I'd agree with you , but not in the "alternative" space of electronic music, The audiences are different, they don't need to see him behind a 909 to turntables on a beach to know or understand what he does. Not to say a shot of him in a studio wouldn't suit an interview or such, but I would think it would be a case of overstating the obvious.

nohshow wrote:

Technically, averagely-well produced photographs (backlighting would have been nice in places, a sense of some rapport between the photog and his subject, too) of some pouting, frowning wannabe (he just doesn't look relaxed, comfortable or happy). No one's questioning your ability to snap a pic. I have nothing against your talent as a shutterbug. But to me, these are not promotional shots..

I'm not sure how you rank "averagely-well produced photographs" - I'd be interested in seeing some of your work and how you rank it so I could accurately gauge it's meaning. Persoanlly I take that as a compliment. Considering the level of competition and peoples high expectations from photographers these days, averagely well work sounds good to me. If you'd like for me to return the favour of critique I'd be more than happy too, shutterbug to shutterbug! (if your timid about sharing your work possibly send me a PM and we can keep in between us.)

nohshow wrote:

PS The non-critical responses, you'll notice, seem to come mostly from people who know the guy and are therefore apparently judging which are the best photos of him, as opposed to the best promotional images, which, again, as I say, I don't think you've even begun to shoot yet.

So far there have only been two real critical responses - yours and Shrimps. Both who've made some very good points. Some that I was aware of and some that I wasn't. Some speculative, some not. TBH I'm not sure what the relationship is between anyone on this thread to the subject of the photos. Some may know him personally, but it seems that the comments mentioned above are from people who know him as a music producer. In other words the audience. Who better to judge the appropriateness (not quality) of the photos than them? Probably only the guy himself...I dunno

anyhow, if any of that sounds overly defensive - it's in defence of the work, not me being defensive (if that makes sense.) I know the shots arent perfect, but then again perfect if very hard to do. I've been in a professional creative position for almost 15 years (not strictly photography, obviously), I feel it's important to understand a critique and take advantage of a good one when it comes, they are far and few between. As I'm sure you know, critiquing is a very hard to thing to do properly and takes practice, but at the end of the day we all know it's much easier to critique others good work than to produce good work ourselves.

thanks again for taking the time to look and comment.