Lacrymae - Promo shots for a metal/classical band

brianward81

These guys are friends of mine and asked me to do some promo shots for their debut EP. Their music is awesome (if you are into metal music with 2 singers who sing in amazing harmony with some classical flair added) so please check them out (Lacrymae)after you check out some of the photos I took for them. Any feedback you can offer is greatly appreciated. These were taken in November and since then photo 1 and 3 have been used to promote their EP and upcoming gigs in street press and the net (such a buzz to see your own photo taking up 1/4 page in a newspaper!)

Thanks for any feedback you can offer.

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Gear used;
Canon 40D
Sigma 24-70 F2.8
Used a 430 EXII and 530 EX II but only one at a time, on camera shooting into a reflector held up by singing brothers' father
Tripod
Shot around the Fremantle area in Western Australia.

Betz

Nice set. Overall I like 'em. Not a fan of the really tight crop on #1 and #4. Otherwise nicely done. My sons are fans of metal so I'll be sure to pass the link along since they're always on the look out for new bands.

brianward81

Thanks Betz! Yeah, it was tough fitting the 6 of them in each shot - really want a wide angle lens. It was also tough to get all 6 of them to be looking at me, not blinking or smiling profusely while the others were trying exude male bravodo

Aside from them being friends, I really do recommend giving them a listen. I'm a big fan of harmonies and the singers (brothers) are absolutely fantastic. Plus the music isn't as... confronting as a lot of other "metal" bands.

Manticore

I really like these shots - nice job! I also checked out their music - I happen to be a huge fan of symphonic metal, even though I'm waaay past the demographics for this stuff! I really like their stuff and plan on jumping over to Itunes and buying their EP. Thanks for the recommendation and the great shots!

Kinkajou

I like #5 quite a bit, that's a really nice shot. My favorite of the bunch! #3 is a classic band shot and I think works well.

For the others, I think they're good but I would add a tiny tiny nitpick to the tight crop point already mentioned... for some of them I wish the guys were separated from the background just a little bit more... the blacks of their clothing seems to blend into the blacks of the background a little in both the simple and complex backgrounds (e.g. #1 and #2). Of course, if that's what you were going for, then disregard.

Overall I think it's great nice set and they should be really pleased!

kidzmom

Nice shots! I'm going to echo the tight crop already mentioned...try to shoot a little looser. I just got reamed on this a few weeks ago and it isn't just a nit-pick. When you go to print these at 8x10's you will loose parts of the picture (the 4x6 and most likely 5x7 will be fine though). I had framed a little too tightly for one portrait and for the 8x10 prints, it ended up being a big issue with me having to recrop the shot to make it work. I would have liked to see at least one shot with the guys a bit closer together also and one close up (just for variety). The others work very well. Nice job!

brianward81

Thanks for everyone's comments. It was my first band promo shoot and I wanted to really impress them which they were but you always get that self-critical part of your brain criticizing everything instead of focussing on the good parts.

Most of your concerns mimick my own (the tight crops in particular) and I will have another look at these in Lightroom to see if I can do something about the background blacks blending with some of the guys.

I've had my SLR for a year now and have just finished my 5th paid gig. Although I don't post on here often, I am constantly viewing these threads. I'm inspired by the passion and attention to detail that you all share and hope that I can grow as a photographer like you all have. I wish I could make photography my full time but its a weekend thing for now (when I get a few spare hours from being Dad and husband).

Thanks again!

Rhuarc

I like it!! I mean both the shots and the music!

I agree with everyone else about the tight crops, and to me the first shot has a bit too much pink in the skin tones for my taste, but I like the look you gave them!

I'm listening to Handel's Apocalypse right now on their myspace page and really like it! I think I'm going to jump over to iTunes and pick up their EP as well.

Thanks for the tip!!