Comes Around

Today I photographed a band from the Milton Keynes/Bedford area called 'Carnaby Street'. The guys had come to see me after seeing an advert in Rubies Shoes in Leighton Buzzard. A friend of mine Sara owns the shop and let me put a poster up and this was the first lead I'd got from it so was intrigued to see what kind of clients they would be. Their style was 60's blues. If I'm honest, as my client base for music has mainly this far consisted of younger bands - I was surprised initially they had chosen me to create them a photography portfolio. I have always considered my work to be quite edgy, contemporary and perhaps a bit different to what I assumed a band of this culture would be looking for.

With the help of my glamourous assistant Sarah, we headed off firstly for a location shoot in a field with a view. We drank heaps of tea first thing to ensure we were fuelled and ready for a what appeared this morning to be a very warm day indeed - not a cloud in the sky.

Equipment:

- trusty canon 5d mark II
- 3 x speedlights
- one softbox
- range of attachable gels
- stands

The guys also brought along their instruments. I had a few concepts in mind for the field location. Sticking with the 60's theme, I thought I might try and recreate a Beatles shot I'd seen online a few days before. It involved jumping simultaneously. The majority if the group members were 50 + and I was aware of a couple of dodgy knees. Be assured, I wanted to get the shot within 3 takes. Second take we nailed it and moved on to Stewartby Brickworks. There was an old abandoned entrance way with a big heavily weathered wooden door I had seen while driving past a couple of weeks before. I loved the building as it has obviously been abandoned for some time. It had a lovely rustic feel to it. The weather had done it's job well.

We finished the day with a couple of hours in the studio to ensure we had some decent individuals for them to use as well. I used a selection of low-key and high-key lighting here. I tried to really exaggerate the moody shots.

All in all a great day and it was awesome to get creative shooting creatives! I love band shoots as more often than not, being artists, ones creative license can be given license to run a bit more wild. I started off shooting a band for free when photography was just a hobby. My passion for this kind of shoot has not, and I am sure will never leave me. I have a few ideas for the editing suite so check back soon for some examples from the shoot! I lookforward to your feedback.

Cheers,

dD