Friday

Concert Photography : Shoot Preparation



Concert and Live Band photography is one of the most challenging and exciting photography jobs you can get. You've got the best seat in the house, right up against the stage. There can be anywhere from 5,000-30,000+ screaming fans behind you, constantly moving, throwing crap towards the stage, crowd surfing, possibly even kicking you in the head. There are bouncers and other photographers to move around. There are no-flash policies and unpredictable stage-lighting conditions to work with. You have to think about a lot of stuff like equipment, exposure, composition, focus, energy, and you have just a few minutes allotted to you to get the shots you need. It's a lot of pressure, and a whole lot of fun.

I'm covering Rock on the Range in Columbus Ohio, May 21-22, 2011, and it's my first large concert photography gig, so in a way, I am what you call a noob. A beginner. However, I have shot live bands at local venues (i.e. bars) and I have prepared for this live shoot to the same extent and attention to detail as any other professional photographer would prepare for the job. I've done a lot of research and figured it would be a good idea to post a list of prep tips for other budding concert photographers. This is a mish-mash of a post. It was written it in much haste as I prepare to leave for the Rock on the Range music fest today.

1. Obtain the Gig/Keep the Gig
Have the necessary information you need in order to pick up your Photo Pass at the Media Will-Call booth. Make sure to print out the confirmation letter/email and bring it with you, and have a list of the managers names. Bring it with you just in case something goes wrong and your name is not on the Media/Photo Pass list. Cover all your bases. There is usually some sort of waiver you must sign in order to finalize your photo pass. Obtain a copy of this waiver ahead of time if you can, and review the terms carefully before you sign it. I received a copy of the waiver a few days before the show. Pay attention and look out for Rights Grabbers. If you don't agree with the terms, you're SOL. When you sign the agreement, honor it! Don't blacklist yourself or get into legal trouble by signing a waiver that says you can't profit from the images by turning around and breaking the agreement anyway.

2. Prep Your Gear/Prep Your Mind/Prep Your Body
Gather your gear. Figure out what you need to take. Pack as light as possible. Charge all of your batteries and make certain everything is functioning properly, from straps to lenses. Clean your glass, blow out your camera body, format all the memory cards, and re-organize your camera bag. Pre-stage your gear by setting your internal and external modes.

Remember, most venues enforce a no-flash policy. This is both a blessing and a curse. I love shooting in low-light conditions, but of course there are a lot of potential frustrations to overcome. Dealing with colored lights, risking potential blow-outs and overexposure; it's a challenge. But don't use flash! It's disrespectful to the band, and you're bound to get yourself kicked out if you break the no-flash policy. 

Also, pack what is necessary, but pack light! Wear comfortable shoes and bring extra socks, because you are going to be on your feet for a long time. Always wear earplugs! If it's an outdoor concert, bring a towel, a super rad poncho, and some sort of waterproof bag to cover yourself and your gear in case it rains. For this, I went the cheap route and brought a see-through 89¢ poncho and couple of black trash bags. It doesn't matter as long as your gear is dry. Also, drink LOTS of water. Bring suntan lotion if it is an outdoor event, and wear it! Bring sunglasses, a wide brim hat, and a small first-aid kit.

Research the venue as much as you can, especially if you've never been there before. Scope out the stage(s) and seating arrangements. Know the line-of-sight to exits, higher grounds, safe zones, and take caution at all times but don't ever forget to have fun! 

If you have some, bring your business cards with a way to contact you and pass them out. 

3. Get the shots! Have fun!
I am a firm believer that how you feel while photographing will come across in your final images. If you're not having fun, you stand the chance of getting crappy shots. So, have fun with it and don't stress out. Be kind and courteous to the staff, you never know what they can do for you if you make friends. Be nice to the other photographers, if you need to get around them, a gentle tap on the shoulder to get their attention will do better than shoving them out of your way. You never know if you're standing next to someone from Rolling Stone, after all. Don't stand in one spot while you are in the photo pit, it makes sense that if you move around, you will get more diverse and interesting images. Pay attention to all the band members and maybe they'll woo the camera for you.


That is all for now, I must now leave for Rock on the Range!

Tuesday

2011 Fox 8 Hotlist Winner


We're Top 5! 

The votes are in and the Winners of 2011 Akron-Canton Hot List have been announced!

I would like to thank everyone who voted for me! I ranked 5th Place in the 2011 Fox 8 Hotlist! :) I am in the first year of starting my photography business (since mid-Sept 2010) and this is also the first year I have participated in the Fox8 Hotlist. I'd say it's been pretty awesome. Thanks again for all of your support, it means so much!

A Big Congratulations to all the Nominees, and the Top 5 Winners in each category. I am so stoked to be in the TOP 5 Portrait Photographers in Akron-Canton Ohio! Thanks again!


Sunday

Mini Photo Sessions!

Yay! Affordable professional photography!? You betcha! KellieAnn Reynolds Photography is now offering a $75 Mini Photo Session! These sessions are pretty awesome because they are quick, fun, and super affordable! A Mini Session lasts approximately 15-25 minutes, and can be held at any outdoor location, such as the beach or a local park, in both the city and suburbs. For added convenience, the session can also be held at your home. This Mini Session Extravaganza won't last long, so register today! 
Call 330.776.8868 or Email KellieAnn


What makes a mini session different from a full session?
A regular photo session is about an hour or two in length. Pricing for a full session starts at $175. Mini sessions are $75 and will take about twenty-five minutes in length.

What is the cost of a mini session?
The cost of a weekend twenty-five minute mini session is $75, or you may book a double session for $150.

How do I sign up for a mini session?
Please call KellieAnn at 330.776.8868 or contact her by email

Who can sign up for a mini-session?
Sessions are open to individuals, couples, and families.

Where will the Mini Session take place?
A session can be held at any outdoor location, a beach or local park, in both the city and suburbs. Or even at your own home! Locations farther than 20 miles from 44720 will incur travel charges. Please contact KellieAnn for more information.

What should I wear?
Something comfortable, classic, and colorful! Layers work well, especially if you want to change the look without making a complete wardrobe change. Make sure your clothing is not coordinated to the point where it looks too uniform, unless you are going for a very specific look.

How many images will I receive?
Your session will result in 4 perfectly and professionally edited, magazine quality images. Please keep in mind that only the absolute best images are selected. Of course, you may purchase additional images from your session. Digital, web-size images are included with every session, so you can share them with your family and friends on your Facebook page, and other social networking sites!

Am I required to buy prints?  
In order to ensure KellieAnn’s ability to dedicate as much time and attention to detail as possible for each and every client, there is a $50 minimum order requirement per session. Clients should expect to invest a minimum of $125 in their custom photography experience with KellieAnn Reynolds. Digital web-size images are also included with every print order.

Do you offer A la Carte?
A la Carte prints begin at $20 for gift prints (size 8x12 and smaller) and $50 for wall prints 11x14 and larger. All images are professionally printed on archival quality paper and come protected with a luster coating and linen texture. All prints 5x7 and larger are mounted to ensure durability and longevity.

What if it rains or the weather is bad on the day of our mini session?
In case of inclement weather, mini photo sessions will be held on our scheduled rain date. If you have any questions about weather, please call KellieAnn at 330.776.8868. When booking your session, please make sure that you are able to attend both the planned photo session date and the back up date.

Can I get a map to the mini session? 
Sure! KellieAnn will send you a Mapquest from your home to the location of the mini session. Or provide you with the address for your GPS.

To Register for your Mini Session, Call KellieAnn @ 330.776.8868 or Email

Thursday

Rock & Roll Saved My Soul

ohio photographer, ohio photographers, ohio photography, canton ohio photography, canton ohio photographer, canton ohio photographers, akron ohio photographers, akron ohio photographer, akron ohio photography, cleveland band photography, cleveland band photographer, cleveland band photographers, cleveland ohio band photography,  cleveland ohio band photographer, cleveland ohio band photographers, cleveland music photographers, cleveland music photographer, cleveland music photography, cleveland ohio music photography, cleveland ohio music photographer, cleveland ohio music photographers, cleveland ohio photography, cleveland ohio photographers, cleveland ohio photographer, canton ohio band photography, canton ohio band photographer, canton ohio band photographers, akron ohio band photographer, akron ohio band photographers, akron ohio band photography, stark county photographer, stark county band photographer, stark county band photographers, stark county band photography

I have been given a most awesome opportunity to cover the 5th Anniversary of Rock on the Range in words and pictures for Kotori Magazine. Yet, Kotori is not just a magazine, but a "community of underground culture and arts designed for the emancipation of the human spirit." So stop by their site and to get a healthy dose of music, art, and politics.

Rock on the Range will be the the first time I have been invited, along with my husband, to officially cover a huge music event, and if you've seen my portfolio, it's a dream come true for me. Plus, I get to write my heart out for Kotori. I am super pumped!

I want to write a blog about concert photography, but I will save that for later, because that article will be geared more towards other photographers. But right now, it's awesome-story time. A personalized take on my childhood love of music that, over time, has created an entire world filled with vibrations, opening up new levels of consciousness, and making a difference in perspectives. :D

KellieAnn - 1996
Notice the nicotine-stained lace curtains
What I love about music is that it can connect people who would not otherwise be connected. My mother and I connected through music, and no other time. When I was a teenager, she and I would stay up late at night with just the stereo on and the candles lit. My mom, always with a cigarette burning between her lips, squinting one eye and drinking from a wine jug, looking like a big-breasted pirate in a holey concert t-shirt. And she'd start tapping her foot on the floor, succumbing to Pearl Jam's “Ten” or Alice in Chains, then she'd slap the table and start swaying her head back and forth and by the end of a song, we'd both be standing up, jumping and pounding the varnish off the tabletop, hootin' and hollerin' until our throats were hoarse and our hands hurt. "Have another drink!" she'd rasp, taking a swig and wiping her mouth with this look in her eye that said the fun was over when the music stopped. So I'd pop in another album, and hope for the best.

My cousin, Tony, and myself mock-playing his guitar
Good music starts with a beat, but great music comes from the heart. 

My grandfather only listened to Classical music. As a very young girl, I remember listening so intently that I was brought to tears not fully understanding why, so I listened to the songs over and over again until I figured it out for myself. I let the music consume me because it felt good to let myself go. Completely.

As an impressionable little girl, after endlessly tuning an alarm-clock radio in my tiny bedroom instead of playing with my friends, I bought my first boom-box for five-dollars at a yard sale. It was electric blue and matched my bike. I tied that sucker to the handlebars and rode around the trailer park listening to Genesis and Pink Floyd, singing to Jimi Hendrix, Queen and Yes in the woods by myself. My childhood babysitter, called Hannah, gave me my first pair of jeans and a cut-up Guns 'n Roses t-shirt that made me feel so much cooler than I actually was.

My mother may have forbid me to watch “Kids Incorporated” on the Disney channel (not that I was interested to begin with), but I was never told I couldn't listen to Robert Plant wailing and moaning through the speakers. I was only allowed to use profanity when I was singing to a song. And as long as I knew what it meant, I was encouraged to run wild. You can't cut a person off from their imagination, after all.

Wastelands
Metallica Cover Band
When I was in middle school, I quit both Drama and Classical Violin to play the Drums. I begged my divorced parents to get me a drum-set (a 5-piece Pearl Export Series), and they did so without too much effort. When I lived with my dad, he said I played like an African tribesman. When I lived with my mom, she paid for six-months of lessons with a guy called Roth in Northwestern Pennsylvania. Roth told me to bring in a song I wanted to learn so I brought Tool's second album, Undertow, and told him I wanted to learn "Sober". He listened to it and told me to pick something else and then we worked on Paradiddles that day instead. Eventually, I ended up learning a Metallica song and later joined a Metallica cover band (See: Gig Photo, above). I played in a death metal band after that. We called ourselves Anti-Justice and we played once at Peabodies in Cleveland, Ohio.

Moving around a lot as a kid, my drums got beat up over time. Rained on, smashed up, and set on fire in wars with my mom during a few of her binges. When I turned 18, I sold what was left of my drums before moving to the state of Georgia. A few years later, I returned to North Canton, Ohio and eventually married the guy I had sold my drums to, so I got the set back. Funny how things work out.

Drums at my mothers home
Pennsylvania 1997

That was my childhood, filled with music to keep the connections strong by filling the air with an amount of soul that I wanted to attain for myself. Music brings back memories, and creates new ones. A certain song (i.e: "No One Knows" by Queens of the Stone Age) can even remind me of a particular season (Autumn). Music reminds me to keep on living, looking back on even the worst of times as if they were actually pretty good.

In many ways, Rock & Roll Saved My Soul. And I pay it back through light and images. I want to pay tribute to the music that continues to make me think differently, creating photographs with the same heart and soul. Music photography is a career goal for me. I am working my ass off to get where I want to go. Some of the biggest magazines in the industry is where I am heading. It's about time. Thank you, Kotori. 

KellieAnn

Monday

DIY Business Cards!

Biz Card - Contact Information
Here are some business cards I designed and printed myself using Avery 2-sided printable business cards. Unfortunately, the document template Avery provides as a download on their website is bogus. The templates do not match up to the actual cards when printed. So, my husband measured the printable-card dimensions for me and then I created a brand new template that prints business cards spot-on. If you want to buy the Avery business cards (#28877) and DIY, shoot me an email and I'll send you the template we made [.psd with guides] to save you some time.

It only took a couple of hours to put these together. I have a background in Graphic Design, and I love doing this kind of stuff. It's always a fun challenge and gets me excited. These DIY business cards are really nice, but I can't wait to afford the super sweet professionally printed metallic business cards that I have in mind. I wanted a solid gloss black background, but my printer is just a consumer grade and the ink would disappear so fast, it would not have been worth it. When I can afford professional cards, I'd like to support Cleveland, Ohio's JakPrints.

Biz Card Photograph side with Service Information
When I was thinking about business cards, I remembered reading an article a few years ago about a group of college students at Kent University creating flexible electronic screens. Ever since, I have wanted a reason to use something like that. Wouldn't video business cards be the coolest?! I looked it up and found these new devices called Video in Print created by a company called Americhip. The video is displayed at "320x240 resolution, on a thin film transistor liquid crystal display (TFT LCD). The whole screen is only 2.7 mm thick and encased by polycarbonate to protect the display from damage. The remaining electronics are sandwiched behind the screen between two pieces of thick paper. The sound uses a similar chip to those found in electronic audio greeting cards. The battery lasts 65—70 minutes and can be recharged using a mini-usb connector." Those suckers go for about $50 a piece starting in lots of 1,000 units. Big corporations and magazines love 'em, but I think it's wasteful as magazines are typically thrown away. But, whoa, they are freakin' cool! That's way outta my budget, but some day maybe it won't be.

DIY Business Card
Back at my little arts and crafts desk, I took a few snap shots of my home spun business cards and plan to make some minor adjustments to the design. See the girl ninja photograph where it says KELLIEANN REYNOLDS ... the letters Y and N kind of blend into the photograph a bit too much, so I'll have to fix that. Overall, I'm happy with my design.

If you decide to make your own, or already have made your own business cards, I'd love to see them! Comment with photos or links of your business card creations!
 
Front and Back of DIY Business Card