• New York Music Photographer Chris Owyoung – The Best Music Photography & Band Portraits
  • New York Music Photographer Chris Owyoung – The Best Music Photography & Band Portraits
  • New York Music Photographer Chris Owyoung – The Best Music Photography & Band Portraits
  • New York Music Photographer Chris Owyoung – The Best Music Photography & Band Portraits
  • New York Music Photographer Chris Owyoung – The Best Music Photography & Band Portraits
  • New York Music Photographer Chris Owyoung – The Best Music Photography & Band Portraits
  • New York Music Photographer Chris Owyoung – The Best Music Photography & Band Portraits

FEATURES

Robyn

Call it dance, call it pop, call it hip-hop; I caught up with the genre-bending singer/songwriter Robyn after her sold out show at Music Hall of Williamsburg. Like almost everyone of a certain age, I love Robyn’s music because I’ve been dancing to it since high school. After working with her for the day, I learned that there’s just as much to love about Robyn as a person as there is to love about her music – she’s delightful, she’s incredibly talented and has enormous amounts of love and respect for her fans. Here are my favorite shots and a video from the shoot. (more…)

Discussion: 3 Comments »


Portraits: Molly Anne Coogan

f/3.2 and 1/320 at ISO 400. Nikon D3 with Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 VR II

I had the pleasure of doing a series of natural light portraits with the lovely and talented Molly Anne Coogan. Molly is a New York based actor, writer and a singer and musician with the Rooftops band. All of these photos were taken with the Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 VR II at between f/2.8 and f/4.0. Read on for more photos from the shoot and 100% crops. (more…)

Discussion: 4 Comments »


The Flaming Lips

The Flaming Lips perform on July 26, 2010 at the Central Park SummerStage in New York City (All Rights Reserved Copyright © 2010 Chris Owyoung)

Wayne Coyne opened by shouting “this night is fucking perfect!” And, even though he was talking about the uncommonly gorgeous weather (and not the music) he would turn out to be right on both accounts. Complete with moderate temperatures, cheerleaders, a bear costume, a torrential confetti drop, a frontman in a hamster ball and – oh yeah – some amazing music, the Flaming Lips took Central Park Summerstage 2010 by storm. Be sure to check out the lips on their September North American tour and my favorite photos from Rumsey Playfield after the break. (more…)

Discussion: 14 Comments »


The Hounds Below

The Hounds Below perform at Union Hall in Brooklyn, NYC on August 12, 2010. Copyright © 2010 Chris Owyoung. All Rights Reserved. (Copyright © 2010 Chris Owyoung. All Rights Reserved.)

I was at a bar in the village a few years back when Jason Stollsteimer told me he was working on a new project that would feature his natural singing voice and the sounds of early rock’n'roll. Fast forward to today, that project is fully-formed and goes by the name of The Hounds Below. They sound nothing like the Von Bondies (instead imagine that Roy Orbison fronted the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club) and they’ll have you reaching for the pomade and looking for back-alley brawl within a song or two. Here are a few of my favorites from their gig at Union Hall. (more…)

Discussion: 5 Comments »


Portraits: Deluka

Photos - Deluka photographed in Brooklyn, New York. June 2010. Copyright © 2010 Chris Owyoung. All Rights Reserved. (Chris Owyoung)

When Todd and I work a promotional shoot for a band, we typically take turns shooting while the other keeps an eye on the overall composition and makes sure we get everything we can out of the band and the setup. Occasionally, one of us will leave to prep the next look while the other continues to shoot with the band  - a “leap frog” technique that works very well when the situation demands working on-the-fly. Todd’s sunset gig with Brit-rockers Deluka provided the perfect opportunity for this style of tag team shooting. (more…)

Discussion: 14 Comments »


Arthur & The Geniuses

Arthur and The Geniuses perform at Ars Nova in New York City on July 22, 2010.  Copyright © 2010 Chris Owyoung. All Rights Reserved. (Chris Owyoung)

Arthur and The Geniuses perform at Ars Nova in New York City on July 22, 2010. (photo by chris owyoung)

Every time I see Arthur Lewis perform, I think to myself – this guy is talented; he can write, he can sing and dance at the same time and he plays piano beautifully. In truth Arthur Lewis has the same amount of talent as every other about to be up-and-coming young artist. What sets him apart from the others (and the reason I think everyone is going to know about him in a couple of years) is that he’s got soul, real soul  - the kind that you can take with you to use as the theme song to the very best and very worst moments in your life. There’s a very small and selfish part of me that feels lucky to be among the few who will be able to look back and say that they were fans back when Arthur and The Geniuses were absolutely killing it in small clubs all over New York. Here are a few of my favorite photos from their recent show at Ars Nova. (more…)

Discussion: 4 Comments »


Erin and Her Cello

Erin And Her Cello perform at Ars Nova in New York City on July 22, 2010.  Copyright © 2010 Chris Owyoung. All Rights Reserved. (Chris Owyoung)

Erin And Her Cello perform at Ars Nova in New York City on July 22, 2010. Copyright © 2010 Chris Owyoung. All Rights Reserved.

If you’ve never heard Erin and Her Cello, you’re missing out on some of the funniest stuff out there. Seriously, I almost spit my beer out of my nose and onto my camera – twice. The thing that makes Erin’s show ridiculously entertaining isn’t her backup singers/dancers, her songs about Duane Reade counter clerks with grotesquely long fingernails, or her perfectly delivered stage banter, it’s that all of the above combine to give you some sort of lovably twisted Mr. Rogers-style children’s show where Mr. Rogers unzips his face and turns into a cute curly-haired cello player who swills wine on stage and embarrasses the children in the audience during commercial breaks. Read on for more photos and be sure to check Erin at this Saturday at the Living Room. (more…)

Discussion: 2 Comments »


Inspiration from Austin Walsh

Every so often I come across something that gives me the immediate and overwhelming urge to drop what I’m doing, grab my gear and create something awesome. I had this feeling today after watching this video by Austin Walsh. The piece is a great example for still photographers who are looking to dive into motion (you might not know if from watching, but Austin is a Kansas City commercial photographer not a film maker) and a reminder that following your passions can lead to amazing projects with high potential for more business.

The video was not client commission but a personal undertaking of Austin’s ahead of his presentation at a two-day photography workshop hosted by Kansas City photography retailer Digital Labrador. For more background on the video and the workshop, check out this event post-mortem by the PhotoShelter crew.

If you love this as much as I do, please share it, give a shoutout to Austin on Twitter, and check out his blog for more inspiration.

If you’ve come across something that has instantly inspired you, please share it with me in the comments or @chrisowyoung on twitter.

Discussion: 9 Comments »


Photos: Amour Obscur

Amour Obscur performs at The National Underground, July 9, 2010. New York City (Chris Owyoung)

While I usually avoid shooting in tiny, dimly lit clubs, I do like seeing shows in them and sometimes I bring my camera. It’s been almost a year since I went into a show intending to shoot all B+W but Amour Obsur’s special brand of weimar punkaret was worth cranking the ISO and dropping the shutter speed. Here are a few of my favorites from their set at National Underground. (more…)

Discussion: 14 Comments »


Behind the scenes with DELUKA

a behind the scenes look at Todd Owyoung's promotional photoshoot with DELUKA

a behind the scenes look at Todd Owyoung's promotional photoshoot with DELUKA

Just a quick behind the scenes look at my brother, professional music photographer Todd Owyoung during his recent photoshoot with U.K. electro rockers DELUKA. His shot was lit by a 90cm octabox camera-left and a large reflector camera-right for fill. Todd can be seen shooting with the Nikon D3 and 24-70mm f/2.8 lens.

If you’re wondering about the photo above, it was taken with a Contax 645 on Fuji Pro 800Z film and more notably, it was one of the first exposures I’ve ever taken using film. Stay tuned for a few of my portraits of the band as well as my thoughts on using medium format and film for the first time.

Discussion: 9 Comments »


Memphis wins big at Tony Awards


My awesome clients friends at Memphis The Musical won big at the 2010 Tonys last night taking home awards for four of their eight nominations including the prizes for Best Musical and Best Original Score. Check out the full list of Tony Award winners on the official site and go see Memphis!!!

Since they opened last year, I’ve done a bunch of work for the musical including photography of the finished Memphis production and the recording of the Memphis cast album. Here are a few of my favorite shots! (more…)

Discussion: 4 Comments »


Photoshoot, behind the scenes

Album Cover Photoshoot - New York Music Photography

A little behind the scenes music photography from a new shoot. (photo by matt eisman)

Just a quick behind-the-scenes shot from an album cover I’m working on. The all-day photoshoot was complete with ray guns, akimbo air horns, homemade hot sauce, and one massive parabolic umbrella from Paul C. Buff. The photo is courtesy of fellow concert photographer Matt Eisman who was kind enough to assist me. I’ll be able to share more once the finished product is released.

Discussion: Join the discussion »


Photoshoot: Melissa Etheridge


Your favorite music photographer siblings had a great shoot with rock icon Melissa Etheridge as she celebrated the release of her tenth studio album, Fearless Love. Todd and I did some stealthy backstage reportage of Melissa’s radio interview followed by a quick portrait shoot and coverage of an intimate performance for a lucky group of die-hard fans.

During the roughly 10 minutes allotted for portraits, Todd and I put together two simple on-location lighting setups consisting of the best DIY beauty dish design around and the Profoto Acute Ring flash.

Since flash photography would have ruined the videos being shot for both the live performance and the radio interview, we switched between strobes and ambient light as the assignment requirements changed.

This was a gig filled with highlights including Melissa’s 14 minute rendition of Like The Way I do (part 1 and part 2) and an absolutely incredible cover of Loraine Ellison’s Stay With Me.

More photos and some great video after the jump!

(more…)

Discussion: 6 Comments »


Photos: Paramore – The Bamboozle, 2010

photos of paramore, the bamboozle 2010

Heyley Williams of Paramore performs at The Bamboozle 2010. (photo by chris owyoung)

With a fresh dye job and lighting to match, Hayley Williams lead Paramore through an energetic headline set at day one of The Bamboozle 2010. More photos after the jump!
(more…)

Discussion: 6 Comments »


Photos: The Bamboozle – Sunday, Day 2

Rivers Cuomo rocks out with Weezer at The Bamboozle music festival, 2010. (photo by chris owyoung)

With day one of The Bamboozle music festival behind me, I grabbed a couple hours of sleep, a fist full or cliff bars and headed out to the final day of parking lot punk rock. The Sunday’s lineup featured Weezer, MGMT, Girltalk, MUTEMATH, and NYC’s own Matt & Kim. Here’s a taste of day two.
(more…)

Discussion: 8 Comments »



Music Photography

Robyn
Robyn

Call it dance, call it pop, call it hip-hop; I caught up with the genre-bending singer/songwriter Ro

More in Music Photography

Portrait Photography

Portraits: Molly Anne Coogan
Portraits: Molly Anne Coogan

I had the pleasure of doing a series of natural light portraits with the lovely and talented Molly A

More in Portrait Photography

Documentary Photography

Memphis Cast Recording
Memphis Cast Recording

In honor of the 100th performance of Memphis The Musical on Broadway tonight I’m sharing a few

More in Documentary Photography

Photography Tutorials

Inspiration from Austin Walsh
Inspiration from Austin Walsh

Every so often I come across something that gives me the immediate and overwhelming urge to drop wha

More in Photography Tutorials

News

Memphis wins big at Tony Awards
Memphis wins big at Tony Awards

My awesome clients friends at Memphis The Musical won big at the 2010 Tonys last night taking home a

More in News