New York Music Photographer Chris Owyoung - The Best Concert Photography & Band Portraits » new york

Decrepit Birth

chris — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 23:08:52 +0000

Decrepit Birth performs at Gramercy Theater, NYC. November 7, 2009. (photo by Chris Owyoung)

Decrepit Birth writes some of the most lyrically bleak songs I’ve ever heard. Taking into consideration that they’re a death metal metal band, this is a good thing. As depressing as their written content may be, their performances are anything but – they kick some serious metal ass.

The band’s dynamic live show owes much to the stage presence of lead vocalist Bill Robinson, who keeps a level of pace and hype that is rare well beyond the confines of the genre. Intensity, thy name is Bill.

Photographer’s Notes

Shooting metal shows is hard enough without the sickening knowledge that you’re missing a money shot every millisecond your camera isn’t pointed at Bill Robinson.

Decrepit Birth was in the middle of a lineup of six bands. As you can see from the examples, I was doing a much better job of balancing the flash with the ambient light. Check out the concert photos from Warbringer and Augury for my lens choices and camera settings.

Metric

chris — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 21:49:42 +0000

June 17, 2009 – One of the best bands to form in this city and then leave, Metric performed to an absolutely packed Terminal 5. Fronted by the dynamic Emily Haines, the band performed material from their newly released album Fantasies as well as some of their more popular songs. Metric are at their best on this current tour!

PHOTOGRAPHER’S NOTES

I’ve been listening to Metric for years and they’re one of my favorite bands to listen to as well as to photograph. I had the privilege of meeting the band last year at All Points West can say that not only do they craft great songs, they are incredibly nice people. It’s not very rock’n'roll to be nice, but hey everything’s nice in Canada. =)

The first three songs were lit by a strong blue wash with warm underlights. As the band found their groove, the lighting was punctuated by white hotlights from behind. Though all of the band members rocked out continuously, the best lighting during the first three fell on Emily who alternated between her keyboard and a freehand mic. The overall quality of light was pretty poor, I was able to shoot at ISO 2000 with both the 50mm f/1.8 and 24-70mm zoom lenses on the Nikon D3.

Joanna Levine

chris — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 21:20:05 +0000

June 10, 2009 – Brooklyn singer/songwriter Joanna Levine commissioned me to shoot a series of portraits for her new promotional materials. Her shoot is a perfect example of the variety I try to achieve in my band photography sessions.

Despite shooting between 150 to 300 shots in a normal session, I try to keep things as simple as possible. In Joanna’s case, this meant working with mostly available light and a few changes of clothing. Likewise, all of the images in this set were taken within a couple blocks of her Brooklyn apartment.

I’m a firm believer that every portrait should have a concept that guides the look, composition and equipment used. Having a concept, which could be as simple as needing a variety of shots to use on Facebook and a promotional postcard, ensures that photographer and client are working towards the same goal. In the midst of a multi-hour shoot when either party can loose focus, taking a break to refer to the concept can be critical.

As I do with all of my clients, I met with Joanna in advance of the shoot to hammer out the exact look we were going for.

The concept? One that is a bit Folk, a bit Rock and a bit Fashion all at the same time.

Here are some of the highlights:

PHOTOGRAPHER’S NOTES

Joanna’s shoot started around 10am and went into the afternoon following a short lunch break. Conditions were cool and bright (a stark contrast to the lightless sweaty confines of the photo pit a.k.a. my normal working environment).

Though I enjoy working outdoors, we shot a lot on either side of noon, which necessitated finding creative ways to improve upon the harsh sunlight.

This meant everything from shooting on the shaded sides of buildings to using wardrobe (hats) to provided the needed diffusion. When little or no shade was available, I made sure to have Joanna’s back to the sun while using a reflector (on the ground or held by an assistant) to fill the shadows.

I shot entirely with D3 and a mixture of both prime and zoom Nikkor lenses. To my surprise, a majority of the best photos came from the most humble of lenses.

Yup, the Nikon 50mm f/1.8. Despite being made of plastic and retailing for only $100, the Nikon 50mm f/1.8 provided two of the essential qualities for the shoot, a comfortable working distance with the subject and very shallow depth of field. To my astonishment, the 50mm provided plenty of resolution on the Nikon D3 even when shot wide open.

Several of the tighter headshots were taken with the Nikon 70-200 f/2.8 VR. Even though the working distance is further away than I like (about 6 feet), the telephoto end of the 70-200 is perfect for lots of subject isolation and the creamy background bokeh.

Nearly every shot in this post had different exposure settings and post processing.

As always, if there’s anything I haven’t mentioned just ask!

END NOTES

A ginormous thanks to Joanna for still looking good even though it was cold out. The great shots would not be possible without the help of Sabrina: Photo Assistant and Stylist to the stars.