musician

Albuquerque Orchestra Musician Photography at Albuquerque Academy

in
Albuquerque Orchestra Musician Photography at Albuquerque Academy

Photographing the orchestra at Albuquerque Academy

Now having photographed two plays at Albuquerque Academy in Albuquerque, New Mexico, I am excited about expanding into the area of theatre photography. The latest play I photographed was the final dress rehearsal for Pirates of Penzance (see those photos). Before the performance started, I had a chance to photograph the orchestra getting warmed up in the pit. I had free range to go anywhere in the auditorium, including the catwalk! Also, the lighting changed during the warmup from very bright to the actual dark light level that would be used when the play was being performed. The last photo was of all the musicians out of the bit and on the stage for a clear group photo. I look forward to photographing their next play and of course sharing those photos with you here on Jason Collin Photography.

Read More

Guitarist Playing into the Sunset St. Petersburg Commercial Photography

in

Guitarist commercial promotional photography on St. Petersburg Florida beach - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/7.1 ISO 200 1/80th - Strobist: SB-800 to frame leftA shoot on Pass-a-Grille Beach a few years ago of a guitarist for his album cover and promotional materials remains one of my all-time favorites for several reasons.  I edited quite a few shots from the shoot at the time, but thought now that over two years have passed, might I be able to find another shot I could add to my edited archives? (and also send the client a nice unexpected bonus shot)  Going through the remaining photos I liked how the sun was just at the tip of the guitar and I thought by cropping a good amount off the top and bottom the focus can be put on that particular point in the image.  

I did not do much editing to the shot, mostly actually just darkening the subject to make him standout against the bright sunset sky background more.  Go back to one of your favorite shoots and see if you cannot mine another gem or two out of it.

Brett Eldredge St. Petersburg Florida Concert Ivy Ridge Living June 2012

in

Country music singer Brett Eldredge performing in St. Petersburg Florida June 01 2012I cannot say I had heard of Brett Eldredge before since I am not a country music fan, but I had the opportunity to photography a live performance of his as part of a larger event.  Even though he was playing for what must have been a very modest crowd for him, he gave a rousing and lively performance and I was impressed by his singing and the emotion he could conjure up on a hot, non-descript Florida afternoon.

Brett Eldredge giving it his all during his St. Petersburg performance playing original songs and a few crowd pleasing covers.The stage was setup in a parking lot which was essentially in a neighborhood.  No stage lighting was used and the ambient light itself came from what was pretty flat late afternoon cloud cover, so no dynamic backlit concert performance shots were possible.  I mostly used my Nikkor AF ED 80-200mm f/2.8D lens to eliminate the undesired background and fill the frame as much as possible with Brett.

Brett Eldredge performing live for Ivy Ridge Living guests in St. Petersburg, FL on June 01 2012During and after the concert Brett was pretty popular with the ladies in attendance.  He graciously stopped to take photos with each of them after the nearly hour-long set.  

Brett Eldredge Official Website
  • Reserve concert event photography today!
  • Get information on event photography
  • View more live music event photography photo stories

    • Guitarist Promotional Materials & Album Cover Shoot Pass-A-Grille Beach Part 2

    in

    Commercial Photography for guitarist promotion - f/9 ISO 200 1/250th SB-800 to frame right SB-600 to frame left

    A grainy, holga, look is what guitarist Nathan (artist name Redd Sun) told me he wanted for the edited versions of the photographs I made for him during our commercial photography shoot on Pass-A-Grille Beach.  I kept that information in mind the whole time I was shooting, despite the setting sun providing a plethora of color in the wide Florida sky that evening.  The grainy look is one of the things that interested me most about this shoot because 99% of the time when shooting on the beach vivid color shots are desired.  I saw this as an opportunity to produce something different, something . . . simpler.

    Commercial Photography for guitarist promotion - f/4 ISO 200 1/400th natural lightAfter seeing the results of this shoot, I may do an entire series of black & white beach shots.  The holga effect was applied to the above photograph using the awesome Silver Efex Pro, which if you do not have it and you like black & white, then you need to get Silver Efex Pro immediately!

    Commercial Photography for musician promotion - f/4 ISO 200 1/400th natural lightI centered the subject (Nathan) much more than I normally would during this shoot because I knew that type of composition best lent itself to the holga effect with its harsh vertical edge burning.  This is why it is always very important to previsualize a shot, or a whole shoot even, before pressing the shutter.

    Guitarist Promotional Materials & Album Cover Shoot Pass-A-Grille Beach Part 1

    in

    Guitarist Musician Promo Shoot - Pass-A-Grille Beach St. Petersburg Florida Commercial Photography

    To state it simply, this was one of the best shoots I have ever done, in all aspects.  Nathan (artist name Redd Sun) contacted me about making some photographs for use as his own promotional materials for his music as he liked the style of this vanishing point photograph.  The photographs in this post are obviously not that style, rather these are my own favorites from the shoot.  In post Part 2 I will put the shots Nathan chose edited in the grainy style he requested.  

    What made this shoot one of the best, if not the best, for me was how Nathan wanted to be photographed.  He told me at the start that he did not want any poses or anything like that.  Of course I specialize in candid style so this was perfect for me.  He then said just photograph him as he changed his guitar strings and then as he played.  This could not have been more ideal instructions for me.  The bonus was I got to listen to his guitar playing while shooting, which I really believe helped me capture the types of shots he wanted.  Normally I just shoot in silence.  This gives me the idea to bring along a music source of some kind for future shoots.

    Guitarist Musician Promo Shoot - natural light portrait on Pass-A-Grille Beach St. Petersburg FloridaI (we) was also lucky in that the Pass-A-Grille Beach was not that crowded, there was a great sunset and the natural light before sunset time was fantastic (see above natural light photograph).  This natural light allowed me to roam freely with my preferred Nikkor AF ED 80-200mm f/2.8D lens on my Nikon D300.

    Guitarist profile shot for promotional materials - Pass-A-Grille Beach St. Petersburg Florida commercial photographyOf course I also used my own personally developed two-strobe setup for proper sunset shots.  Even in the above shot, however, the photograph remained a candid as Nathan seemed to not notice me setup my lights around him and just kept on playing.

    Guitarist silhouette promotional shot - Pass-A-Grille Beach St. Petersburg Florida commercial photographyEven though we were at basically the same location for the entire one-hour shoot due to the ability to make both natural light and strobist shots, as well as using three different lenses, I was able to provide Nathan with a wide variety of shot styles.  

    I really look forward to seeing how Nathan uses the photographs in his promotional materials.  Part 2 of this photo shoot, to come soon.

    DJ Joey Jam Performing on New Year's Eve 2009

    in

    DJ Joey Jam at the Treasure Island Yacht & Tennis Club on New Year's Eve 2009

    RESERVE THE BEST EVENT PHOTOGRAPHY FOR YOUR NEW YEAR'S PARTY THIS YEAR!

    While photographing the grand New Year's Eve party at the Treasure Island Yacht & Tennis Club, I saw this energetic person in a white baseball cap buzzing from room to room.  I did not know who he was.  Maybe someone who worked for the club?  Maybe just a popular member of the club?  Maybe a celebrity MC I was not familiar with?  All I knew is that anytime I pointed my lens at him he was definitely ready to be photographed and always pulled the people around him into the shot as well.  It turns out he was a DJ, to be more specific DJ Joey Jam.

    DJ Joey Jam performing his craft in the post-midnight afterglow

    DJ Joey Jam is an endlessly friendly person, and to use a Japanese word, genki!  I was impressed by his ability to liven up the party, and still have the energy to spin well into the late hours of New Year's Eve.  

    DJ Joey Jam likes to get at eye level with his turntables

       
  • Reserve an event photography package for your company or business today
  • More information on event photography packages
  • View more event photography photo stories 

    •  

    DJs, Musicians, Entertainers -- reserve the services of Jason Collin Photography today for your:

    • live performances
    • promotional materials
    • album covers