A week and a half ago (oh my god, has it been that long? Really?) my friend Mike, along with his fellow band members Steve and Brandon, asked me to take some pictures for their band, Slaymo. I was more than happy to help out since I love any excuse for using my camera, but I was also slightly apprehensive. I don't mind taking photos for people, not at all. I'm just worried that they'll discover that I really have no clue what I'm doing. I worry that the pictures won't come out and I'll let them down.
I'm not saying this to be all humble or anything. I have little formal training when it comes to photography. Aside from my camera, I have little equipment -- I don't even have an external flash. And while I'm aware of things like lighting, composition, framing, etc., the truth of the matter is that I look through the viewfinder and if I like what I see, I click. The end. There are many many MANY photographers out there that are better than me.
But then again, you get what you pay for, and I'm as cheap as free, so there you go.
Still, I was feeling nervouth, especially when I remembered the last time someone asked me to take photos for them, for what they described as a "sales seminar" but turned out to be "a room paneled in mirrors with lights turned completely off while this guy does a power point presentation" and I had to be unobtrusive, so I couldn't use a flash. Which, yeah, resulted in a lot of dark, grainy shots, and me feeling like an utter failure. And then the drummer Brandon asked me if I "had any ideas," and I think I responded by saying something along the lines of "Um."
Luckily those Slaymo boys have a great concept for a website, one which I will not reveal here, but resulted in this photo:
And also, this one:
And perhaps this one too:
And before you ask, no, they are not a psycho punk version of the Village People. At least, I don't think they are.
The Slaymo guys are very fun. We had to take some "serious photos" for their press kit, but for me, the best photos came when they were goofing around, playing dress-up, and when they were rocking out. And the guys were anxious to get the serious shots done and over with and get straight to the shenanigans.
All right, seriousness over. Commence with silliness.
Steve wins! Suck on that.
Brandon and Mike dispute the rules while Steve clearly thinks he is posing for Tiger Beat.
Steve is from Boston. The other guys don't hold it against him. Well, not much anyway.
Ok, enough dicking around. Time to rock.
OBLIGATORY STORY ABOUT HOW I'M A KLUTZ
So the practice room where the guys rehearse is sort of small. And when you have a drum kit, plus miscellaneous music paraphernalia, plus three grown men, plus a computer desk...well, there's not a lot of room to maneuver. Or, you know, photograph stuff. So I was crammed in a corner, trying to figure out a way to get some better angles, when I spied the desk chair. And I thought that if I stood on the chair, I might get some good perspective for some of my shots.
I think you all know where this is going.
The desk chair was leather. By this point in the evening I had kicked off my shoes for comfort and was wearing only my socks. My weight shifted, I slid while trying to regain my center, and the chair spun out from under me. I caught myself with my elbows on the corner of the walls. I barely avoided breaking my ass. The result? This photo and scrapes on my elbows making it look as though I've contracted a bizarre skin disease.
I had just discovered the black and white setting on my camera (told you I'm a tard at photography. Christ, I've had this camera for close to a year), and I think it looks kind of arty. Like I meant to do that. Shhh...we won't tell them the truth.
Related: The last time I took photos of Slaymo. Even MORE photos are here and here.
I'm not saying this to be all humble or anything. I have little formal training when it comes to photography. Aside from my camera, I have little equipment -- I don't even have an external flash. And while I'm aware of things like lighting, composition, framing, etc., the truth of the matter is that I look through the viewfinder and if I like what I see, I click. The end. There are many many MANY photographers out there that are better than me.
But then again, you get what you pay for, and I'm as cheap as free, so there you go.
Still, I was feeling nervouth, especially when I remembered the last time someone asked me to take photos for them, for what they described as a "sales seminar" but turned out to be "a room paneled in mirrors with lights turned completely off while this guy does a power point presentation" and I had to be unobtrusive, so I couldn't use a flash. Which, yeah, resulted in a lot of dark, grainy shots, and me feeling like an utter failure. And then the drummer Brandon asked me if I "had any ideas," and I think I responded by saying something along the lines of "Um."
Luckily those Slaymo boys have a great concept for a website, one which I will not reveal here, but resulted in this photo:
And also, this one:
And perhaps this one too:
And before you ask, no, they are not a psycho punk version of the Village People. At least, I don't think they are.
The Slaymo guys are very fun. We had to take some "serious photos" for their press kit, but for me, the best photos came when they were goofing around, playing dress-up, and when they were rocking out. And the guys were anxious to get the serious shots done and over with and get straight to the shenanigans.
All right, seriousness over. Commence with silliness.
Steve wins! Suck on that.
Brandon and Mike dispute the rules while Steve clearly thinks he is posing for Tiger Beat.
Steve is from Boston. The other guys don't hold it against him. Well, not much anyway.
Ok, enough dicking around. Time to rock.
OBLIGATORY STORY ABOUT HOW I'M A KLUTZ
So the practice room where the guys rehearse is sort of small. And when you have a drum kit, plus miscellaneous music paraphernalia, plus three grown men, plus a computer desk...well, there's not a lot of room to maneuver. Or, you know, photograph stuff. So I was crammed in a corner, trying to figure out a way to get some better angles, when I spied the desk chair. And I thought that if I stood on the chair, I might get some good perspective for some of my shots.
I think you all know where this is going.
The desk chair was leather. By this point in the evening I had kicked off my shoes for comfort and was wearing only my socks. My weight shifted, I slid while trying to regain my center, and the chair spun out from under me. I caught myself with my elbows on the corner of the walls. I barely avoided breaking my ass. The result? This photo and scrapes on my elbows making it look as though I've contracted a bizarre skin disease.
I had just discovered the black and white setting on my camera (told you I'm a tard at photography. Christ, I've had this camera for close to a year), and I think it looks kind of arty. Like I meant to do that. Shhh...we won't tell them the truth.
Related: The last time I took photos of Slaymo. Even MORE photos are here and here.
Labels: Photography
3 Comments:
I want more pictures of 8K!
This comment has been removed by the author.
OK. Let's try this again, this time with proper HTML coding.
It's kind of hard to take a picture of yourself with your own camera. Or something.
This is as good as it's going to get for awhile.
Besides, I look better behind the lens.
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