Frequently Asked Questions:

Why do you do what you do?

Why does one climb a tree?, because it’s fun.

How much do you get paid to shoot?

I set reasonable expectations for everyone when I shoot and work to make it mutually beneficial for both of us. Feel free to contact me via my contact page on the menu link above.

What type of equipment do you use?

Honestly, this doesn’t matter. One can show up with a cheap digital and if they have the right eye and know how to use their camera, they can get some killer shots. The equipment thing always bugged me. I’ve seen guys with top of the line equipment and still not have the composition skills to get the shots needed. Unless you can compose an image on the fly and know your gear inside and out, high end gear will not always help.

I’ll give a few hints on what I suggest.

• Don’t be afraid of high ISO, use it.
• You need a fast lens if you are serious about this. A kit lens that only goes down to f3.5 is not your friend. The optics are bad and your images are gonna take lots of post production.
• SLR’s Rock. I love my Nikon D300
• Buy a cheap 50mm f1.8 lens.
• You must shoot RAW, there is no other way. Here’s a good video that show you why you should always shoot RAW, even if its not concert photography.
• Learn to shoot in manual mode, this means adjusting your camera to the shutter speed and f-stop that the lighting requires. I even go as far as shooting in manual focus mode in crappy lighting. Repeat, learn to shoot in manual mode…again… m a n u a l  m o d e.
• Shoot the hell out of small shows. Bust your chops in small venues and make it work.

What do you think of the three song limit ?

The next Jim Marshall isn’t going to come from shooting the first three songs at a concert. I think the magical moments are lost as many bands don’t get into the groove until the middle of their set.

Are you worried about people stealing your work?

What, you mean with a simple screen print or a right click? Sure, I don’t want to be ripped off but it happens all the time. A promoter within a half hour of me posting an image had a poster created and booked a show based on a shot I did. Did I sue? No, Will I ever sue? Hell yes if I get irritated on the use without my permission. As it stands now, any band I shoot gets the use of my images for promotional use such as Facebook, Myspace, gig posters, etc.  I have added some irritants to this blog to keep people from stealing images, but in 30 seconds I too can rip off all the images in my posts. Doesn’t keep me from sharing, however.

If you are a band and see your photos, send me an email via the contact page above and I’ll send you web sized images for promotional use.

You shoot bikini models?

Yup, I’ll slowly start adding some images as summer approaches. Probably worth book marking me just for those upcoming posts

Anything else to share?

Push yourself technically and artistically. If all the photographers are standing in one position getting the shot, move away if you can and get a different perspective.

We all change artistically over time and an image that you may not like today, may make you go “wow” two years from now. It’s a good idea to keep all your images that are great technically, even if you don’t like it today.

Try to develop your own style that defines your work. I made the mistake of questioning my results because others are doing some really cool photoshop work on their images. I only started processing my images recently with some cool Photoshop plugins because that’s what people seem to like, it’s not my style. I want my images to stand the test of time, so first and foremost I try to nail the image in camera. Twenty years from now I hope they have the same impact and what a great historical perspective they will provide from the Seattle scene.