How I Approached My First Paid Editorial Band Shoot

It goes without saying that a way to continue to get opportunities and progress with whatever you are doing is via repetition. In my case, this was continuously showing up at local hardcore shows in my region. I wanted to shoot these shows regardless, and because of this, I was recently approached by the parent of a young local band. They require press and editorial shots to take the next step in their already blossoming careers. I was told - we like what you have been doing and will pay you for your time. I said yes.

---

The Brief
With money exchanging hands, I wanted to do this properly. Having never been involved in art direction or an editorial shoot for that matter, I took this opportunity to dive in and make it as professional as I could. I have always enjoyed watching studio and location photography shoot videos on YouTube, seeing the concepts become reality. The different styles and techniques. The way angles and lighting can be used. I wanted to create a brief so not only would I stay focused and on track, but also so the band would get their desired outcomes.

I asked them as a group to supply some images of things they like and what sort of direction they would like to take. Images of bands they had seen that they think were cool, but also the style and way it was shot. Stoked with the things they sent me, which seemed to align with a style I had already been producing in my concert photography work. With these supplied images, including my own input, I put an 8-page brief together. Then passed on to the band, which they approved.

---

The Shoot
We went to 4 locations over the space of about 3 hours, including travel, which were all picked by the band. In the lead up to the shoot, I did ask them to source some spots of interest. They were an old stone wall and steel fence, a graffiti-hit tunnel, some abandoned buildings and finished at the local beach.

Having never posed subjects like this before, I will admit I wasn’t overly comfortable at the start. As the shoot went on, I thought back on the brief and began to experiment with some different styles, layering and group plus portrait posing. Having plenty of time is such a blessing, being used to shooting gigs, which is so fast-paced and erratic. It was a nice change being able to spend good amounts of time getting what I needed while also playing with my camera settings. Of course, I used some flash, which was used to get some different effects. Mostly at the tunnel location, on portraits and some group shots. Also very nice not having to shoot everything with the aperture wide open, starving for light.

I only used the one setup for the whole shoot, my Lumix S5ii and a Sigma 24-70, which gave me everything I needed. Utilising the 24mm for some wide group shots while opting for 60mm for the portraits.

Here is a vlog I put together of the shoot, take a look and give it a like and subscribe.

---

Editing and Results
The boys were chasing both black and white, and colour shots. With a film and old-looking aesthetic. Adding hints of grunge, flash and moody colours. Now, did I have some presets for that!

A lot of the presets I had for my concert photography did translate over to this brief and the theme the group was chasing. With some adjustments to the exposure and highlights, I was pleasantly surprised with the results. I made some fresh black and white presets as I didn’t like how my gig ones worked in this case. Then, saving them all for any future editorial work. All up, I passed over 86 photos, all of which I was happy with. But most importantly, the band was stoked.

---

Two Seventy is a Sunshine Coast Hardcore band very much on the rise. An incredibly talented bunch of dudes, not only for their age but in general. They are recording their first demo currently while hitting shows all over South East Queensland. If you see them on a lineup, you are a dummy if you miss them.

Huge thanks to them and their families for trusting me with this shoot.