broomephoto.com

Bands Minus Instruments

admin — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 14:48:21 +0000

Doing a photo shoot for a band couldn’t really be further away from shooting gigs, as an exercise. For starters you’re in control of the lighting (which is nice), but you don’t have the natural energy and dynamism that a live performance (or a decent one at least) soars along on – instead you have to rely on the subject engaging with the viewer on a much more personal level, and communicating that with the band members can be difficult…

Fortunately no such trouble with the guys from Full Scream Ahead – established members Justin and Will, and new boy Chas – who are always fun to work with. A new line-up demands a new set of photos, and that was the order of the day the other week when they drove up from Bristol to see me.

The last time I shot the band (in their previous guise) we decided to go for large-scale environmental shots with moody strobist lighting. This time we opted, in collaboration, for a simpler approach – with just a white background and straight forward lighting. Sometimes simple is best, leave the personalities and the music to speak for themselves.

Rock Dinosaurs…

admin — Tue, 25 May 2010 09:43:18 +0000

An even darker gig was Dinosaur Jr and Built To Spill in the main room at the O2 Academy in Birmingham, on the 16th of May. Apparently the band had actually requested the lowest light possible…

Still, great bands, great gig – and it didn’t stop me getting some good shots

Once again, full photo set and review at www.midlandsrocks.co.uk

Lurking in the Dark…

admin — Sat, 22 May 2010 12:46:02 +0000

Don’t know what it is, but there’s been a theme for the last few gigs I’ve been to of the band requesting as little light as possible… My overriding thought is, if somebody doesn’t really want to be seen then why did they join a band and get on the stage to begin with?

Aw well, fortunately it’s occasions such as these that the Canon 5D2 really comes into its own!

Here’s a shot from a couple of weeks ago, when I finally got to see the Bluetones live in Birmingham (at the O2 Academy 2) – a great gig, only let down by the predominant gloomy blue tone of the lighting!

Full photo set and review of the gig over at www.midlandsrocks.co.uk

Levelling the Land…

admin — Tue, 04 May 2010 12:48:29 +0000

Great gig at the Wulfrun last Friday night. Levellers still pulling the crowds and giving it all they’ve got. Had the photo pit to myself again, which was a surprise…

The Bright Lights

admin — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 14:13:00 +0000

Some really extreme lighting at the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club gig at the Wulfun Hall last night, and instead of fighting it I decided to try and embrace it – forget about burn out, etc just go with the flow and see what happens. Very happy with the results! Very impressed with the support band Dark Horses as well – nice and dramatic stuff.

Good Things Come To Those Who Wait…

admin — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 15:17:23 +0000

…at least they did last Sunday. I’ve been waiting to see The Primitives live for over 20 years, and I’m glad to say they didn’t disappoint!

Next up BRMC tomorrow night – as I enter into another busy gig period

Exotic Skies…

admin — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 15:57:26 +0000

…over Birmingham city centre. Just goes to show what cool backdrops you can find when you keep an eye out for them! Many thanks to Amanda and Nairon for reacting promptly when I asked them to rush outside for this shot. You both made my wedding shoot efforts a real pleasure!

And congratulations to both of them again – a lovely couple, and a wonderful wedding.

Moving Pictures

admin — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 22:12:36 +0000

I thought I’d take advantage of a rare empty weekend, and the digital SLR’s recent enhancements that allow video to be shot alongside stills, and try putting together a video or two. Of course, it helps that my wife is a talented musician as well! The results you can get with just a little time (literally 10 minutes shooting, and 45 minutes editing) are really quite exciting!

Mrs Broome – Nine Nine Nine

Where the Sun Don’t Shine…

admin — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 14:13:52 +0000

The sun. One thing you definitely can’t rely on in this country! So a photographer needs to have plenty of artificial lighting options at hand when taking portrait shots out and about in the great outdoors.

It was a typical overcast, foggy day yesterday when I met up with the young blues rock band Snakewater in Stafford. First port of call was this suitably urban underpass, which I discovered on one of my portrait location recon missions last year – not a pleasant place to hang out, but at least it was out of the wind and very quiet (who in their right mind would use this to cross the road, when there’s a perfectly good pelican crossing above ground?!). Lots of lighting options too.

Led by guitar-legend-in-waiting Bobby Grant, the band are heading into the studio soon to record their first album, and they play frequently around the North West (and elsewhere when they can – there’s a gig coming up at The Musician in Leicester, supporting Fred Zeppelin). Check them out here: http://www.myspace.com/snakewaterband

Is your band in need of some new promo shots (admit it, those old ones look a bit stale don’t they? ) – get in touch and we’ll sort something out! As I mentioned before, so long as I don’t have to travel too far, then I’m doing band shoots for free at the moment.

Twenty Ten…

admin — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 14:22:22 +0000

…wow almost a whole month into the new year already!

Had a couple of weeks off of photography over New Year, which has helped revitalise my passion for the whole process and I’m now totally amped to meet any challenge that comes my way over the next year!

First gig of the year last week was particularly enjoyable, Wolfmother at the Academy in Birmingham (fast becoming one of my favourite places to shoot: huge photo pit (with only one other person in it last week!), wonderful lighting, great venue.

The diary is starting to fill up, band shoots and weddings coming up – but still plenty of slots available. So get in touch and book yourself in! Need to work on the fashion/modelling side of my portfolio this year, so give me a shout if you’d like to work with me.