One of the jobs I really enjoy involves taking the art techniques I’ve been developing and using them for my commercial clients. These have been created for the Sound Bites Grill Wall of Fame. Musicians are photographed live during their performances and then I create 8×10’s for display at the restaurant. It’s an increasing challenge (which I love!) to have a slightly different look for each artist. Here are a drummer, guitarist and keyboard player as part of the latest installment…
Jazz Guitarist, composer and Recording Engineer Peter Sprague of Road Work Ahead
at Sound Bites Grill Show Lounge
Road Work Ahead Keyboard Player, composer and arranger Bill Mays jams
at the Sound Bites Grill Jazz Fest Jam in Sedona
Jim Plank, drummer and percussionist for Road Work Ahead plays on the
Sound Bites Show Lounge stage at the Jazz Jam in March.
Images were captured with the Panasonic Lumix GX7 using the 35-100 (70-200 35mm equivalent) 2.8 lens ISO 2500. This is a great combo for getting intimate images without getting too close to the stage. For some of the captures in the future I might bump the ISO up another notch to get just a bit more shutter speed when the performers are moving.
One of the most important parts of my job is to not be obtrusive when capturing performers. I am very conscious of the guests and not disturbing their enjoyment at performances. The GX7 and lens combo is small and helps me remain low key but strangely enough looks pro enough to get inquiries all the time about what type of camera I’m working with.
After the show images are downloaded. Musicians are separated from the background using Adobe Photoshop’s various selection techniques and placed on their own layer. At that point I can start the art part… Adding shadows, textures, blending modes and lighting effects that were not on the stage.
Yours in Photography, Bob
