Fiddler in the Pub

[CLKunst]

Just looking for some reactions from the group about this one. Comments, critiques and suggestions welcomed. Taken this past weekend, no post processing (yet).

Available light from yellow spot stage lighting.
50 mm 1/60 s f/2.8

[ravenmore]

The spot light is too hot I think (perhaps expose overall a stop less than what you did? In otherwords expose more for the highlights IMO), and the yellow is a harsh color for the subject. I shoot a ton of local live musicians. I always shoot in color but usuallyconvert to b&w or sepia (I'm a big fan of sepia toning) as stage lights can come off muddy and unpleasant IMO. I also tend to deepen the shadows as they're very dramatic like what you have going on here. I really like the subject matter and the pose you captured though.

[CLKunst]

Thanks for commenting RM, I do a lot of club shooting too. Anticipating the highlights was nearly impossible in this case as there is a band member between him and the spot. Here's a second image taken a split second later where his band mate walked in the way but I don't like his stance/position quite so much. [Sigh.]

[mtbbrian]

Thanks for commenting RM, I do a lot of club shooting too. Anticipating the highlights was nearly impossible in this case as there is a band member between him and the spot. Here's a second image taken a split second later where his band mate walked in the way but I don't like his stance/position quite so much. [Sigh.]

I like the second better.
The ligthing is better, and there is a bit of motion in both of his hands and the bow.
You can never go wrong with a small amount of motion when doing music photography.
The hanging light in the back, bothers me a little bit. It competes a bit with the musician, compostionally anyway.
Make sure you watch your backgrounds better.
Brian
:thumbsup:

[CLKunst]

You can never go wrong with a small amount of motion when doing music photography.:

Amen to that Brian!

Fiddler #2 has charm too and is technically better. I guess I got hung up on the nice reflected light showing off the body of the violin in the first image. :idea:

[ravenmore]

I really dig the 2nd one too. I like the colors in it and as mtbbrian mentioned the motion blur is nifty.

You're right shooting live music can be a real challenge but it is always a blast, at least for me.

[CLKunst]

You're right shooting live music can be a real challenge but it is always a blast, at least for me.

Thanks much RM! Usually the hardest part about music photography for me is trying to decide whether to dance or take pictures.

[mtbbrian]

Amen to that Brian!

Fiddler #2 has charm too and is technically better. I guess I got hung up on the nice reflected light showing off the body of the violin in the first image. :idea:

I can see that, but you can still see that it's a fiddle he is playing.
Brian
:thumbsup:

[Greg McCary]

I think you did a great job considering the lighting conditions. I feel #2 is by far the best. His face is sharp as a tack. I don't know how much PS work you do on your pictures but I might would remove the lamp merging from his shoulder and also try and adjust the color on his fingers of his right hand. But I feel those are minor issues...
Greg

[trog100]

the white balance is way off.. from an artistic point of view it might look okay.. but photographically its bad..

to me it would simply be a failed attempt.. i would try not to make the same mistake the next time..

if u shoot raw u can do things like white balance afterwards..

trog

[CLKunst]

Thanks for commenting trog,

The white balance is as correct as humanly possible for a scene that is artificially lit with spot gels (yellow/orange/red/magenta). That is the color of the light they were using in the bar and that is exactly how it looked if you were standing in front of the band, which I was. It was custom white balanced on the scene ~ in the camera. I thought you didn't approve of post processing and could accept an image taken as is. . .guess not.

[GB1]

CL - I like the second a lot better. Just seems the color more aesthetically pleasing to me than the mostly yellow version. Of course the blurriness is an issue, but it also seems more 'real life' like that. I wish it was just a little sharper, but that's the way it is. The hanging lamp behind him is OK I think, but I wish there was another on the left side to balance it out. Definiitely an interesting shot, none the less....

GB

[Overbeyond]

Hello CL.
These are never easy and your result is good.
The second one is best. The lead from the fiddle is almost invisible which is good. The hanging light is a bit of a pain though but could be sorted if you feel it is in the way.
I think if there was some movement in the bow and wrist, a more 'live' feel would have been captured I feel.
All in all though I like this. The fiddler I'm sure would like a copy of this too.
Tom

[trog100]

i was watching a film the other night.. one of the guys said "the difference between fiction and truth is that fiction has the be credible truth dosnt"

never having seen lighting quite like that and not being clairvoyant u will have to forgive me for thinking the obvious..

more so now i know u are pentax dslr user.. they are pretty much guaranteed to make a pigs ear of tungsten white balance if it isnt manually set..

sorry dudesss.. he he

trog

[gahspidy]

I have not tried doing much in this genre, but I think desaturating a bit and bringing up a bit more mid range tones could help. i agree with Brian about the bg, but I can imagine these shots are so limited in possibilities. Not bad, anyway.

[ravenmore]

Hey CL - could I try one of my regular edits on your pic? Just was looking at these pics again and was curious to see what it might look like toned. If its ok and only with your permission of course.

[CLKunst]

I'd love to see your edit, bring it on Raven. :thumbsup:

[ravenmore]

Thanks CL - I liked the colors in the 2nd shot a lot but was wondering if it was taking away from the composition. I felt like you captured a really good strong pose and I was curious if the color was hiding a little of it, because the colors were so bold. What started me to thinking about it was the red shadow on the mouth in the color image. It was a little distracting to me, and as I was looking at it I realized it wasn't the shadow but the fact it was "red" that did it. Anyway, I just toned it, deepened the shadows a little and opened the mid range a hair:



I kind of liked the results - the shadow that was distracting before is kind of nifty now (for me anyway)

You did catch a really cool pose. That's what I love about photographing music and people who love making it. Their emotions really come to the surface and show during their performance and it is very fun to capture it.

(edit: My laptop at home has a lousy screen. Now that I'm looking at it on my work monitor my edit looks a tad dark...)

[ravenmore]

I tried it on the first image too, btw. But the highlights were just too hot. Couldn't get to look "just right".

[CLKunst]

I like your edit Raven. Thanks! :thumbsup: Sometimes that riot of colors works for me sometimes against. I'll have to remember the sepia middle ground as it makes for a good effect. I agree about the red shadow on the corner of his mouth. I think that is what originally bothered me most about the second one ~ that and the bow cutting across his face. The sepia treatment gives it some grounding and makes it look more natural as a shadow.

Gary ~ Thanks for taking the time to comment,I will also look into a desaturated version of this per your suggestion.

Trog - It's all good, now you know.

Tom - Thanks for the critique ~ it was a series of all or nothing moments with this band. They are very high energy so it was a tough balancing act between sharpness and motion all evening.

GB - Yes a balancing lamp would have been nice kismet, I never get to choose my backgrounds in these instances of course but I am always trying to avoid distractions when I can. Some, like this lamp, seem impossible. On the plus side though that is a true pint of Guinness on the table in the background behind him and tartan curtains on the window so I was hoping the background as a whole would say verify his place in a Pub.

Greg - Thanks for commenting on this one, I can see why you would suggest cloning out the lamp. This was taken at the after party for the Washington Area Music Awards Ceremony so most of the people viewing it will just see it in context, but as a stand alone portrait I might spend the extra time to take it out.

[trog100]

"Trog - It's all good, now you know."

and even i like the edit.. cos it looks good now as well as being good.. sometimes just being good aint enough.. he he

trog

[ravenmore]

FWIW - the bow doesn't bother me too much at all, in fact I kind of like the angle its at perfectly matching the angle his face is tilted at. It seems to "frame" his face with the instrument in a very natural way.

I also like the lamp. It being out of focus just enough combined with its soft glow makes it kind of nice - it really doesn't bother me.

[availablelight]

I find the pose of fiddler #1 much better, though I agree that #2 is technically a bit better.

The light hanging in the back bothers me a bit, the suggestions about darkening the background I agree would probably make it nice, and maybe not so much yellow. I say probably because I could of course be wrong, I'd need to try it.

In general i think it's quite a nice shot. To me it's an evocative moment you captured (#1), when I first saw it, i went oh wow.

[CLKunst]

I also like the lamp. It being out of focus just enough combined with its soft glow makes it kind of nice - it really doesn't bother me.

Me too Raven. I appreciate all of the time you have spent considering this image and the input you have offered. Many thanks.

[CLKunst]

To me it's an evocative moment you captured (#1), when I first saw it, i went oh wow.

That's what I said when I first saw that one too.

Thanks for your thoughts on this availablelight. I appreciate your taking the time to comment and share.