Rob Booker Photography • Blog » Music Photography http://www.robbooker.co.uk/blog Fri, 11 Mar 2011 11:42:28 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1 Mancini & The Hitmen • Band Photoshoot http://www.robbooker.co.uk/blog/2011/01/mancini-the-hitmen-%e2%80%a2-band-photoshoot/ http://www.robbooker.co.uk/blog/2011/01/mancini-the-hitmen-%e2%80%a2-band-photoshoot/#comments Thu, 20 Jan 2011 09:44:14 +0000 Rob http://www.robbooker.co.uk/blog/?p=1470 Here are the final pictures from the latest photoshoot with Mancini & The Hitmen, an amazing function band that play the best soul music you’ll ever hear. If you’re looking for a band to rock your wedding with the sounds of Aretha, Marvin and Stevie then get in touch as you definitely wont be disappointed. We shot these in The Adelphi pub in South Leeds using the upstairs room, a few big comfy seats, one big softbox (hit the comments if you want detailed geeky info), and a couple of hours later we ended up with a bunch of cool photos to promote them in 2011. Here are a few of my favourites, let me know what you think; good, bad or indifferent.

]]> http://www.robbooker.co.uk/blog/2011/01/mancini-the-hitmen-%e2%80%a2-band-photoshoot/feed/ 1 U2 • The full story • Dom Valley Stadium http://www.robbooker.co.uk/blog/2009/08/u2-%e2%80%a2-the-full-story-%e2%80%a2-dom-valley-stadium/ http://www.robbooker.co.uk/blog/2009/08/u2-%e2%80%a2-the-full-story-%e2%80%a2-dom-valley-stadium/#comments Thu, 27 Aug 2009 09:33:25 +0000 Rob http://www.robbooker.co.uk/blog/?p=408 So to expand on the teaser I posted earlier this week . . . My two photo buddy affiliates Barns and Phil run a company called The Sound Gallery, whose aim is to photograph the Northern music scene in style, through both cool portraits and live gigs.

They’ve both been working hard at getting access to this gig for ages and at 12:30 that day (just as I was setting my afternoon up for cups of tea and working though a back log of editing), I got a phone call from Phil. “Whatever you’re doing, cancel it; I’ve got two press passes to U2 and I’m coming to get you.”  Dull afternoon avoided.

Whether you like U2 or not it was impossible not to be impressed by the amazing show that these 4 Irish blokes manage to pull off.  The rush of photographing such a high profile gig in front of 50,000 fans was like nothing I’ve experienced before.  I’ve photographed dozens of events and gigs before, but this was on a whole new scale.

The basic set-up for photographing gigs is something like this: First 3 songs only, No use of flash, Get the hell out.  Me and Phil are used to working fast, but the pressure was on when we realised we had about 10 minutes to nail a set of pictures.

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This was the press lady, who explained to us that after the second song, the bridges would swing round to allow the band access to the second outer stage, and also to duck.

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The Edge making one guitar sound like 9.  Smoke machines and spot lights make my life easy

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Adam Clayton, looking a bit like a Bond villain.

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The stage all reminded of us of something out of of H.G. Wells novel

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]]> http://www.robbooker.co.uk/blog/2009/08/u2-%e2%80%a2-the-full-story-%e2%80%a2-dom-valley-stadium/feed/ 1 Rachel Cook • Portraits http://www.robbooker.co.uk/blog/2009/08/rachel-cook-%e2%80%a2-portraits/ http://www.robbooker.co.uk/blog/2009/08/rachel-cook-%e2%80%a2-portraits/#comments Wed, 26 Aug 2009 11:00:40 +0000 Rob http://www.robbooker.co.uk/blog/?p=370 Last week I spent half an hour driving through West Yorkshire’s finest countryside in search of the perfect field to take Rachel’s new promotional portraits.  I spotted the area we used several weeks before hand when out on a pre-wedding shoot.  A tiny wooded section in a corn field next to a stretch of winding country road.  The light was near on perfect in the shade of the trees, but used a couple of off-camera lights for a few of the shots to give them some extra love.

Check out Rachel’s beautiful sounds here

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]]> http://www.robbooker.co.uk/blog/2009/08/rachel-cook-%e2%80%a2-portraits/feed/ 0 Jen Armstrong • Portraits • Shoot 2 http://www.robbooker.co.uk/blog/2009/06/jen-armstrong/ http://www.robbooker.co.uk/blog/2009/06/jen-armstrong/#comments Thu, 11 Jun 2009 12:21:36 +0000 Rob http://www.robbooker.co.uk/blog/?p=177 After a storming first shoot a few weeks back, Jen called me up again to get another set of pictures. This time the focus was more on her, just head and shoulders kind of shots.  We wanted to bring a few different moods to the pictures and after 5 different lighting set-ups, 3 backgrounds, 2 hours and some crazy Brazilian samba music we achieved a result.

Catch up with Jen’s beautiful and amazing music at http://www.myspace.com/jenarmstrongmusic

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]]> http://www.robbooker.co.uk/blog/2009/06/jen-armstrong/feed/ 0 Stripey tights, a heavy piano & an empty pub http://www.robbooker.co.uk/blog/2009/03/stripey-tights-heavy-pianos-and-an-empty-pub/ http://www.robbooker.co.uk/blog/2009/03/stripey-tights-heavy-pianos-and-an-empty-pub/#comments Sun, 29 Mar 2009 22:17:41 +0000 Rob http://www.robbooker.co.uk/blog/?p=16 I turn up at Jen Armstrong’s where fresh tea is being brewed; always a good start to a shoot.

I spotted the potential at The Adelphi pub about a year ago and we’ve been talking about this for ages.

There’s a battered old piano I’ve been dying to use in the corner, and after about 15 minutes of trying to push it to the spot I want, we give up and decide to start.  I have a boot full of lighting gear, but it all stays in the car; the daylight is streaming through the panoramic windows and I decide to go virgin with my lighting.

Jen was awesome, she came up with some beautiful ideas, as well as trusting me to go along with mine.[svgallery name="Jen Armstrong"]

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