Excellent advice good sir.

While I have given them the rights to use the initial shots for their publicity only, and I do not plan on selling them (I can do much better work), getting a release would be prudent.

Thanks for that market analysis. Now I have a baseline to start with.

This is a hobby, but I still want to be compensated fairly.


Cheers !

Thanks, I appreciate that.

Shooting in an actual concert venue that close has always been a dream of mine since I got into photography back in the 70's. It's what I wanted to do with my life. But time and other priorities took their toll, and here I am @ 60 getting back into it again.

Of the 22 shots I deemed "marginally acceptable" I had to go through over 400 shots.

I'm my own worst critic.

Well, I wasn't expecting to make that much on one shoot, considering I've not done this before. At this point I'd take $15 - $20 per shot submitted.

I spent an hour at the venue fighting my way to the front, trying to shoot pictures of the band when women with hair 8 feet high are jumping around in front of me. Then there was the tequila...

The real challenge came in LightRoom 6. When I saw the limitations of my lens (noise, poor focus in some spots), I knew I had my work cut out for me. I had not planned on this happening, as I was at a minor league baseball game shooting. I didn't feel like lugging all of my glass, so I took the 70-200. Good for baseball. Not so much for low light concert venues.

Is it my best work? No.

Would I choose a different lens? Absolutely.

I absolutely copywrite (copywrote?) the images, and they expected it. It's also imprinted on the EXIF. The release stated they shots were for publicity only and cannot be used to make any money.

I agree. But I was actually at a baseball game right before I shot this band and I only had the one lens. I do have a prime lens and a few others that would have been a more optimum choice in this situation.

But I had to make due with what I had at the moment.

Thanks for the compliment ! I always have an internal battle when processing, because I grew up in darkroom working with B&W.

Some shots just scream to be transformed into B&W, even though they are perfectly acceptable in color. The beauty of working with NFS (RAW) is the ability to do both in LightRoom.

Cheers !

Getting rich is the furthest thing from my mind (at the moment). I'd just like to be compensated fairly for my time and save up for some better glass. Plus getting my work out to my target audience is important as well.

And you're absolutely right. This group definitely wasn't your typical garage band.

I really do like your thoughts on the A B C package, and I'd never even considered that. That's a wedding photographer's SOP from what I've heard.

Thanks for your input !

I agree. But I was actually at a baseball game right before I shot this band and I only had the one lens. I do have a prime lens and a few others that would have been a more optimum choice in this situation.

But I had to make due with what I had at the moment.

I was contacted by a local band to purchase some of my photographs I took at their gig last week. I agreed to allow them to use several shots for publicity purposes only, providing I get credit for the shoot, and they make no money on my work. But the door is open for an actual paid gig.

They are a large band, several sax's, a trumpet, keyboards, guitars, backup singers. It's a James Brown tribute band. I was impressed, but I'm in uncharted territory, as it's only been a hobby. But they liked what they've seen of my work enough to contact me.

Should we come to an agreement for payment, should I charge on a per picture basis, or, a flat price for the gig? What is the prevailing cost for a "semi-professional" photog to travel, shoot and process literally hundreds of photos of a 3 hour concert?

Any input would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

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Thanks ! I am still learning my equipment - but I now I'm trying to think through the shot instead of doing a spray and pray.

To be honest no. I didn't even think to do so. Can you recommend any ? I worked in Solon for quite a while, now out in Cuyahoga Falls.

I actually did a B&W in Light Room 6, but I liked the color better on it.

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Excellent idea. It was shot with a kit lens and no VR. I've since bought some new glass.

I know I wanted a sharp picture, and took a chance with F8 at 1/100 ISO400. It was late afternoon Mid March, so the lighting was not optimal.

I'm thinking I might try bracketing and cook up an HDR in Light Room.

My tripod and shutter release should be here this weekend :-D

This was the very first picture I took with my D3200. I've always found natural textures and colors to be intriguing. This is a gnarled old tree in my front yard.

Any thoughts what might enhance this? I've stored the original.

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