the dead record

Every band wants to look good, cool, call it what you will. It’s all very well slapping on glitter, straightening your locks and rocking the most original clothes but the fact still remains that once your thirty minute set is over, that’s it.

Photographers however, can immortalise you forever. They are responsible for introducing the pout, the fist pump and the infamous knee slide to the world.

Remember Johnny Cash’s middle finger? Kurt Cobain’s eyeliner? The reason we know is because of the people who took the pictures. They have the best seat in the house and know what makes a memorable live show.

We spoke with music photographer Nadine Ballantyne about what she thinks makes a band look and sound great.

Dead Record: How did you become a music photographer?

Nadine: Honestly, It was a bit of an accident how I got into photography really. I always loved going to gigs and always wanted some photos to remember them, so I used to take some naff Canon 2.0 megapixel camera to shows, take some shots from the crowd and that’s about it. I never really thought about music photography as work. It was only until a friend who worked for a webzine late in 2006 told me he needed a photographer for a show and liked some of the crowd shots I had and it went from there really.

I bought myself a real camera, learned how to use it before hand and never looked back since! A lot of people think I’ve studied photography, but everything I’ve done has been through experimenting, talking to other photographers and just doing it. There’s just a certain buzz for me while shooting live. There’s nothing better than photographing the bands you love live, whether dingy Barfly’s or Arenas, as well as singing along of course!

Dead Record: How important are promotional and live photographs for artists in terms of exposure, getting noticed etc?

Nadine: They can be very important, especially with social networking sites these days. Bands still use MySpace and people want to see who they’re listening to, as well as the easy ‘we can steal a photo off their MySpace to use on our webzine’ antics that go on. They’re obviously going to look better with a professional image or folders of all the intense live shows they’ve played; so in terms of helping for exposure it’s good. You don’t want some blurry, out of focus practice shot turning up in a magazine or on some flyer! For getting noticed I can’t really say, unless you’re Rammstein and posing as women for your newest single…

Dead Record: Many famous bands are often associated with a particular iconic image, tell us about some of your favourite pictures?

Nadine: It’s going to have to be a mix of wide angles, interaction, all out chaos and everyone’s trusty 50mm 1.8′s. I love those types of photos, anything that truly makes you feel the emotion that’s being thrown out by both crowd and bands, especially through the eyes; it just makes a great photograph.

I love getting the lights perfectly behind the bands.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nadineballantyne/2069681689/

Pulled Apart By Horses are one of my new favourite UK bands, truly chaotic live.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nadineballantyne/3566827324/

Nine Inch Nails

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nadineballantyne/3729748059/

Dead Record: What kind of things do you think make a band look great live?

Nadine: Anything that doesn’t involve the band standing still… I think it’s just about the right kind of performance you would expect from the band with some added surprises thrown in. It’s hard to stick them all into one basket. Some are there to create chaos; some are there to be dead serious and static. Myself though, I love a bit of chaos!

Oh and the obvious good set list. It’s not great when you pay a lot to see a band and they play mostly new material… Bands should know by now.

Dead Record: What are some of your important ‘Do’s’ and ’Don’ts’ for bands playing live?

Nadine: As I mentioned above, don’t stand still, really, really don’t.

Don’t pose your arse off. Some is great but too much makes you look fake and annoying.

Don’t spit over the crowd. There’s just no need, nor is there to jump in feet first. By all means stage dive, just not feet first.

Do try and interact with the crowd, bring them forward (it looks much better if we get a good crowd photo along with your gig!) Or even better go out to them.

Also check the age average of the crowd before you go swearing your face off and telling them about your sex stories.

Do say your band name a lot during shows. It helps us oldies remember.

And most importantly, just enjoy what you’re doing.

Dead Record: How important is it for bands to live up to their image both onstage and offstage?

Nadine: Really, your ‘band image’ should be who you truly are anyway. If you stomp on stage, look pissed off, abuse the crowd to go off stage whilst wearing a jumper your grans knitted you then you’re clearly in this for the wrong reasons. I guess it’s important to have a band image that works for you both on and off stage. But then I would say it’s really not that important, it’s about the music and getting the right honest exposure, if that makes any sense.

Dead Record: What do you feel makes a great photo?

Nadine: I like a mix; it really depends on the band playing. For those more intense more atmospheric rock shows I love natural shots. But then for a rock n roll band roaming across the stage, showing off, poses can work great, but I definitely think natural shots are the best.

Dead Record: What bands are you listening to right now?

Nadine: Alexisonfire. I’ve only recently got into this band!

Dead Record: Some words of advice for anyone interested in becoming a music photographer.

Nadine: Wear ear plugs.

In all, look after your body, equipment can be heavy to carry around.

At venues, don’t think you own the place, respect others around you.

Be brave.

Each year more kids get cameras so it gets harder to get passes, don’t feel too bad if you’ve missed out on a gig. It happens.

The equipment you use does make a difference, so be careful with your choices. Everything is based around lighting, and most the time we get it bad!

Learn to be patient.

Check out more of Nadine’s work at http://www.nadineballantyne.com/