Band Shoot at the Cain’s Ballroom
I’ve always wanted to do a shoot at a venue, and I finally got the opportunity to do so at the historic Cain’s Ballroom in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It started out as an inquiry for a senior shoot, but stick around to get the story of how I got to shoot an entire band!
A few weeks ago, I was asked to do a senior shoot. I didn't know any of the when or where until a few days after when I learned that they were wanting to go to the Cain’s Ballroom. I was fairly anxious thinking about how I could possibly get private access to the venue in a timely manner. Amazingly, my client had already gotten that taken care of! Exact dates and times were still up in the air, but we finally got a spot on a Sunday afternoon.
In the following days, I received a phone call saying that the senior was in a hometown band and they were wondering if they could get pictures of the whole band. I was all over that! The idea of doing pictures for a band at such a historic location was irresistible! I realized that I’d need some different gear than normal since I’d be indoors with very low light while photographing a small group of people. I stayed up all night researching what kind of lens and light I’d need for this task. I decided to rent a wide angle 16-35mm lens from Borrowlenses.com. I knew I’d also need a secondary light (I’ve had my eye on one for a couple of years) so I bought the Flashpoint eVOLV 200 Pro for a lightweight and powerful light.
On the day of the shoot, I made sure to show up an hour early, which helped a lot because construction in the area delayed my route and I needed the extra time to get myself together. A little while later, the band had arrived. Those four guys were very respectful and each one of them had a good, strong handshake.
We got inside and it was very dimly lit. I was using external flash only during the entire time we were in there. I wanted to get establishing shots of the group together on the stage to set the pace. I was completely blown away hearing them sing and play their music! Extremely talented young men! After the first few group shots we went with individuals.
For the individual shots I wanted to see how each one of them shined by themselves. I chose to get wider, more dynamic angles than I typically shoot, but they captured a lot of the atmospheric passion these guys had for their art of music. I loved the low, wide angle shot of Michael playing his guitar!
After we finished up pictures inside, we went outside to get a requested shot of the guys on the corner of Easton and Main. During our walk there, we passed under a bridge and it gave me an idea for some more group shots!
These guys were a blast to work with and they are outstanding young men! Their band is called The Destination and they are a Red Dirt Rock band based in Stigler, Oklahoma. Strong and rustic vocals paired with heavy rock influences make this band a great listen! You should check them out. They are on Youtube, Apple Music, Spotify, Facebook, and Instagram.