LindsayDanielsPhotography: Music

June 06, 2012

The Importance of Composition

Greg Laswell at the State Room singing "Landline" unplugged.

There are several factors that go into producing great imagery, but some of the most elementary photo lessons, such as the "Rule of Thirds" or leading lines, remain invaluable. One question I ask myself before I even click the shutter is, "How am I leading the reader's eye to the subject?" Most often it will be because of the composition or how the light falls on a scene. In the photo above, Greg is obviously the main subject. He's the front man, on stage, with a guitar in his hands. What makes this photo engaging is the composition. Technically, this photo is subpar. It's noisy (high ISO), a bit fuzzy, and not in the best light. But what it lacks technically, it makes up for in composition and emotion. It captures a moment: the audience listening intently, trying to catch a photo of the man on stage, and Greg, humbly playing his acoustic guitar, unplugged. You can't always get the perfect light, or the perfect moment. If you go into a situation trying to capture something that just isn't there, use other tools in your bag. Reach for the fundamentals. Putting all your eggs in one basket is constraining. Have a back up plan. Adapt to your surroundings and you'll come home with winning imagery.

Using the "Rule of Thirds" and leading lines.

I'd love to hear your feedback. Do you think this image works? Does the composition or moment make up for the lack of technical details?

October 29, 2011

Music: Cold War Kids

Good new bands are hard to find these days. Great bands are even more rare. Cold War Kids is one of those 'great bands' for me. I've listened to them for a few years now and with each new album they continue to impress. They have been one of my top bands to see live and last Thursday they did not disappoint.

Young Man is traveling with Cold War Kids for part of their 2011 tour and they were very impressive as the opening band. You can tell these guys are musically talented, and after listening to some of the stuff off their album, they are just as good, if not better, live.

Lead singer, songwriter and creator of Young Man, Colin Caulfield

Now, onto Cold War Kids. I can't say enough about how amazing they were live. I mean, I love their music anyways, but it was a whole other experience live. Promoting their new album, Mine is Yours, they played a good mixture of old and new, with old favorites like "Saint John" and "Hospital Beds" for the encore. You could tell they love what they do, and they have fun doing it. If you haven't heard of Cold War Kids pick up their new album 'Mine is Yours', you won't regret it.