About
Eric Reichbaum is a self taught photographer currently in Seoul, South Korea. When he is not traveling the world he can be found in New York City. His clients include: Vinterra, Voli Spirits, No Longer Empty, Groove Magazine, The Waster, and Ultimate Athlete Magazine among others.
To inquire about commissions, prints, or assignments, email: Eric.Reichbaum@gmail.com
I got to shoot Ugandan Reggae singer Josh Roy for Groove Magazine last month, and he was a great subject. Josh has had songs in the Top 40 in Uganda, and now calls South Korea his home. His music is a great mix of reggae, R&B, and hip hop among other influences, and he sings his songs in 5 languages. (more…)
I applied for and received a press pass for the Jisan Valley Rock Festival last month just outside of Seoul. It was the first time I received a press pass with the caveat: ”I’m afraid we cannot afford to give a photo ‘pit’ pass for you.
We will hire official photographer crews and offer lots of pictures of artists’ performance (online)… But you can take pictures of audience, festival site with your press pass.”
I’m a music photographer, not an audience photographer. Disappointed, although thankful for the free entry, I went to the festival with low expectations as far as photography went. I managed to get a few good photos, when I could get close enough to the stage, but for bands like Muse and Pet Shop Boys, I was so far back that the band members looked like ants even at 200mm. Anyway, it was a great weekend filled with great music. Click through to see a few of the cool shots I managed to get: (more…)
I had the opportunity to shoot the Pentaport Rock Festival here just outside of Seoul a couple weeks ago, thanks to my buddy Aaron Raisey over at the Seoul Photo Club. Here are a few photos from the weekend. Click through to see who the artists are. Enjoy!
I recently was asked to review some concert photos that a fan from Flickr had posted. I noticed that he was shooting at ISO 2000, which gave him noisy and under saturated grayish tones to his photos. I think one myth that people think about shooting concerts is that you have to have the fastest lens so you can shoot at f/1.2-1.8 and 1/250th, or shoot at high ISOs. Not True.
My standard setting for a concert before it even starts is (usually) around ISO 250, f/4 and 1/160 if I’m using my 50mm (which is on the majority of a show). I’m ALWAYS in manual mode at a concert, (whereas almost any other time I shoot with natural light I’m on Aperture priority). One of the most important skills you need to getting good concert shots is knowing how to change your camera settings without taking your eye away from the viewfinder. That means being able to change every setting from ISO, to White balance, to aperture and shutter speed.
I am constantly changing settings based upon what I’m seeing on stage. If the light guy is shining bright lights into the audience and there is a chance I’ll get some cool star-bursts I’ll bump the aperture as high as I think I can get it without being underexposed.
In this photo, I noticed the light reflecting off of the sequins on this dancer’s hat. I took a few shots at different apertures, checked my display, saw that f/5 was giving me a good exposure and still getting a nice star-burst, and then I did a nice burst of about 20 photos while the dancer held this pose at the end of a song.
This was taken at ISO 250, f/5, 1/200th
This past weekend I went to shoot the Delfest in Cumberland, Maryland. Thanks to my editor Martin over at The Waster, I got an “Arts” pass which gave me unrestricted access to move around backstage and onstage without any interruption. This wasn’t my first time backstage at a festival, but it was the most access I’ve ever had. Other than myself, there was only one other photographer backstage most of the time.
There are three keys to shooting backstage and onstage: 1. Act like you’re supposed to be there, 2. Don’t get in the way, 3. Blend in.
Del McCoury and his band allowed me to mingle around with them for about 30 minutes before they took the stage. I did a few portraits, like this:
My last post was about only getting to shoot for 3 songs. This post is about what you can do when you have more than enough time to shoot from the pit. At the Umphrey’s McGee show a couple weeks ago I asked the security guard at the pit what tonight’s deal was. He said “This is a jamband, who knows how long 3 songs will last, you can shoot the whole first set.” Not a bad deal, made even sweeter when I found out there would only be one other photographer in the pit with me. Lots of space to move around, and plenty of time to shoot. I can’t say this happens often.
So what do you do with all that extra time and space? Get creative! I’ve been wanting to experiment with some longer exposure shots at concerts for a while, but usually can’t waste precious time on shots that might turn out terrible, or at least useless for publication. Why long exposure? Well other than the obvious (the music) one thing that is often lost in the quest for the ultimate sharp image is: movement! Sometimes we photographers are so worried about sharpness that we forget that a little motion blur can add to a photo. When a guitar player is violently attacking a solo, he’s usually not standing still posing for you, he’s moving, and that’s part of the show. So why not include that in some photos now and again? (more…)