The Bootleg Beatles

It's been quite a while since I photographed the Bootleg Beatles, but we've received the OK to put the photos online! I've added a few photos on my blog, and only 10 on my website, but I uploaded a whole lot more on Facebook!

Although it was really hard to decide on the small selection to put on my blog, these are probably my favourites. The odd thing is that they're all taken in a portrait style, although I did take plenty of landscape shots too.

 I really like the close-up of the back of the guitars. It's just a bit of detail that you wouldn't normally look. The top left shot is taken from the second story, and those photos look great! The second on the right is taken from the top level too. It's a very unusual angle and that's why I liked it. I also took a shot similar to that one in a landscape style so you could see the audience but that didn't work as well because of the exposure.

The second photo to the left is a very simple shot. The three men on their guitars. There is nothing distracting about it, whereas the next few shots they changed their costumes into these incredibly colourful outfits.

It was pretty terrifying to walk infront of the whole crowd to take portraits of The Bootleg Beatles, but it was definitely worth it. The portraits look rather professional.

The Bootleg Beatles

Last night Lauren asked me if I could come on a shoot with her at the Guildhall to photograph the Bootleg Beatles. Last semester she conducted a project about tribute bands, and has continued it this semester as a side project. I'd never been in the Guildhall before, and since I've done a bit of band photography before Uni, I thought it would be a great opportunity. 

When we entered the Guildhall, we got a special press pass which allowed us to basically do whatever we wanted. Before the show started we briefly met the members of The Bootleg Beatles, and had a chat about what to photograph and where to go etc. They were incredibly friendly, and seemed to be very relaxed. We took a few photos back stage, but the show was about to start and they were getting changed into their costumes, so we didn't have too much time. 

The show was absolutely amazing! We started off just walking around the audience trying to find the best place to photograph. It was a bit awkward to walk around while everyone else was sitting down, especially when we wanted to get some close-up shots right at the front. But as the show went on the more comfortable we got. There was a second level, although it wasn't in use, so we asked security whether it would be possible to go up there, and we could! 

We got some amazing shots, and after the show was finished we asked The Bootleg Beatles if they could sign our press stickers. I've just gone through all the photos and picked out 39 that are the best. I've set the contact sheet to Lauren, who is going to send both her and my contact sheets to The Bootleg Beatles. Once they've OK'd it, I'll be posting the photos on my blog and website.