December 20, 2010 Posted by Russ Robinson in Blog, musicians, notweet, photographers

Southside Serenade

Southside Serenade is a Southern Rock/Acoustic band based out of Tampa, FL. I met the lead singer, Addison Arfaras, when he purchased my Fender electric guitar amp off of Craiglist. At the time, I was selling all my music equipment to purchase some additional photography gear, but little did I know that this chance encounter would ultimately change my photographic direction and focus forever. Despite the fact that I had never shot a band promo before, these guys trusted me to shoot theirs. We ended up having an absolute blast, and shortly thereafter I made a business decision to pursue bands & musicians exclusively.....and I've never looked back.

So not only was this my first foray into band photography, but I had actually never shot anyone with more than 2 strobes. So going to a 3-light setup was another big step for me. Here's a behind-the-scenes glimpse at my lighting rig:

Band Promo Lighting Setup Shot

And here's the final version of the main promo image shot at this particular location (The University of Tampa):

(don't miss the amazing "Before & After" shot here).

Band Promo Shot at the University of Tampa

The next image was shot inside an auditorium/ballroom, also at the University of Tampa:

Low Angle Promotional Image To Show Ceiling & Archtecture

And finally, this shot was taken in my Tampa studio a couple weeks afterwards, because the band wanted a "cleaner" shot for marketing and promotional use:

White Seamless Background Shot of 4 Band Members