This week I’ve had the pleasure of shooting Neil Diamond @ the NIA Birmingham. He was was after some great shots of himself and the show, as well as getting a shot of each individual band member in action. there were some quite specific angles, looks, lighting and coverage he was after.

I covered both Birmingham dates, and was allowed to shoot for the entire performance, which was around 2hrs each night! Puts to shame other artists who give an hour or less. This gave me a real advantage, and allowed me to wait for the best lighting and compositions -and to have a wander around the entire venue to pick out some great places to shoot from.

A far cry from my usual limit of 3 songs, and you’re out – The Robert Plant & Alison Kraus gig I last did at the NIA had a polite notice reminding me that my pass was not a ticket to the show, and I was escorted to the door after the 3rd song!

Having the luxury of two nights to get all the shots, I had a really good idea of how the show ran. I got to know when the lights were going to look great for certain band members, and what angles to go for. It also gave me an extra opportunity to get some better photos of the more hidden band members, and to get a great variety of angles and give very balanced coverage of the entire show.

After the show Neil came and spent some time gong through the photos with me, picking out ones he liked, making comments and suggestions. He had a really hands on approach, which was fantastic, its great when a client has a clear vision of what they want and like to get involved with the process.

I’m not really sure if I can post pics up here, as I signed a very heavy release contract that included words such as “universe” so I’ve just included one of my pass – in case there are any lawyers waiting outside to sue my ass :)