Melissa Brewer Photography

Glass Halo Loves Me and You Should Too | Indianapolis Music Photographer

Melissa Brewer Photography — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 20:04:30 +0000

I just wanted to share a message I got from Glass Halo, I did the photos for their current promotional materials and they’ve been featured here on the blog.

“We had an older couple and a few of their friends come out to our Verve show in Terre Haute, IN based solely on the fact that our poster made us “look like we’d be pretty good!” They even bought two shirts and a CD! Thanks, Melissa!”

You sirs, are welcome. That’s exactly what I strive for with each and every shoot. Your promotional materials should make people think “they look like they probably sound good” or “they look legit” or any other thought along those lines. Your promotional materials including your flyers, cd covers, and even your profile photo are all the first impression people are going to get of you. And while they say, “you shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover” most people do and they’re going to move on to the one that has the better cover.

Every band, new and just starting out, sophomore and struggling, or been in the game for a while and making a good profit, can all afford promotional photos. Yes, there’s quite a difference between the basic promotional photo and the top photo but, that basic promotional photo is still going to look a lot better than if you just use a snapshot for your stuff. Here’s the promotional photo Glass Halo is currently using.

They had one of the higher packages. We drove all the way to Bloomington, I brought all my lighting equipment, shot all day, did multiple group photos, individual shots of each member, and they received all the final images, high resolution, on a cd. They can use all the images online, in print, and even as a cd cover if they want.

New Addiction is the most recent shoot I did. They have a lower to middle package. We shot in Indianapolis, I brought one of my lights, we did a couple group shots, an individual shot of each member, the whole thing took a couple of hours. They’re getting the full resolution copy of one group photos, and one of each member. They can use them online and in print. I don’t know which group shot they’ll choose yet but, here’s the once I recently posted.

Both look grand, both got what they needed their photos for, both work for the budget they have. So, when you’re ready for new photos. Keep that in mind!

Round 2 Week 3 | Indianapolis Music Photographer

Melissa Brewer Photography — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 03:48:25 +0000

Week 3 of round 2 may quite possibly be the best week of the battle yet. Why? Because now we know who all is going to be in the finals!!! Up first, the bands from week 3 of round 2. Then the full schedule for the finals!

s.a.i.n.t. Recon

Finer

Altered Roots

Caden’s Cry

The Post Script and A Bad Idea

The final round of the battle where the winner will be determined is THIS SATURDAY! Saturday, the 13th, and the doors open at 7:30 and the cost this week is $12! Be sure to get there early, it’s going to be packed! Here’s the full schedule!

Doors open at 7:30

8:30 The Post Script
9:15 Presomnia
10:00 Goliathon
10:45 Breakdown Kings
11:30 DeVault
12:15 Caden’s Cry
1:00 Encore Performance from last year’s winners Glass Halo

Be sure to come out and choose your winner! The band that wins is gonna get a good chunk of change for their prize, have a special on X103, and all kinds of other great things!

Round 2 Week 2 | Indianapolis Music Photographer

Melissa Brewer Photography — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 04:48:12 +0000

Round 2 week 2 was a night of rock, rock, and more rock!

Nightjar

DeVault

Presomnia and Fly Lion

Eyes On Fire and The Holland Account

The two bands that moved on that you can see in the final round on Saturday, November 13th are Presomnia and DeVault! Doors open at 7:30 and the first band goes on at 8:30. Get there early, this is set to be one of the biggest finales of the battle ever! This week it’s $12 but, all the money is supporting your favorite local music (after workers get paid of course)!

Round 1 Week 9 | Indianapolis Music Photographer

Melissa Brewer Photography — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 03:20:48 +0000

On to the photos!!

DeVault

Bearfoote Jackson

A Bad Idea

StepSon

No Hay Banda

Shadeland

Forsaken Sights

Up next is Week 2 of Round 2! I did these past few posts a little out of order due to some technical difficulties. Thankfully, I’m getting everything caught up now and the final round of the battle is this weekend!

Charlee | Greensburg Senior Photographer

Melissa Brewer Photography — Sat, 06 Nov 2010 02:11:25 +0000

I’m really digging some of these photos I got of Charlee at her senior shoot so, I had to share more!

Round 2 Week 1 | Indianapolis Music Photographer

Melissa Brewer Photography — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 23:39:59 +0000

Yes, I’m aware I’ve missed a couple weeks. I will go back to them. All in good time. : ) Let’s get to the point!

Stately Wayne

Goliathon

Note the headbanging hair in the background!

Sorry Breakdown Kings, I missed you this week. I got you in round 1 though!

Tyler Bender Band

Kids In The Way

Teenagers From Outer Space

The two bands that moved on are Breakdown Kings and Goliathon, which of course, means you can see them on Saturday, November 13th for the final round of the battle!

New Addiction Sneak Peek and Outtake | Indianapolis Music Photographer

Melissa Brewer Photography — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 22:15:22 +0000

I just wanted to share a sneak peek from a promo shoot I did with New Addiction, one of the bands I’ve spotlighted in the past.

Here’s an outtake shot. We did this shoot up on the very top floor of a parking garage in downtown Indy near Illinois and Georgia St so we had to get a shot with the famous Lucas Oil Stadium in the background.

Be sure to check out New Addiction! You can request them on X103.

Senior Sneak Peek | Greensburg Senior Photographer

Melissa Brewer Photography — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 04:47:28 +0000

This past week I had a senior shoot with Charlee. We did the shoot out on her Grandpa’s property and it was GRAND! I loved being out there in the country. I’ve missed it. Enough about that though, on with the good stuff!

I’ll have battle photos up tomorrow and more from this shoot later this week!

Big Things To Come | Indianapolis Music Photographer

Melissa Brewer Photography — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 05:12:16 +0000

I’ve always said, if I had to choose one kind of photography to do for the rest of my life, it’d be music photography. I love music so much and there isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t listen to music. I’m pretty sure I’d go crazy without it. My grandparents were in a folk/country band when they were younger. My grandpa played the fiddle and my grandma played the harmonica. My dad was in a rock band in high school in the 60′s. My fiance plays guitar and writes original songs. His dad’s in a band and has been in about 50 bands. (I may be exaggerating that number a little.) It’s only natural that I’d be into music.

I grew up in a tiny town in Southern Indiana listening to country till I was about 11, then boy bands and other large pop groups (like Spice Girls and S Club 7) got huge and took over my life (I wanted to be like Sporty Spice). Finally, rock music came into my life when I was about 14. Ah, rock music, it’s my favorite. Really though, I love all music. I love how it can take you back in time, move you to the future, make you happy, and even make you cry. And, if it makes me sing and dance and make me and my friends make fools out of ourselves in clubs, even better. And when I’m driving, which I do a lot of, I’m a total rockstar.

When it comes to music photography, I can’t get enough! At major concerts like those at Verizon Wireless Music Center it’s a crazy rush. You know that tiny sliver of space between the gated pit and the stage where the security guards stand? Yea, I get to stand there to shoot the concert. I can literally reach up and grab the musician I’m photographing…you know, if I want to get kicked out. You know those cheesy anti-drug commercials, the ones where they say something like, “Sports. It’s my anti-drug.”, well, music is my anti-drug because I get a high from being so close to these musicians I listen to everyday in my car, the pounding of the bass, the lights changing, the thousands of fans behind me screaming, and moving around in this 3ftx30ft sliver of space in front of the stage filled with about 6 security guards, two massive video cameras, the two camera guys working those massive video cameras, and two to four other photographers, trying to get the shot without knocking out one of those other photographers or tripping on these little seat looking things that stick out of the fence.

With local bands it’s different. Every night I go out and hear a new band I get to hear brand new music. I could go out every Friday for the next year and never hear the same band twice because we have so many bands in Indiana. The crazy thing is, a lot of them are great. A lot of them should be playing major shows and touring. A lot of them, just need a little help and exposure. That’s one of the reasons why I love meeting and photographing local bands. All the bands are always really cool and love talking about their music, of course. Local bands are fabulous. That’s one of the reasons why I try to sponsor so many events. I like doing whatever I can to support local music. We have such a grand music scene here in Indianapolis and we just need one band to really make it and bring the spotlight here and then lots of bands can explode on to the larger scene with them. And, of course, I love trying to get the best shot I can at live local performances in bars and clubs just like at Verizon Wireless Music Center because I still have the pounding of the bass, the changing lights, and fans singing along behind me while I shoot.

As for promotional photography, as in the photos of bands posing in a cool location, I love that as well for a whole different reason. Sure, there isn’t loud music going while we’re doing a promotional shoot but, I get to work with the bands to figure out the perfect type of location, find that perfect location we envisioned, use the environment and my lights to create the mood they’re going for, and if I do my job right, you can hear their music just by looking at their promotional photo. There’s nothing more satisfying then walking down Broad Ripple Avenue and seeing one of my images plastered everywhere as an 11×17 poster for an upcoming show, or scrolling through my friends on Myspace, Facebook, and Twitter and seeing photos I’ve taken as many different people’s profile photos.

This the longest and most personal post I’ve ever written here on my blog and it’s all been to make an announcement. The announcement is actually a few things that all tie together. First of all, I’ll be relaunching my business in a few weeks and I’ll be relaunching as a music photographer only. If a senior wants me to do a shoot for them I won’t say no but, I’m only going to market myself to the bands. Along with that I’ll be getting a brand new website! It’s going to have larger images than the site I have now and way more features. It will have a shopping section where you can buy prints of my photos, an iPhone site so you can view my site on the go finally, and a video section where I’ll be posting behind the scene videos from shoots and even interviews with the bands I photograph. I’ll have a page dedicated to the shows I sponsor and a page that will change once every two weeks. That page will be for bands that I spotlight. I’ll post an interview, a photo, and a list of some of their upcoming shows (as well as links to their websites). I’ll still have a blog like I have now but it will be fully customized (and not just a theme I chose from WordPress) where I’ll continue to share photos from shows and promotional shoots on a regular basis like I am now.

So, if you’re in a band and want spotlighted or you’re a fan of a local band you want spotlighted start emailing me now so I can start putting the spotlights together now and be ready for the launch. I’ll tell you when the new site is going to be up, closer to the launch date. In the meantime, get ready to start seeing new business cards, posters, and other promotional items of mine out and about at all the venues.

Be sure to come out to the Battle of Birdy’s which is still going on. This is the last week of Round 1. Then, next week, we take a break before Round 2 starts up on October 15th. And, as always, keep supporting local music because, as you can tell, I kinda like it.

Round 1 Week 7 | Indianapolis Music Photographer

Melissa Brewer Photography — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 22:35:25 +0000

Due to some technical difficulties I wasn’t able to take live shots of the bands performing on Friday but, with thanks to a friend who brought over her point and shoot camera, I was able to get a quick group shot of each of the bands. Turns out, I wish I had been doing this all along. I spent quite a bit of time talking to most of the bands and had a great time with everyone. So, here’s the photos and results and don’t forget, these are just point and shoot photos, not the professional/creative standard I usually have. Next week’s photos will be better!

Slow Mary
http://www.myspace.com/slowmary

Presomnia
http://www.facebook.com/Presomnia

Pass The Peas
http://www.myspace.com/passthepeasteresalavender

Pragmatic
http://www.myspace.com/pragmaticmusic

Goliathon
http://www.myspace.com/goliathonrock/

Coping Method
http://www.myspace.com/copingmethod09

The two bands moving on are Presomnia and Goliathon. You can see Presomnia on October 22nd at 10pm and Goliathon on October 15th at 9:15pm. To see the entire calendar for the battle go to www.battleofbirdys.com and you can also keep up to date with the battle on Facebook and Twitter (@battleofbirdys).

Be sure to come out to the battle tomorrow night for 7 more bands and the return of our special guest emcee who’s filling in for Myles B.