HMV - The Next Big Thing: Delilah

Highlight: The Garage has a photo pit!

Lowlight: I'd banked on there being no pit so had arrived really early.

Fill in: After years of being crushed against the barriers I have avoided this venue of late despite it holding some cracking gigs. So it was a welcome surprise to see a photopit complete with security as the latest addition to the venue's arsenal. However I had arrived well in time thinking that with no pit I'd have to be early to get to the front without upsetting the punters so I dutifully queued up, only to find the guest list hadn't even arrived and had to wait outside in the snow til it did.

Tech Spec: This was the second gig in the HMV Next Big Thing series I was shooting, and most of the venues are pretty low key, so I was hoping to use flash at most of them. However as there was a photopit, flash was prohibited, so it was a case of waiting til the light was right on the night as it were. Smaller venues have the lights much closer to the stage so the contrast tends to be very high, and back lights shine straight into the camera. Positioning yourself so the lights are obstructed or form part of the composition is key.


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