Choosing your position

Ray Charles Notre Dame, IN 1994

I almost always position myself at a 45 degree angle to the performer for several reason's. First of all, it's most flattering for the artist. Your creating a portrait so use the principles you would for shooting portraiture. Secondly it places the microphone to the side of the face. Shots of an artist eating a mic rarely get published. Another advantage is that an artist typically pulls away from the mic at the end of a phrase. This is the moment when their most likely to throw an expression to band members. Expression's are your money shot's!