David Bergman is a New York based commercial photographer and photo educator who specializes in portraiture, music, and action. As the official tour photographer for Bon Jovi and Luke Combs, he has documented bands on stage and on the road in more than 30 countries and shares his experience with photographers of all skill levels at his unique "Shoot From The Pit" live concert photography workshops. In addition to his many celebrity clients, Bergman has 13 Sports Illustrated covers to his credit and has photographed numerous Olympics, World Series, Super Bowls, NBA, and NCAA Championships.
The Client
Bon Jovi
The Assignment
Document the legendary Hall of Fame band on stage and off throughout multiple world tours
The Execution
“Bon Jovi’s guitarist Phil X is one of the most dynamic players I’ve had the pleasure to photograph. His playing is ferocious and he genuinely has a great time on stage. Since I photograph the band every night, my goal is to top my pictures from the show before. On this night in Connecticut when Phil went into the solo during ‘Keep the Faith,’ I focused in on him and blasted away. Light, composition, and emotion came together just perfectly, and I knew I had the shot!”
Post Production
“I shoot everything digitally in color, but if the colors don’t add anything to the image, I’ll strip it away. I use Silver Efex Pro from the DxO Nik Collection to do all my black and white images. It allows to me to add realistic film looks and texture to make the image pop.”
The Output
"I love Aurora Natural 285 for my black and white images. It easily handles the gradients while holding detail from the digital grain. There is absolutely no surface reflection and the paper has a slight texture, which gives the image a subtle third dimension.”
I called today and spoke to Cindy. She was very willing to help with any questions. she took her time, I didn't feel rushed, I appreciate all the suggestions and I am looking forward to receiving all my sample kits and paper orders. Thank you for your help.
Papers with the Archival designtation can take many forms. They can be glossy, matte, canvas, or an artistic product. These papers are acid free, lignin free and can be made of virgin tree fiber (alpha cellulose) or 25-100% cotton rag. They are likely to have optical or fluorescent brightening agents (OBAs) - chemicals that make the paper appear brighter white. Presence of OBAs does not indicate your image will fade faster. It does predict a slow change in the white point of your paper, especially if it is displayed without UV filter glass or acrylic.
Archival Grade Summary
Numerous papers - made from tree or cotton content
Acid and lignin free base stock
Inkjet coating layer acid free
Can have OBAs in the base or the coating
Museum Grade Paper
Papers with the museum designation make curators happy. They are made from 100% cotton rag content and have no optical brightener content. (OBA) The base stock is acid and lignin free. The coating is acid free. This type of offers the most archival option in terms of media stability over time.
Museum Grade Summary
100% cotton rag content
Acid and lignin free base stock
Inkjet coating layer acid free
No OBA content
Photographic Grade Paper
Photo Grade products are designed to look and feel like modern photo lab paper. Most photo grade media are resin coated, which means they have a paper core covered by a thin layer of polyethelene (plastic) . Plastic gives the paper its photo feel, stability (flatness), water resistance, handling resistance, and excellent feed consistency.
Prints on photo grade media are stable over long periods. With pigment inks in a protected environment, you can see up to 80 years on-display life. All RC papers are Photo Grade for two reasons. Plastic content is not technically archival by museum standards. Also, the inkjet coating of all RC papers is slightly acidic. It facilitates instant drying and does not actually change the stability of your inks over time. Virtually all RC papers have optical brightening agents (OBAs).
