Need Some Pro Advise

Sandy

I will be shooting a concert next weekend in an outdoor theatre. The shots will be of the crowd, and of the performers on stage and VIP. When I did this at the House of Blues I found my 18-55 lense with flash unit to be inadequate. They are not looking for a pro for this project. My camera is the 20d w/18-55 kit lense and a Sigma Flash. I will be doing candids and will not be set up with lights Which lense, equipment would work best for this shoot?

mercphoto

Sandy wrote:

I will be shooting a concert next weekend in an outdoor theatre. The shots will be of the crowd, and of the performers on stage and VIP. When I did this at the House of Blues I found my 18-55 lense with flash unit to be inadequate. They are not looking for a pro for this project. My camera is the 20d w/18-55 kit lense and a Sigma Flash. I will be doing candids and will not be set up with lights Which lense, equipment would work best for this shoot?

I can see the 18-55 being inadequate in at least two ways: either the glass was too slow, or the focal range was wrong. I'm guessing due to low light you need faster glass.

That said, the Tamron 28-75/2.8 is a good option. Will let it qute a bit more light than the kit lens. Better image quality as well. Note, however, its not quite as wide, but does have more reach on the telephoto end.

JohnR

I would think that a flash wouldn't be received very nicely at a concert.

I took these at a local outdoor ampitheater with my 80-200mm f/2.8 lens, no flash. Just pumped up the ISO.

http://louisvilleky.smugmug.com/gallery/815892



(that's Lance Burton..magician)

Chase

sigma 24-70 f2.8

or maybe two fast primes. 85 f1.8 and a 20 2.8 or something?

gus

Sandy are you talking about renting for the day or buying a lens ?


Nice work @ 1600 JohnR...which prog did you use to reduce the noise ?

Gus

Sandy

I reserved two rental lenses, the 16-35, and the 70-200 2.8. I can always change the selections. These were suggested by the rental house. Thanks for the help it is really appreciated.

gus

Nice choice sandy...

Khaos

After using the 70-200 you may feel the need to buy it.:D
It's my favorite lens.

Shay Stephens

All of my coverage is with the 16-35 and the 70-200. Very versatile setup.

I would also suggest trying to do this ambient using as high an ISO as needed to get the exposure (don't worry about noise). If you do use flash, then try dragging the shutter and use the flash for fill. It can have a nice look.

Your toughest job may wind up being focus if it is dark enough.

Either way you feel comfortable shooting though is what you should do. Practice low light action shots before going if you have not done it in a while.

Sandy

This is a major concert with lots of people, they didn't want to hire a pro, so I have the gig. I have been lucky so far, and wish I knew more, but with everyones help I think I can pull it off, a true nail biter. I'm going to go for it.
Thanks for the great support.

Shay, please explain more about

"ambient using as high an ISO (how high?)

If you do use flash, then try dragging the shutter and use the flash for fill.

Dragging the shutter (please explain).

Clueless in LA (sorry).

JohnR

Humungus, thanks. No noise reduction program was used.

Sandy, for this: "ambient using as high an ISO (how high?) I think he meant changing the ISO on your camera to a higher setting...example 1600 like what I used.

Best thing with digital is that you can see how it looks right then. Play with the ISO and see which one gives you the best results. Go out before the night you have to shoot and practice with different lighting. (convenience stores are one example, or wherever there is some lighting)

Khaos

You'll probably need to use ISO 1600. I know I had to when the light I got was only coming from the stage and even then it wasn't enough to really light up the people on stage.

I believe what Shay was referring to was setting your shutter speed to as slow as possible for the focal length and action of the people and let the light come in naturally and have the flash take care of what's not there.

So set the ISO high, manual mode, with the slowest shutter that won't give you blur, and use the flash if you can.

Sandy

I will play around with the camera settings on Friday night. Should be alright thanks to the support I have here.

Shay Stephens

Shay, please explain more about
"ambient using as high an ISO (how high?)
As high as you need. In other words, don't concern yourself with noise, go for exposure. ISO 3200 is a viable option here. Low light photography is inherently noisy, so embrace the noise, incorporate it into your style and go for it :-)


Dragging the shutter (please explain).
Dragging the shutter refers to setting a shutter speed to expose the ambient light anywhere from 0 to -2 EV (depending on taste). This will no doubt result in a blurry image due to a long shutter speed in low light. So to compensate, you use the flash to freeze the subject.

Try it with aperture priority and the flash. The motion blur of the background and sharp to semi sharp subjects is all a part of the look of the technique. It might not be the right look for what you or the "customer" is looking for, but it is a technique you should probably at least know how to use and be able to apply it when appropriate.

Some links:
http://www.phototechmag.com/previous-articles/2002/lane-ma/lane.html
http://www.planetneil.com/faq/dragging-the-shutter.html

And here is an example I took trying to highlight motion by dragging the shutter in conjunction with flash:




Of course, you don't have to show so much motion. If you keep the camera still, the details in the background can be a lot sharper:

Sandy

Nice effect Shay I will try it sometime. I especially like it in the second photo of the little girl. Usually I just donate my time and photography skills (limited as they may be) and have been successful in getting some great shots. This time it is a paid gig and a great opportunity. If I suceed it may lead to more work. I actually shot a concert at the House of Blues on program mode with the 18-55. Although not great, I did get the shots.