Will be shooting a small concert

Foques · March 10, 2010

Good day.
I will be shooting a concert of a local band shortly.
They usually perform without excessive amount of light, with no strobes firing etc, they play in bars.

Questions are:

1) Is it normal to use flash during concerts? (I realize that i would need to clear that with the band itself, but is it normal?)
2) What glass if preferred?
Currently, I have on me 17-50, 28-80 (3.5), 70-300 (4-5.6), 55-200 (4-5), 50mm (1.8).
I'm guessing, i'll be shooting most of it with 17-50 as it is the fastest lens I have.
am I right?
3) am I right in thinking that i'll need to bump ISO as high as possible, so reduce the shutter speed?
4) Should I keep aperture wide open?
5) any other tips and tricks would be grand
tia.

JohnBiggs · March 10, 2010

The 50mm is the fastest lens you have. I would just take that. You can add flash but you'll most likely end up destroying the scene.

Yes, you need to think of 1600 just as a starting point. Try to get the shutter high enough. You may have to crank to 3200 or more. 1.8 is your friend.

Foques · March 10, 2010

Thank you John.
And, yes, 50mm is the fastest.. Vicodin and typing isn't working well together. heh. sorry about that.

Should I invest into any other lens? I have until the 19th, and I can afford getting something in the range of 600-700..

JohnBiggs · March 10, 2010

Foques wrote:

Thank you John.
And, yes, 50mm is the fastest.. Vicoding and typing isn't working well together. heh. sorry about that.

Should I invest into any other lens? I have until the 19th, and I can afford getting something in the range of 600-700..

I think the 50 is a great lens for this. Depending on how far you are or how you like to do composition an 85mm 1.8 is a good choice too.

JohnBiggs · March 10, 2010

BTW: If I had 600-700 to spend and I wanted to upgrade my kit for any type of shooting the Tamron 70-200 f2.8 is a good choice as your kit seems to be lacking good glass in that range even more so than the 85mm. I'd sell the 70-300 now and sell the 55-200 after getting the 70-200.

If all you want to photograph are low light concerts or other indoor events, then I'd go all primes and forget the zooms.

Foques · March 10, 2010

thanks a lot chief!!

DerekMartinezPhotography · March 10, 2010

Def. don't use the flash. Bring your 50 and 17-55. Later down the road you can invest in a 70-200
Start at ISO 800-1200 and work your way up depending how the lighting rig they have there.

DerekMartinezPhotography.com

Foques · March 10, 2010

I am seelling a bunch of car parts, if they sell, i'll be definitely getting 70-200, and at least one prime.
thank you very much!

The_Fat_Zebra · March 11, 2010

If they play in bars as you say, you may find yourself in very tight quarters, with the audience right up to the stage. (Been there) I have found that a 50mm 1.8 on a crop sensor sometimes just isn't suitable for that situation, since there is it is impossible to move freely to recompose. Hence, if it is a 17-50 2.8 you have that's a good start, but any other recommendations really depend on the venue you will be shooting at. Shooting a beginner in the knitting factory is a wholly different ballgame from shooting in MSgarden

Foques · March 11, 2010

there is definitely going to be tight space.
I will try 50mm first, but odds are will have to move to 17-50 (yes, it is 2.8) anyway.
Great info guys.
I heart this forum.
thank you!

time2smile · March 18, 2010

All above is very good advise.
But dont forget that motion blur make very cool band photos too...especially with guitar necks disappearing, and drum sticks showing speed in movement.
If you use a flash try some rear sync shots..

Good luck...

Wil Davis · March 18, 2010

Perhaps this is too late, but might useful for the future. Have you thought about using a monopod? I've taken a number of low-light pictures at one of my regular sound gigs, and have found a monopod to be useful on two counts:

(1) steadies non-flash pictures (for most of these gigs, I find ISO 400, ¼ sec, f2.8 works about right)

(2) by putting the camera on 5 sec delay (with flash, same settings as before), and holding the monopod overhead, I can take the photos from an effective height of 12'.

The slow shutter speed give the necessary movement to the dancers, and the flash picks out the details and highlights of the dancers' features (see here for examples).

HTH -

- Wil

W.W. Webster · March 19, 2010

Foques wrote:

Questions

1) No, never
2) 50mm f/1.8 if long enough
3) ISO as high as necessary to get a sufficiently fast shutter speed while minimising noise
4) yes, as far as practical (i.e. depending on DOF requirements)
5) the conditions make this somewhat hit and miss - shoot as many images as possible to maximise your chance of getting a reasonable number of (any?) keepers

Wil Davis wrote:

Have you thought about using a monopod?

If your shutter speed is so slow as to require use of a monopod, it will be too slow to catch the action IMHO.

Foques · March 19, 2010

thanks a lot guys!
the day x is tomorrow.
Will post shots once it is done.

JohnBiggs · March 19, 2010

Foques wrote:

thanks a lot guys!
the day x is tomorrow.
Will post shots once it is done.

Good luck! Can't wait to see the results.

Art Scott · March 19, 2010

Only got to post 10 but I decided to interject and concert photos were my mainstay from the 70's to early 90's......along with weddings.......
I only shot with a Sigma 70-210(now 200) f2.8 the earliest version was f2.8-4 and 100 or 50iso film and no flash......digital has changed me a bit.....still use the 70-200f2.8 and a second body that will have a 17-70f2.8-4 (Sigma).......this will be a killer sombo for concerts and weddings..........

and that is the combo I would suggest.......rent a 17-70 from borrow lenses . com to see if you like it......

I still try to keep my ISO as low as possible......I shoot for artistic ambiance not a properly exposed frame....sometimes that means noise from under or over exposure..........so experiment shoot manual and only change 1 thing at a time.....yes your gonna miss a few shots but you should come away with some really great shots .........my endeavor was to make it to where you could not tell if the subject was on a bar stage or in the Shea stadium................
Like the top 3 shots here: http://www.artscottfotografie.com/Portfolio/PORTFOLIO/1045499_koLGH#50647087_zicZD

Good Luck and post a few of your final shots.......lastly if your camera allows shoot RAW for better control..............

Foques · March 20, 2010

good day all.
Thank you so much for your input - it was all awesome info.

Concert went grand. I, actually, managed to get way more usable shots than I though I would.
Ended up shooting with 17-50. 50mm proved to be too long due to crowd.

I shot crowd with a flash, and the stage @ 1600 ISO / 50@F2.8

Will put the pictures out as soon as i'm done with them.
Right now, i'm going to go get more sleep.. as I got home from concert only 6 hours ago..

tank you all!!

Foques · March 21, 2010

couple of shots so far:

time2smile · March 21, 2010

Nice...

Foques · March 21, 2010

Thanks Ted.

JohnBiggs · March 22, 2010

Great shots. Any more?

Foques · March 22, 2010

Thank you John.

I am still processing.. but here are the ones i've uploaded so far:

linky to my gallery

I will post more shots today.

time2smile · March 22, 2010

You Make the Dark Side Proud.....

Like the B&W, especially #34
Thanks for sharing

Foques · March 22, 2010

thank you Ted.

Truth to be told, if not you guys, I don't know if any would turn out.

Foques · March 22, 2010

ok..
here is the folder with the actual band I was supposed to shoot.
click me

Foques · March 23, 2010

a few more

1)

2)

3)

4)

5)

6)

7)

8)

The_Fat_Zebra · March 23, 2010

great job!

Foques · March 23, 2010

thank you

what could I have done better or different?

time2smile · March 23, 2010

You did a good job with the balance of dark and the concert lights, they usually get blown out, the only thing I could see is that #2 is soft, but it looks as if focus was on the sound monitor and not on there faces or bodies.
With the light you had you did a great job, I got the feeling of the show by looking at your shots. It reminded me of my younger years when I did lighting for bands.

Keep it up you have a good eye to convey the atmosphere of the show...

Village Idiot · March 24, 2010

In bars/clubs of that size, I'm usually shooting with a 17-40 and a FF camera. Sometimes the 24-70 just isn't even wide enough.

Foques · March 24, 2010

thank you guys.

Ted, that means a lot!

my 17-50 left me wanting it to be 10-50.. if that were possible. heh

Will be shooting a small concert

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