Had an opportunity to shoot a local Jazz Pianist last Saturday. had pretty tough conditions in that all i could shoot was wide open f2.8 at 1/50th most of the night. If anyone has any pointers on shooting at clubs and jazz bars please feel free to mention them. has anyone ever used flash during performances, especially at intimate venues?
i looked at the exif and you were using ISO2000 already, that is pretty tough conditions. Shotting at 1/50s is way too slow for any clear images as far as i am concern even if your hands are steady enough your subject is moving even ever so slightly. In conditions like that, i usually will wait and pick my moments.
There are a few things you can try:
1. avoid shooting close up as much as you can cos any motion of the subject will make your image blurry. And underexposed close up usually gets too dark for details or too much noise on the face when you adjust the curve in photoshop.
2. wait for moments when the subject is standing still or moving at little as possible. Typically during the beginning of a song or at the end of a song when they are usually more relaxed and less expressive with their body language. Slow songs are always easier as they usually will not move as much. (you get the idea)
3. take the shoot during the pauses between one verse to another, same idea for a musician i suppose. (again to capture the shot when the subject's motion is the least)
4. take the shot before the light goes out or wait for the end when the light comes back on. This one you have to be prepare for the change of the lighting and have your camera set to the appropriate setting for the bright light. I typically use this moment to capture the subject when the spot light comes on or before it goes away. (i do mostly pop concerts so there are spot lights that comes and goes all the time and i have to react very quickly to it, anticipation i suppose)
anyways that all ii can think of right now, i hope it helps
Johnny - thanks...glad you like it...i dig the keys too:-)
TChan - Great advise! Thank you so much for taking the time. i will take all your points into consideration for the next time...again...thanks.
oh i just thought of another, tripod will help if the venue have enough space, but it will be disturbing if you start moving around the stage to get different angles. IS will definitely help a lot if you have it on the lens.
find an edge on a chair or any fixture you can lean your camera on for support, i do it all the time when i am right in front of the stage i just rest my camera on the edge of the stage if it is high enough. (or hand railings)
Flash will work but results are not very nice, totally take away the mood and usually it will expose any unwanted details of the venue (you will know what i mean when you see a club in daytime)
if you use the flash, you will light up the whole place and any kind of "concert mood" (lack of a better word) will be lit up like a family portrait. The other very annoying effect is you will have harsh shadows everywhere even if you bounce the light on the ceiling and have a soft white cover on the flash. Now if the backdrop of the stage is far enough AND if there is some kind of spot light, you might be able to get away with it. let me find you an example of what i have done before
what if use a soft box or cut a diffuser into a snoot? i could always power down the flash output as well? i dont want to be a pain, and i know i will need to experiment...but there just has to be a way:-) Again TChan...thanks for all your help and input...much appreciated!
this one was taken last year with my old 30D, you can see the EXIF i used flash but there is a spot light on the opposite side so the flash is more of a fill-in light purpose.
Camera Model: Canon EOS 30D
Shutter Speed: 1/160 sec
Aperture: f/4
Focal Length: 160 mm
ISO Sensitivity: 800
Time Taken: 2008:06:01 19:51:57
Exposure Compensation: 0 EV
Metering Mode: Multi-Segment
Flash Fired: Red Eye, Compulsory Flash
this is another example. i was using a 580EX but i was not close to the stage and you can see the backdrop was pretty far away so the shadows are not visual much.
i see what you mean about the fill. I however, would most likely try to fire the flash remotely...off camera...to one side of the subject. Since i have a relationship with the artist, i will be able to do a small light set-up and have them grouped and fired remotely, so in effect i guess, I would be able to mimic a quick spotlight and such.
yes, if you are able to do the remote flash it will for sure be much better. but whether the audience will appreciate that is another problem you have to observe. Good luck to you and hope it will work out better for you next time!
PS i was thinking if you do have a good relationship with the artist why not have him ask the venue to give you more lights? tell him to ask them as if he wants a different "lighting mood" for his performance
the problem with use a prime is that either you are at perfect distance to the artist and he does not move around the stage much or otherwise you will have to move around front and back(doesnt matter if it is only a few steps difference). In that case you will have to have enough room for you to move and also you might be a distraction to the audience. Now if you are in a pop concert situation, nobody really cares but if you are in a jazz concert of sort. people might get angry with you.
