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Archive 2014 · Concert Photos: B&W vs Blown Colors

  
 
kezeka
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Concert Photos: B&W vs Blown Colors


Been struggling with how I feel about this for a while so I figured I would throw up some photos and ask for others opinion on the matter. Normally, I appreciate the color cast from concert lighting and think it adds to the photos and helps capture the character of the show. Sometimes though, I feel like it destroys the focus on the people and creates an overpowering aura of an alternate reality or something of the sort. The shows I covered at a local venues smaller stage yesterday fell strongly in the later category for me so I converted the entire batch to B&W.

I tried every trick I know of to reduce the color cast in post but was unable to do so - any tips on something else to try?



http://www.joshuakamnetz.com/TheRest-2/2014/2014-Winter/i-fJbDQgz/0/XL/Hello%20Wheels%20WA-270-XL.jpg



http://www.joshuakamnetz.com/TheRest-2/2014/2014-Winter/i-9dLFw4f/0/XL/Hello%20Wheels%20WA-270-2-XL.jpg



Jan 04, 2014 at 01:19 PM
John Caldwell
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Concert Photos: B&W vs Blown Colors


Both versions work well as you've handled them. The color version nearly renders as a a duotone, or at least a tritone, so it's not so different from the black and white thematically.

Both are nice, namely because your shot is good.

John Caldwell



Jan 04, 2014 at 02:07 PM
friscoron
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Concert Photos: B&W vs Blown Colors


B&W.

I've dealt with that myself, and sometimes there is no Photoshop/LR magic that can save them.



Jan 04, 2014 at 06:22 PM
Lee Saxon
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Concert Photos: B&W vs Blown Colors


John Caldwell wrote:
The color version nearly renders as a a duotone, or at least a tritone, so it's not so different from the black and white thematically.


I was about to say the same thing. You get some crazy effects when those goofy gelled stage lights blow out just one color channel (red, in this case).

That said, though, I prefer the B&W. It seems obvious to me that the color isn't "tritone" on purpose, while the B&W looks intentionally high-contrast. A non-photographer or at least someone who doesn't know what it's like to shoot under these awful gelled stage lights might see it differently though.





Jan 05, 2014 at 01:29 AM
kezeka
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Concert Photos: B&W vs Blown Colors


It is interesting to think of the LED panel induced tritone nature of the colored photo, I never quite thought of it in that manner. Tonight I covered 4 shows in a venue that was all smurf blue lighting.


Jan 05, 2014 at 04:51 AM
Robin Usagani
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Concert Photos: B&W vs Blown Colors


Would love to mess with the raw. I have an idea but not totally sure it will work.



Jan 05, 2014 at 09:47 AM
jojomon11
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Concert Photos: B&W vs Blown Colors


B and W, colored version is terrible and useless IMO


Jan 05, 2014 at 10:35 AM
Neddie Seagoon
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Concert Photos: B&W vs Blown Colors


Oh dear, but do I hate LED stage lighting. It just does not play well with digital cameras. I shoot a lot of theater and fortunately, I've got the lighting directors to go easy on the LEDs but sometimes it's just unavoidable. I usually don't like to mess with color changes because I feel that the LD puts a color on stage for a reason, part of the story he wants to tell. I have had some success with Aperture and the "Color" adjustment. Use the eye dropper to select the color that needs modifying then use the saturation and luminance sliders to reduce that color's intensity. Not sure if LR has a similar adjustment, but I suspect that it does.


Jan 05, 2014 at 06:31 PM
kezeka
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Concert Photos: B&W vs Blown Colors


Neddie Seagoon wrote:
Oh dear, but do I hate LED stage lighting. It just does not play well with digital cameras. I shoot a lot of theater and fortunately, I've got the lighting directors to go easy on the LEDs but sometimes it's just unavoidable. I usually don't like to mess with color changes because I feel that the LD puts a color on stage for a reason, part of the story he wants to tell. I have had some success with Aperture and the "Color" adjustment. Use the eye dropper to select the color that needs modifying then use the saturation
...Show more

When there is obviously a light show going on I tend to agree with your opinion that the coloration adds to the photos. However, in this set the lighting stayed the exact same for all four bands playing on that stage with no movement or change in intensity or color. Honestly, After going through ~800 photos from the shows I pretty much came to the conclusion that the lighting was so obnoxious and unchanging that when the photos would be displayed in a set that they would actually take the focus away from the performance.

I tried the color slider but to no avail :/ it would just make part of the photo appear desaturated since there are no underlying colors below the magenta/blue.



Jan 06, 2014 at 04:07 PM
kezeka
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Concert Photos: B&W vs Blown Colors


I don't have the rights to present the entire set of photos from this show but if you are interested, there are ~10 photos/band from that night here:

http://ovrld.com/photo-reviews/free-week-in-review-2014-2/



Jan 09, 2014 at 11:00 PM
blutch
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · Concert Photos: B&W vs Blown Colors


You can adjust the white balance and HSL the red and blue in Lightroom. Also, curves might help. I've dealt with this before and it can make it manageable.

B



Jan 10, 2014 at 12:20 AM
blutch
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · Concert Photos: B&W vs Blown Colors


Assuming you shot them in RAW.



Jan 10, 2014 at 12:20 AM
kezeka
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · Concert Photos: B&W vs Blown Colors


blutch wrote:
Assuming you shot them in RAW.


Will play around with these in photoshop this weekend. Thanks for the tip.



Jan 10, 2014 at 09:41 PM
scottam10
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · Concert Photos: B&W vs Blown Colors


Red stage lighting...loved by lighting directors, hated by photographers
Stage lighting can give interesting shots, but you said it stayed like this all night...ugh
Agree that you can't recover 'realistic' colours here, b&w is better



Jan 11, 2014 at 05:00 PM
RoadconePhoto
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · Concert Photos: B&W vs Blown Colors


As a photographer the B&W is better by far... i switch to B&W when i have to shoot high ISO in clubs... but as average joe the colored stuff looks cool. I shoot both when i shoot in that environment... if im shooting color shots i purposely underexpose the images tho to help knock it down some and then kill it more in post. I think tthis was almost 2 stops under exposed and i pushed everything in post IIRC
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3802/11455304653_7edd12fa9b_c.jpg



Jan 12, 2014 at 04:42 PM
Langran
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p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · Concert Photos: B&W vs Blown Colors


I deal with this on a regular basis, red lights are a nightmare for this sort of thing. Personally I like the B&W in this case. Nice work getting the contrast and range of tones to look right, always difficult with an image like you started with


Jan 12, 2014 at 10:42 PM
jeremy_clay
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p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · Concert Photos: B&W vs Blown Colors


I've foundt his a big problem but especially with the 5DMkIII RAW files, far moreso then the MII or 1DsII.

One thing I've found helps is selective channel desaturation and curves modification. Of course shoot RAW. For EG here I pulled out a lof of the magenta, modified it far cooler, etc etc...still couldn;t get as close as I wanted. Check into individual channels tho! (see below - Megadeth/Dave Mustaine 2013)

http://i.imgur.com/dnZCJby.jpg



Jan 14, 2014 at 12:33 PM
jeremy_clay
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p.1 #18 · p.1 #18 · Concert Photos: B&W vs Blown Colors


PS anyone else shooting big concert lighting find the 5D3 less 'recoverable' in intense light compared to either a more or less modern Canon offering??


Jan 15, 2014 at 11:06 AM
cadman342001
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p.1 #19 · p.1 #19 · Concert Photos: B&W vs Blown Colors


B&W all day long for me.

You might want to check out a set of LR5 Presets from International Music Photographer Benon Julius William Otto Koebsch (!) who has 10 of his most popular presets that he uses for his music photography. He charges a mere $2 for all 10 ! I use them for all sorts of shots as well and they are great.

Link: http://www.bjwok.com/lightroom5presets/lightroom-5-presets-for-music-photographers/

IIRC he mentions that he created one of them just for the situation you had here, although his example shot isn't as bad as yours red wise.

Quote -

"10. Put Your Helmet On
Saved the best for last! As rock n’ roll photographers it’s pretty unanimous to say we HATE red lighting!! Dealing with red in post is a royal pain in the ass!! Not anymore, this totally schwenken preset pulls the reds and replaces them with more natural looking skin tones. That’s worth the 2 bucks on it’s own!"

YMMV

Andy



Jan 16, 2014 at 01:38 AM
jeremy_clay
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p.1 #20 · p.1 #20 · Concert Photos: B&W vs Blown Colors


Thanks Andy, he had me until 'schwenken'.


Jan 21, 2014 at 03:11 PM





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