I have been shooting Concert Photography for quite a while now and most recently I have been shooting at some new Venues and I have been told they dont allow Flash and I am having quite a bit of trouble finding my settings with all the flashing lights and strobes. PLEASE if anyone has any suggestiongs and or good books please let me know.....
You can Check out my work at www.charmcityimages.com
While shooting my most recent event on Thursday night I asked one of the other photographers and his best advice for me was he has been shooting there for a long time and is used to the lighting....
2.8 zoom or fast prime, ISO800-1600, RAW, and tripod if possible.
Unless there is big changes in the lighting, a common white balence will work. The biggest issue with stage work is light levels across the stage. Musical performances are generally easier to shoot than theater or dance.
Many times the light level will be such that at F2.8/iso1600 your only shooting at 1/60 or less. Even with a tripod, your ratio of keepers may be low. IS would help if you can not use a tripod.
A tripod really isn't going to be possible or help in concert shooting. You can assume that the performers are moving as much or more than your hands are shaking. Beyond that, even shooting from a photo pit, other shooters and security will have an issue with you placing a tripod (monopod might be an option). Forget it if you're belly to the stage from the audience.
Fast 2.8 lenses are a must. High-ISO shooting. Shoot RAW and don't even worry about white balance - you're going to have to figure it out in post. Spot meter off the face in shutter-priority mode if there are a lot of movers and strobe lights - take a reading, hit the exposure-lock, fire off two or three quick frames, release it, wait for the next lighting look or moment.
Thanks to all for responding this has been helping a lot and considering I have just got 2 more shows at the same venue I am sure I am going to run into the same thing.
A few things I want to put out there is:
I shoot with the Canon 40D
All my lenses are 2.8
(70 - 200L) (28 - 70L) and (100mm Macro USM)
Also I always shoot in M mode and anywhere from 800 - 1000 ISO moving the shutter anywhere from 1/60 - 1/40 once in a while to 1/25 with my B/W and still very grainy and also lots of blur.
Stage lighting is your friend...as long as they have enough of it and it is focused on the band member then no flash is needed...just steady hands, slow shutter speeds, good glass f2.8 or faster and a high ISO.
M mode? Manual? How do pull that off in the fast moving world of concert photography? I generally use the Canon 70-200L 2.8 IS wide open. I use an Expo Disc to set the white balance. I use a monopod when possible to get some extra stabilization. With the 1Ds3 I can use higher ISO's than I could before (1Ds). I always use Aperature Priority exposure mode.
Concert photography is one of my favorite gigs to shoot. I have *NEVER* used flash for concert photography, and don't ever anticipate ever wanting to. I love the challenge of getting the shot without flash (plus, it is distracting to many musicians).
I would highly recommend settings in the ISO 800 - ISO 1600 and keeping your shutter speed as close to 1/100 or higher if possible. I tend to meter off a band member's face using spot metering. I always shoot manual mode, and am always adjusting my settings. Depending on the type of show (small venue, little to no light, vs dynamic mainstage lighting that's constantly changing), you need to adjust your shooting syle. For instance, if you're on a stage where the lighting is very dynamic and set to the beat, you may have to look for patterns and anticipate. If it's a small venue with little to no light, my suggestion would be to pick up a 50/1.4, 35/1.4, 85/1.8, 28/1.8 lens, as these will help get the shutter speed a bit faster.
I really enjoy the 28mm/1.8 and the 35/1.4L when shooting concerts. Though, most of the following images were shot with a 24-70 or 70-200.
Garbage : Main Stage with very dynamic lighting.
Sometimes, in shots like these, I tend to meter off the rays of white light, and make sure they're pushing the highlight upper limit of the exposure.
Hope that helps just a bit. Just keep shooting. Also, I definitely recommend shooting RAW, just in case you underexpose and need to pull the levels up a bit.
As a general tip I'd say no flash, large aperture glass, high iso, IS/VR and handheld shooting. The only concert photos I've used support (a monopod) for was where I absolutely had to - ie. shooting with a 400/2.8 from a distance;
One thing is sure though, no matter which program you decide to use, you'll have to keep adjusting the exposure. Either by adjusting aperture, shutterspeed and iso when shooting fully manual or by exposure compensation when shooting in fx. Av or Tv.
What works for you will be different from what works for the next guy. Some like total control and shoot M where others prefer help from the camera to adjust shutter and/or aperture for them.
Wrt. stroboscopes I personally prefer trying to avoid their light. To me that means shooting in M and then just snapping a few frames in a row to be sure I've got one without the strobe lighting the scene. You can however catch some cool things if you with a little luck manage to hit both the strobe and the right exposure in one shot;
You have plenty of light to work with!
Set your camera to 1600 and leave it there.
Always shoot in RAW.
Don't worry about white balance because you can fix it in photoshop if you really want to.
Don't worry about being technically perfect.
Don't worry about "blur"...pan with the action.
Shoot less photos of someone standing behind the mic...get the guitarist raising his/her axe, the drummer intensely beating the skins, etc.
Capture the peak of the action when the musicans are lost in the music or jumping around or jamming.
Probably 80-90% of the show is filler for the magical 10-20% of peak action.
Photograph the crowd enjoying the music, crowd surfing, hot girls dancing, etc.
Remember, as a photographer shooting live music, you're job is to capture the feeling of the show for the viewer...so make your shots interesting.
For ballet, I use pretty much what has been suggested - iso 1600 (or higher if needed), spot metering (key!), and 2.8 glass. I use Av mode, as the shutter speed will change with the lights, just have to keep an eye to make sure it doesn't drop too low. And, I wouldn't use strobes, even if i could. Theater lighting can be nice and dramatic, where strobes would make it sorta generic looking.
I prefer to shoot theater, dance, and concerts compared to weddings at times
You have to keep in mind that many of the college and higher venues have lighting designers that do all the spot, fill, key, etc. light for you....more reason for not needing a flash at these gigs.
Back to your question, depending on the camera/noise, I have always use ISO1600, unless it's my 1D MkI. As for the lense, I mainly just leave it as wide as it can go: 2.8, 2.0, etc.
Like someone stated earlier, I started shooting by using AV mode, but now I have moved to full manual and the results are much more consistent. Keep in mind, since that I mainly shoot dance, I keep my focus point to the center.
A well-known fashion photographer once told me: "You can sell a shot that's grainy. You can sell a shot that's slightly underexposed. But you will never, and I mean never, sell a shot that's blurry". I think that's true most of the time.
Here's how I shoot concerts:
1. Use fully open aperture.
2. Use longest exposure I can do handheld (which is 1/125 most of the time).
3. Shoot RAW.
Forget metering and white balance! There's absolutely no way you'll overexpose a f/2.8 1/125 ISO 100 shot on a concert. And it doesn't really matter where you change ISO - in your camera or in PP. Same goes for white balance.
skip the tripod, skip the flash it kills the ambience anyway, use the brightest glass you have 400 or 800 iso, 1/30th, don't worry about white balance or metering every shot, take a couple of shots in the beginning, see what you have and adjust the iso after that then pretty much stick with the set f stop and speed you set, shoot RAW and shoot a lot.
fast lens
I did an amateur band at a skate rink.
Wow was the lighting bad. Very amateur. All shots used 1600 ISO and either the 50 1.4 or the 35 L. All were hand held.
Or you can get creative and use the noise to your advantage in PS for a grunge feel. The lighting here was even worse. It was in a mall store, gutted and set as a quicke stage using only sparse overhead florescent lighting.
I used to shoot for Gibson Guitars (Artist Relations Dept), and publicists out of LA.
Along with the ideas already mentioned...fast lenses, fast camera with high ISO performance, etc..there is one trick that hasn't been mentioned.
Get to know the lighting engineer of the venue, or of the group providing they have support staff. (Most national and larger regional artists do).
For smaller venues, these days most stage lighting is intelligent, meaning it is triggered by the exposure to a certain frequency. Most often this is the bass/kick drum. Anticipate the beat. If you are a musician yourself, it helps to subdivide the beat. With practice you will do this naturally, and wait for the musicians to be "in the light". Always expose for the stage lights, if possible before the show, ask the lighting engineer to bring up the lights, use an exposure card on stage and meter from the front of house. Don't change your settings if at all possible. It lets you focus on capturing the show. It will come...
Second, for larger venues with a production team, it'll be trickier since the lighting is choreographed to the show ahead of time. Try and work with the lighting engineer for the light plan.
Check out some of my images at my website under the "Performance/Entertainment" section
Apr 04, 2008 at 05:28 AM