part one of my dream...

Creamy Goodness

...has come true.

from the "what are your dreams/goals" thread i mentioned that i'd like to get into gig photography and mainly photograph biffy clyro. well i haven't really got biffy clyro yet, but i've been asked to cover another scottish band who are doing an acoustic show here soon.

now the gig is hosted by the unmentionable which is a complete shame as i've never been to the venue at all so i've no idea about the lighting. i'm hoping someone here who has done gig photography could help me with some general advice.

here's my gear list.

canon 450d
50mm f/1.8
18-55mm kit lens
100mm macro f/2.8
70-200mm f/4

i'm guessing the macro and the 70-200mm will be fairly useless.

and also guessing the 50mm will be my lens of choice due to it being my fastest lens and i'm guessing external flash - even if i had one :P - would be not permitted. the 18-55mm may come in use at f/3.5 at 18mm.

would i be right in thinking all of the above?

what mode would be best to shoot in? guessing aperature priority (AV)? should i let the camera deal with the ISO or is there a standard ISO used for gig shots?

i'll be the first to admit i love Sinead's photos over at www.gigshots.ie especially the papier tigre shots and her adebisi shank shots over on pix that girl has good taste in music and due to the high action these bands play with filling the frame somewhat simplified as to what is good to capture although the lighting in the venues these bands usually play is atrocious so i know they were not easy shots to get.

but with an acoustic show, where the action isn't as energetic what works in a shot is not as clear cut? what works in the frame and what doesn't is what i'm stuck on, i know the likes of mic stands etc shouldn't block the face etc. i ain't that silly but i haven't really seen any acoustic show photography to see what works and what doesn't. anyone have any tips on this?

Thanks guys and girls.

Ricky91t

would i be right in thinking all of the above?

Yep,You're on the ball there

melekalikimaka

no doubt that will be snipped shortly...

but when shooting gigs... personally, i like to use primes... low ap... a 24-70... would be kicking or a constant 18-55 2.8, but either a 50mm/85mm 1.8/1.4 usually will be the business for you... flash is a definite no go, and 3 song rule shall apply, so i'd try jump from lweft/middle/right of stage to get a nice varity of shots and get a sense of the lights early on to pre empt some nice potential set ups... shoot manual and try keep the iso down... best of luck

melekalikimaka

ah looking at your gear... the 50mm and the 100mm will do nicely i think... 18mm would possibly be ok but distortion will come into play a good bit so keep that in mind

Creamy Goodness

melekalikimaka wrote: »

but when shooting gigs... personally, i like to use primes... low ap... a 24-70... would be kicking or a constant 18-55 2.8, but either a 50mm/85mm 1.8/1.4 usually will be the business for you... flash is a definite no go, and 3 song rule shall apply, so i'd try jump from lweft/middle/right of stage to get a nice varity of shots and get a sense of the lights early on to pre empt some nice potential set ups... shoot manual and try keep the iso down... best of luck

ahhh if only i could afford a 24-70 :P but i is a poor student.

i used an 85mm f/1.4 late last week and it was great, doubtful that i could get my hands back on it, the owner is super busy.

3 song rule? didn't think something like that exists? i've been asked directly by the band would that matter?

i don't think i'd be comfortable shooting manual, especially with a 3 song limit, i wouldn't be the fastest getting the correct settings for manual mode and really only use manual when i'm doing macro stuff when i have all the time in the world to set up.

so i'd be looking at ISO 100/200 ?

melekalikimaka wrote: »

ah looking at your gear... the 50mm and the 100mm will do nicely i think... 18mm would possibly be ok but distortion will come into play a good bit so keep that in mind

really the 100mm will be useful? would it not get too close? i don't know where i will situated but i'm assuming i'll be close to the stage.

melekalikimaka

see we cant go into detail here bout where gig is on and such... but in some venues... with some promotors... a 3 song rule is strictly enforced... with a no flash policy... one or two venues are the opposite, depends where your playing, depending on venue the 100 could come in handy too

Creamy Goodness

cool thanks i'll take it along.

sorry mods if this broke the rules i didn't mention any promotors or venue in my original post so thought it be ok? please delete and ban if you all deem that it broke the rules.

sheesh

Creamy Goodness wrote: »

i don't think i'd be comfortable shooting manual, especially with a 3 song limit, i wouldn't be the fastest getting the correct settings for manual mode and really only use manual when i'm doing macro stuff when i have all the time in the world to set up.
.

Get there early or ask the band can you come in for the sound check as well. there will probably better lighting and you might get some more time.

AnCatDubh

Creamy Goodness wrote: »

sorry mods if this broke the rules i didn't mention any promotors or venue in my original post so thought it be ok? please delete and ban if you all deem that it broke the rules.

I've had a read and don't think there are any issues associated with the 'promoter' sticky resulting from this thread. After all it is photography that is being discussed as the primary topic rather than the gig and definitely not the promoter. You won't be able to post your results here post the event but that's not what is being discussed either so I think you are good to go.

I'm removing the post that names a band - just to be safe but again there has been no discussion of the promoter or that particular event as an event. It's probably close to the line so i'll remove it to be safe. Other than that I think many will benefit from the photography content being discussed here. (i'm obviously open to correction on this - it's just a personal interpretation).

Creamy Goodness

Thanks AnCatDubh, the photography aspect was definitely what i wanted to discuss, i read the sticky before posting here to be sure not to name names of venues so .

the results shall not be posted up on here as much as i would like C&C, it's not worth getting banned from here where else would i get knowledge from such knowledgable people