Gig photos - Any tips

Gaspode

Hi All,
I'll be gigging tomorrow night (supporting Kila doncha know!) and hope to get some photos. I've never really tried gig photos before.
Any tips for getting good shots without the flash? Camera is a Nikon D5000.

Cheers

daycent

What lenses do you have?

scudzilla

Nice thread, was gonna ask same questions, but not for this gig

I have bog standard 18-55 and a 75-200 lens

Thecageyone

I took some shots at a gig recently, with no flash. the stage lighting did the job, though spotlights can be a bit crazy for rock bands, whizzing all over the place, just take plenty to cover yourself.

I only have a simple Fuji - bridge cam btw, you don't need anything fancy unless you're going to be miles from the stage.

I took all mine hand-held [tripod at a gig isn't advised, and probably not allowed] using slow-ish exposures [for hand-held + people bouncing around crashing into you while snapping]

A few shots I uploaded to flickr -

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cagey75/sets/72157623526326677/



check the exif data if you need some kind of guide, I did a lot of fiddling on the night which meant I was missing parts of the show. if you're already set up before you get there it'll make life much easier for you.

There was people at the gig using full on flash and getting right up into the singer's face while they were at it! I thought that was well ignorant, just don't be a pest, be discreet, take in a breath and grip the camera tight [preferably using the view finder not LCD] when taking each shot.

Larger aperture seems to work well with exposures between 1/60 - 1/20, depending on how steady your hands are [how many pints you've had ]

good luck.

daycent

You're going to find it difficult with a kit lens anyway. You really need a f2.8 lens or faster for a low light situation like a gig.

Thecageyone

This shot here was taken zoomed in, @ 1/60 [no IS on my cam either] aperture: f/4



it is possible to get nice shots with not so large an aperture. It did take a little fill light and brightening in LR later but it remained clear.

mehfesto

Where's the gig on?

Essential tips are:
shutter speed any lower that 1/60 will give you blur - guaranteed. Try to keep it higher than this, but if you're in say, The Academy, you won't get a chance to with a standard lens.

ISO obviously should be kept as low as possible, but depending on the lights, you might be forced higher. 1000 isn't that uncommon in the Dublin venues given the lights, but you know yourself the disadvantages of being that high.

Aperture. This is the bitch. Anything on the lower end (wide) say 2.8 will give a massive boost to the lighting, but if the band you're shooting is leppin around chances are you'll get 100s of out of focus pics.

And finally my secret tip:
'catching a flash'. you know you can't use flash. but the crowd can. If things get really bad (lighting-wise), stick the camera into RAW, get the shutter speeds up to the 1/100 area and aperture around f4 and just keep clicking. You're waiting for someone else's flash to steal. RAW will slow you down (depending on the quality of your memory card, etc), but will give you more to play around with in PS.

Here's ONE shot I got from the maccabees recent (in the dark) show:

It wouldn't been pointless had I not gone down this route. It's risky and you might get nothing, but one partially lit shot, is better than 100s of dark, blurry ones!

If ya need more tips, dont be afraid to ask, coz I'm Deadl.ie

Thecageyone

My 1/20 shot is clearer than your dark shot, it is very possible to get steady shots at that exposure, unless you've the hands of a 90 yr old

If you have IS on the lens, even better chance, my cam has 0 stabilization and I managed a few at 1/20.

The catch a flash tip isn't much of a secret, it's much like what I said, use the stage lighting to your advantage. All about timing.

melekalikimaka

http://boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2054919619&highlight=concert+photography

melekalikimaka

http://boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2054919619&highlight=concert+photography

and if its academy its gonna be a tough one depending on lights. Heres one from a few days ago there http://www.flickr.com/photos/melekalikimaka/sets/72157623643611870/, nasty lack of lights, tho sometimes its good, depends on band and if academy 1 or 2

Thecageyone

An obvious tip for crispier shots is wait for the slow tracks, when they're not jumping about the stage causing chaos on your settings. For the faster songs get playful with flash + longer exposures

melekalikimaka

Thecageyone wrote: »

An obvious tip for crispier shots is wait for the slow tracks, when they're not jumping about the stage causing chaos on your settings. For the faster songs get playful with flash + longer exposures

flash is a defo no no in most venues, also 3 song limit, so waiting not an option

underwaterknife

No flash, 50mm lens, take your shots using the light provided by the stage lights, set your exposure times high

daycent

Thecageyone wrote: »

My 1/20 shot is clearer than your dark shot, it is very possible to get steady shots at that exposure, unless you've the hands of a 90 yr old

If you have IS on the lens, even better chance, my cam has 0 stabilization and I managed a few at 1/20.

The catch a flash tip isn't much of a secret, it's much like what I said, use the stage lighting to your advantage. All about timing.

A bridge camera reacts totally different to an SLR in most circumstances. It's a lot easier to get a good shot with one in my experience. I'm not sure the reasons why, I sure other people on here could explain...

Thecageyone

Maybe so, I've yet o use a dslr in that kind of situation. I would imagine you'd get better results with the right settings though.

mehfesto

Thecageyone wrote: »

My 1/20 shot is clearer than your dark shot, it is very possible to get steady shots at that exposure, unless you've the hands of a 90 yr old

Or in a foot-wide photo-pit with three other photographers...

Steady shots at 1/20 have as much to do with you being steady as it does your subjects. A lively band would murder you visually if you tried it.

The Academy has the worst lighting in the country. One light behind the crowd and the rest behind the band. You fight flare at every angle and have to dow with red for most the songs you're in the pit for.

Thecageyone

underwaterknife wrote: »

No flash, 50mm lens, take your shots using the light provided by the stage lights, set your exposure times high

This then, if in the pit. You won't be needing zoom.

mehfesto

Thecageyone wrote: »

You won't be needing zoom.

You get very samey shots though at 50mm in the pit, though! 24-70 is the perfect lens for close up pits like the Academy, Olympia, Vicar Street etc. Cypress Avenue (where the gig is on) is the same. You can get wide shots of the whole band and zoom in to a nice degree for close-ups. Allows you to be more creative, or at least catch a great moment in nice space:


If you're in the crowd bring whatever you have and mess about. You could try a flash too(but dont expect great results). Just mind your gear in the crowd!

Best tip of today: get in good with whoever's doing the lighting!

AnimalRights

Main Academy 1 has lighting and you can always take the pictures on the sly from the top balcony!

Rise Against (No flash 70-200L 2.8 IS)




Full set of Rise Against here
http://pix.ie/punkrock/album/334991/goto/835977


Academy 2 when I was there had no lights so flash had to be used.

DaireQuinlan

AnimalRights wrote: »

Academy 2 when I was there had no lights so flash had to be used.

That second shot there is just astonishing.

Gaspode

wow, so many replies already, thanks guys.
Sadly I have but the standard kit lens 18-55 that came with the camera.

The gig is on in The Red Room, Caffreys, Oldcastle co. Meath, and I've no idea what the place is like for lights etc.

daycent

If using flash, second curtain flash can give some cool results.

AnimalRights

DaireQuinlan wrote: »

That second shot there is just astonishing.

You may like my most popular picture of all time on Pixie so.

DaireQuinlan

AnimalRights wrote: »

You may like my most popular picture of all time on Pixie so.

I'm going to be contrary and say I like the other one much better. There's something about the grainy sepia tones of it, and the distinctness of the guitarist against the drummer that just really work for me. The one above has a lot of the same stuff going on but I just don't find it as effective. It's also a great shot mind, I just prefer the other one.

melekalikimaka

wel basically flash is usually a no no. so setting wise, shutter between 1/15 and 1/60th, aperture as low as possible, and iso, try keep in 800 mark pending the camera

mehfesto

You'll probably be grand with that venue to be honest, regarding using the flash. Also forgot to mention, use spot metering. Usually the best option for gigs, I find!

sasar

A few weeks ago I was shooting a jazz trio in Cibo bar in Howth.
Venue was so badly lit that most of my shots were between 1/20 & 1/40 with ISO 1000-3200 @f/1.8-3.5
A nightmare to be honest, at least I had 7D which handles noise quite well.
The problem is the slow shutter speed - I can hold my camera quite still, but the it's quite hard to find a moment when band stands still for long enough.

sheesh

Gaspode wrote: »

Hi All,
I'll be gigging tomorrow night (supporting Kila doncha know!) and hope to get some photos. I've never really tried gig photos before.
Any tips for getting good shots without the flash? Camera is a Nikon D5000.

Cheers

it will be manual settings.
To find out approximatelt set your camera to aperature priority and set the widest apperature the camera will allow and take a test shot at the venue
and see how it looks and the shutter speed if the shutter speed is low you can increase it slightly in manual settings and end up with darker shots which can be recovered if you shoot in raw.

Gaspode

So no-one gave me the one piece of advice that might have helped more than anything else - don't go lashing into the beer as soon as you get off stage!!

I ended up doing a lot of mucking about with shutter speed in S priority mode, and in the end I think I upped the ISO setting as well. Add into the mix the fact that Kila don't stand bloody still for a second and you get a nice set of dark & grainy pictures!

Earlier pictures aren't as bad since I was more sober!
I haven't done anything to these other than rotate or crop them.

AnimalRights

My best gig pictures are when I'm drunk.

Thecageyone

They came out pretty well since there was lots of movement and the place looked very dimly lit.

The pic's I posted were taken when I was well on the way to pee-pee land. The band started 2hrs late!! I felt the Guinness helped steady me if anything.