Board index Photography Technical Questions Band/concert photography advice please

Technical Questions

Band/concert photography advice please

Discuss technical aspects of photography
steveengland
 
Posts: 173

Band/concert photography advice please

Post Thu Oct 09, 2008 6:18 pm


Hi all,
I have been asked to take some promo shots/live gig shots for an up and coming band this weekend and wondered if anyone has any tips?
White balance settings to use,flash or not? lenses to use?
I have a D200 with 50 mm 1.8, 70-200 2.8 and 17-55 2.8 lenses.
The gig is in a rather small place if this helps with any advice given?

Kind regards
Steve

djwixx
 
Posts: 1360

Re: Band/concert photography advice please

Post Thu Oct 09, 2008 9:08 pm


I can't give you any specific advice, but I've seen some great results with 1st curtain flash then some movement with a slightly longer exposure.

tringhenge
 
Posts: 157

Re: Band/concert photography advice please

Post Thu Oct 09, 2008 9:43 pm


I'm no expert, but I have recently done some gig photography for a local band playing in pub venues and learnt a few things.

From my experience the 50mm f1.8 is your friend and prime workhorse.

White balance, take a piece of white card and set the balance under the stage lighting. I was lucky enough to be able to get this done before the band started. This allowed me to get proper skin tones and light colour.

Ask if there are any particular shots they want. Hopefully the band will be happy for you to get in amongst them so you can get some good close-ups. I don't know what venue they are in, but background can be a pain in small places so close-ups could be the best option. Flash can also work well, but not everyone likes flashguns popping in their face :)

cwest
 
Posts: 83

Re: Band/concert photography advice please

Post Wed Oct 15, 2008 10:51 am


Exposure is your biggest hurdle unless the venue is very well lit - so the fastest lenses you've got and as high an ISO setting as you can get would be the most important things to consider. Definitely use flash, if you can.
And shoot in RAW - thus eliminating the white balance issue until post-processing. Post-processing of RAW images is far more productive (and forgiving) than other formats, like JPG.
You will want to concentrate on getting good shots - and not worrying about things like white balance.
Chris

wgrzesiakcom
 
Posts: 5
Location: Poznan, Poland

Re: Band/concert photography advice please

Post Fri Oct 17, 2008 12:39 pm


I always use 70-200 although I got the f4 version it handles gigs at ISO 1250 and 1600 without any problems.

hemispheres2112
 
Posts: 1

Re: Band/concert photography advice please

Post Tue Oct 21, 2008 1:52 am


If it is a small venue, try and use off camera flash if possibe. I usually set up a speedlight to stage right and one behd the band if its allowed. Most larger venues prohibit flash entirely, but my experience with clubs is that if you ask, many times they won't mind. Check out my page and you will see a lot of concert stuff. Some small clubs and some larger venues. I hope this helps. Good luck!


Board index Photography Technical Questions Band/concert photography advice please

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