# Concert Photography



## thrasher (Oct 3, 2012)

Hey there all!

I'm a total newbie to this photography game, and I just got my T3i about two weeks ago. I've taken it downtown Hamilton a few times and got some nice results. Well, nice results for a beginner. I still have to tweak my settings, and actually understand the camera haha.

But, due to the nature of my hobby [running a metal website] I have many photo oppurtunties for shows. I got my first gig on friday, at a small club, then at a bigger venue november 1st. 

I'm not sure of the lighting at this small venue, but I have heard that it is dark and is full of neon blue lights / other colours.

So, since I've played around with the flash a bit, and that takes almost the life out of the photos colour-wise, I want the photos to be more rich and full, if that means they are a tad darker; i don't want to lose the ambiance.

So, if you guys could give me some pointers on how to configure the camera that would be great, do keep in mind I am a beginner, and know next to nothing; but isn't the best way to learn, jumping in feet first? 

So yea, how should I configure my camera for this event? I do realize it will be next to impossible to really tell me how, but some pointers would be good.

Thanks in advance for your help!

-Paul


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## Bitter Jeweler (Oct 4, 2012)

Do you understand how the in camera light meter works?


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## tirediron (Oct 4, 2012)

Start reading!


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## jon25 (Oct 4, 2012)

Well by the blue/neon lights im guessing most of the light will be ambient. So to take advantage of these lights and colors your going to want to sent your iso around 1000k and up. Just play around the higher the iso the more your camera will pick up on these ambient lights. Also set your flash to 2nd/rear curtain, This will also help caputre the ambient lighting but be careful because if your shutter is not fast enough you will get blurry pictures (which in a way might look cool too). If theres fog your going to want to try to stay away from it becuase fog and flash just doesnt work well tog


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## thrasher (Oct 4, 2012)

jon25 said:


> Well by the blue/neon lights im guessing most of the light will be ambient. So to take advantage of these lights and colors your going to want to sent your iso around 1000k and up. Just play around the higher the iso the more your camera will pick up on these ambient lights. Also set your flash to 2nd/rear curtain, This will also help caputre the ambient lighting but be careful because if your shutter is not fast enough you will get blurry pictures (which in a way might look cool too). If theres fog your going to want to try to stay away from it becuase fog and flash just doesnt work well tog




Awesome advice! Thanks! So I would be using flash, or no?

Tirediron - I will start reading, jsut need a starting point you know? 

Bitter Jeweler - Light meter? As in ISO settings?

Also speaking of ISO settings on the T3i, it goes in increments, like 800, 1600, 3200 etc. So i'd throw that onto about 1600 then? There is a dial you can adjust, which I assume adjusts the ISO setting even more? But I don't know.

I do have t he day off today, so im going to do a lot of reading on this. 

My problem always is, getting thrust into things on such short notice. Oh well. DO OR DIE!!

Thanks again guys!!


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## thrasher (Oct 4, 2012)

Alright, so I was messing around in my basement, and I think I've figured this out somewhat.

I set my ISO to 3200, on manual mode, F5.6, and the dial is to 1/100, with AI focus, and as far as the picture style -it's set to standard.

How do those settings sound?


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## vfotog (Oct 4, 2012)

thrasher said:


> Hey there all!
> 
> I'm a total newbie to this photography game, and I just got my T3i about two weeks ago. I've taken it downtown Hamilton a few times and got some nice results. Well, nice results for a beginner. I still have to tweak my settings, and actually understand the camera haha.
> 
> ...



seriously? You use the word gig. I hope you're using that loosely and that these aren't PAID gigs since you have almost no photo experience and no concert experience.  Concert photography is one of the most challenging areas of photography. You might want to do some reading on it at least between now and then. Music photographers almost never use flash; it defeats the purpose of capturing the live music experience.


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## epp_b (Oct 4, 2012)

Live music is a challenging subject requires a firm grasp on all of the basic concepts of photography, which can only be learned through experience.  I'd like to reiterate *vfotog*'s sentiments that being paid to do live music photography with no experience is a complete disservice.  You must have a solid understanding of the technical aspects of photography: exposure, white balance, lighting, focus, focal length and so on.

The fact that you're here asking very basic questions about exposure makes it pretty clear that you don't.  That's just fine if you're shooting your buddy's gig for fun; not so fine if you think you can charge money for it.

It's also one the few areas of photography where gear really does matter.  A T3i is fine, but the kit lens is basically useless.  You will need to invest in some fast lenses (minimum f/2.8 or faster).

As far as the artistic end of things go, there are no rules here, only good and bad photos.  It is a huge asset to have an intimate understanding of music.  If you took music lessons as a child, you will be ahead.

As with any type of photography, there are a lot of nuances to learn and  understand, but you need get a grasp on the basics first.  I'll just leave you with this: concert photography is about three things, and in this order...

1. Expressions of the performers
2. Atmosphere of the venue
3. Energy of the crowd

Capture the first two well and you've got a good concert shot.  Capture all three well and you've got a great one.


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## tbc (Oct 4, 2012)

Do you get pay for this? if yes, I would strongly suggest you try to shoot one before your GIG come. That can let you eat some idea and experiences. Concert is not easy and need specific equipment and experiences, equipment like fast glass and high ISO capability body. I know some people who do concert and they using the PRO BODY like Canon 1D or Nikon D3s / D4. 
Good luck.


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## thrasher (Oct 4, 2012)

Oh no, these aren't paid gigs at all. I guess I don't know the slang around, gig for me = unique content for my website.

I run a metal website, and do show reviews for that, and show reviews entail photos of the show, so I decided to do it right - get an entry level SLR and make a hobby out of it. I've always been in awe of photographers and their art. Since I can't draw worth my life, this is my artistic outlet besides writing. 

I guess I should of been way more clear, this all free work. That bigger gig [just means a bigger concert to cover aka more notable bands] im getting in november is also unpaid. It's all for fun, I just take my writing seriously, photography is a hobby I'm going to keep strictly as "fun". BUT i do want to do it properly.

Like I said I've been thrust into this very quickly, so it's sink or swim. I've done some reading today, and I'm about to go outside and take some photos in the dark and see what happens.

Thanks for all your help, this is a cool forum, and I'll post some of my photos from my previous outings as well as what happens at this show. I also got another gig to shoot next wednesday, that's an easy venue to shoot though. Got some good photos with my cheap point and shoot, well good by my standards, probably horrible by all of your's; but i like'em haha. 

You can check that out here if you like: Dire Omen / Teleportoise / Decimate &#8211; 9/16/12 &#8211; Hamilton,ON &#8211; Live Review | Axis of Metal

But yea, thanks again for all the help!


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## Steve5D (Oct 4, 2012)

If it's all the same to you, I'm just going to cut-n-paste my response to this topic in another thread:

I've done a fair share of "music photography", both concert stuff and studio/portrait stuff.

I shoot with two bodies: a Canon 5D and a Canon 40D. I use the 24-70 f/2.8L on the 5D and the 70-200mm f/2.8L on the 40D.

I'm going to guess that you're probably going to be shooting in a "club" as opposed to a "concert venue". 

Shooting in clubs has some unique challenges. Generally speaking, the lighting sucks. For whatever reason, many bands these days seem to think the red lighting is cool. Well, it may be, and it may look cool to the naked eye, but it presents an absolutely horrible condition in which to shoot. The only color that's worse is magenta. If a band is using only (or primarily) red lighting, I usually won't shoot.

In such instances, you can try talking to whoever's running the lights. Oftentimes, this guy is hired by the house and not the band and, as such, has a lot more leeway in how he chooses to light a band. I've made requests for more greens, whites and blues and, sometimes, they oblige. Often, however, they don't. It's hit or miss. I've also had lighting guys who agree to do it, and then seemingly suffer a stroke and completely forget they ever even had the conversation.

Assuming the lighting guy grants your wishes, well, now you've got another challenge to deal with, that being the proximity of the lights to the stage. The ceiling (where the light bar usually is) isn't that far from the stage, so the lights easily blow out the performers.

When I first started doing this, I would shoot a few frames in "P" mode, just to see what settings the camera wanted to see. I would then switch to Manual, set my camera to the settings in the "P" mode shot, and adjust from there. Nowadays, for a shoot at an actual concert venue, I can pretty much nail my settings from the get-go. In a bar or club, though, all bets are off.

Generally speaking, I shoot at an ISO of 1600 on the 40D and either 1000 or 1250 on the 5D. I'll set my white balance to tungsten. For a club shoot, my aperture will be at f/2.8. For a well lit concert venue, I've shot as high as f/8. Shutter speed is where you'll live or die. For clubs, it's sometimes difficult to get much higher than 1/60 of a second. Well, that's just not fast enough, and that's where the frustration sets in. You can freeze the action, but it'll be dark.

I've shot concerts in both raw and jpeg. Raw is the go-to in those dimply lit clubs. A well lit concert venue? I normally shoot jpeg for those.

You don't need the latest and greatest equipment. Yes, an f/2.8 lens is almost a "must have", and a body that works well ay high ISO's is nice, but I shot concerts with a Canon 20D for a long time, and photos taken with that body have made me a _lot _of money. Okay, it may not have worked as well as my current bodies in low-light, but it still worked, and it worked well. A little tweaking in a noise-reduction program did the trick.

Here's a shot taken with the 5D:






_John Rzeznik - Goo Goo Dolls_

And the 40D:





_Taylor Swift_

And the 20D:





_Tommy Shaw - Styx_

And, just because you're from the GTA:





_Ed Robertson - Barenaked Ladies_

Obviously, those were all taken under pretty good lighting conditions, but I wanted to show shots from three different bodies. Just because a camera is old, or "state of the art", doesn't mean it won't get the job done. I wouldn't hesitate to shoot a show with a 20D. Sure, it's several years old, but it's still a capable camera...


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## thrasher (Oct 7, 2012)

Well, you guys were right, it was tough. I did manage some decent pics. 


I had the best luck with my 50mm lens it worked well in the lighting, but zooming was a problem, so I had to tough it out with the kit lens. 


I ended up taking close to 600 pics that night, there was a total of 5 bands. I only needed photos for the headliner / direct support, so I'll post the pictures I'm going to use for my show report here.


Like I said, my gear wasn't up to task, and my lack of experince definitely is apparent, but overall, for my first gig with an SLR, I'm happy with it. Rome wasn't built in a day! 


But yea, thanks for the advice, and please critique my pics! [these are raw, no PS]


Cheers!


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## Steve5D (Oct 8, 2012)

Well, again, lighting will make or break you. In your case, it looks like the latter. But, hey, that's often the case; lighting guys aren't often your friend.

Better gear will definitely help, but _nothing _will beat experience, and not only learning the limitations of your gear, but learning to get results while working within those constraints...


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## vfotog (Oct 8, 2012)

you asked for critique...   what ruins it for me the most is the flash. Music photography and flash just don't go together. You're supposed to capture the performance as it is, not change how it looks. High ISO and no flash PLEASE. The flash is also lighting up all the extraneous background that you don't need, making your images look cluttered. Everything is shot too wide; giving you little feel of subject. Your obviously shooting at too slow a shutter speed so you're not stopping motion sufficiently.


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## thrasher (Oct 8, 2012)

Steve5D said:


> Well, again, lighting will make or break you. In your case, it looks like the latter. But, hey, that's often the case; lighting guys aren't often your friend.
> 
> Better gear will definitely help, but _nothing _will beat experience, and not only learning the limitations of your gear, but learning to get results while working within those constraints...



Totally. This was a rough one for me, for many reasons. The club was P-A-C-K-E-D! When I mean packed, i mean to the rafters. So mobility was a huge problem. For a few of the other bands I found some "sweet spots" where the lighting was good enough to use the kit lens, but once the night rolled on and the crowds got thicker, it was impossible to move. It was a decision that had to be made, it was either walk through a mosh pit and risk having my cam destroyed, or be locked in the same position, and hope for the best. *shrugs*



vfotog said:


> you asked for critique... what ruins it for me the most is the flash. Music photography and flash just don't go together. You're supposed to capture the performance as it is, not change how it looks. High ISO and no flash PLEASE. The flash is also lighting up all the extraneous background that you don't need, making your images look cluttered. Everything is shot too wide; giving you little feel of subject. Your obviously shooting at too slow a shutter speed so you're not stopping motion sufficiently.



Thanks! I appreciate the critique. I take criticism very well. I'm a noob, and therefore need to be told all of my shortcomings. 

As I said earlier, I had no mobility. For the bands that I did have mobility, and was able to use the 50mm lens, the shots were much sharper, less blur, etc. 

Yes the ISO was set high, it was at 3200, and 6400 for some of those shots. I had no choice really. I went in there with 800, was way too dark, switched lenses - got better, but not good enough. I was able to get-away with 1600 with the 50mm, but 3200 showed best results for both lenses. One of my few photo buddies, informed that if you go above 800, you shouldn't shoot. Any merit to that? I can see why, though.

As far as flash goes. I used it to make sure that I had usable phots guaranteed, that was my fail safe, and thank god for that. Also, that really bright picture of that dude with the funky hair, I used no flash. Thing was, cameras were shooting off at all times from peoples cells, some were taking video and had a constant light that was illuminated the entire duration of their filming. This was a godsend. You can see the difference, look at the one where the guitarist is soloing, and then the one where he's standing back. Flash used on the later, the other stole light from buddies iPhone. 

Also like I said I was stuck in the same position for both those bands. There was really no choice. I totally agree with you that flash and music photography don't work, I hate how some of those pictures look with the flash, but it had to be done.  Sometimes, you just have no choice.

I also agree on the clutter, but I sort of like that in a weird way - it gives it more of a "natural" feeling, if you know what I mean? This is especially apparent when I got some of the crowd in the shot. I liked the idea, it came out OK, but the execution needed to be better. [after all, it was a club show, with underground metal bands ... we aren't dealing with "stadium" bands, if you know what I mean? It's all underground stuff, therefore in my mind, it's supposed to look cluttered like that ... because it was. *shrugs* I'm probably wrong ... but ... just my .02] 

Overall I definitely need practice, like I said; but any more criticism(s) are welcomed.

I'll get around to posting some of those other photos, so you can see the difference. I'll do that tomorrow night.


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## Barachias (Oct 10, 2012)

Its not depend on just camera, professional training and experience is very important for professional photography. No doubt camera have a big role in photography but its a second option. My hobby is also photography, and i am taking photography atleast 7 years. So its good experience for me.


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