Live Band Photography
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- Guss
Just got a Canon 7D. I'm gonna go test it out tonight at a hardcore/metal show. Any tips or recommended camera settings for shooting in an environment with constant light changes and people going apeshit?
My photography experience/skills = entry level.
- ********0
buy the 50mm 1.8. it's only $120 and is really fast (good for low light)
- ********0
take your new-fangled body and but a plastic piece of shit on it. have fun.
- put********
- uhh.... the 50 1.8 and 1.4 are damn near identical in image quality...********
- just because you own the 1.4 it doesn't meant that the 1.8 is a pos...********
- I like the 50mm 1.8, I know, some people are plasticphobic, but it's not bad...vaxorcist
- put
- bigtrickagain0
set iso to auto, put aperture on its widest possible setting and shoot on aperture priority. set focus point to the middle one and set autofocus mode to one-shot.
good luck.
- use focus-lock a whole lot... get used to moving yourself rather than zooming...vaxorcist
- ********0
- correct me if i'm wrong, but is that not an fd mount lens?********
- it's not. hijacking is not a crime though. is it? IS IT?!********
- it's an S mount lens, which wouldn't fit on 7D... great suggestion.********
- won't work on EOS body.. it's for an old-school rangefinder from the 60's....vaxorcist
- correct me if i'm wrong, but is that not an fd mount lens?
- Guss0
Great, thanks for the tip guys!
- ********0
LEICA NOCTILUX-M 50 mm f/0.95 ASPH
roughly 15K
- ********0
in all honesty, the 50 1.4 or the 85 1.8
i'd lean more toward the 85 personally- I bring both, stuff one in a pocket of baggy clothing...vaxorcist
- ********0
- bigtrickagain0
also, pick a white balance (probably flash - not awb) and stick to it, so that your colors stay consistent.
- ********0
get the 580EXII flash with ETTL
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/pr…- check with venue security, some will ban you if you use flash...vaxorcist
- ffs do not use a flash during a live concert...********
- you can disable the flash and use the ETTL, which i do for perfect color balance********
- though it becomes quite clunky********
- interesting.... how do you use E-TTL II for perfect color balance? I'm fascinated....AF spots without flash works too...vaxorcist
- vaxorcist0
50mm 1.8 is good and cheap
85mm 1.8 is divine
Rent a 70-200 F2.8 IS if you canDo a bunch of test shots before the band goes on if you can, if there's a roadie fixing something, shoot him while tweeking ISO till you get about 100th or higher shutter speed and F1.8 or similar F stop.... often stage lights vary A WHOLE LOT, so whoever's in the light is 2-4 stops brigher than anyone else... I shoot all manual or spot meter and hold...
Don't forget the crowd shots... a wide lens is good.... you might get smashed a bit though...
- M_C_P0
a metal show huh? do you have insurance?
- vaxorcist0
oh, and try to get UV filters for your lenses, the chance of somebody touching the front of a lens or spilling beer on you is always there... depends on what kind of show... if you still have a backup digital rebel or 20D or whatever, bring it too, keep one lens on each, and switch around...bring HUGE cards like 8 gigs, and shoot RAW.... having 2 cameras is weird at first, but I loved it...
and make friends with security immediately, walk up, say hello.... ask them the rules, prove you're not a risky idiot....
- tedvandell0
Stage lights are pretty much always tungsten, usually pretty safe to set you white balance for that. You might try to pick your shots around the gelled( color) lights blasting the stage. Metal shows and rock in general usually are heavy in the Red and Orange gelled lights, nice for effect but tiresome after 70 to 80% of your shots end up all Red and/or Orange.
Besides hitting up security you might start buying the guy running the stage lights drinks early on and plead for some amount of "normal" light during the show.
- ********0
vax, when i say disable, i mean cover and prevent from flashing. i cut up a presentation cover and gaff taped a box cover for it. like a blackout diffuser i guess. i call it perfect color balance because i am still using the metering from the flash per each shot, just not the flash fire as i have blacked it out.
- ********0
Shoot a lot and shoot often - guys I use to hang out with in the photographers' moat area, used to shout full auto - dropping crummy captures after the fact. Was not unusual for them to shoot thousands of images (all raw) a day. Shoot with the fastest lens you can afford - and resign yourself to the reality that you will see an awful lot of red in your images (must be a cheapest gel available). If you shoot with a flash be prepared for someone to say "amateur" and "thanks for fucking up my shot". Remember to duck and get out of other photographers working - for some of them it is work after-all.
Good luck - remember that you are still a fan and that occasionally coming up from the being behind the camera is a good thing.
- Tungsten0
Don't forget to shoot some tight-in detail shots....
- broken guitar picks on the ground
- pedals / cables / amp boxes with the bands stencil on them
- piles of beer bottles
- someones hand with the venue stamp on it
- the really hot coat check girl
You get the idea. These will compliment your shots of the band actually playing.- also... welcome to the world of being the dork with a camera at a show. nice to meet ya!Tungsten
- vaxorcist0
RE: Being dork with camera....
1 Don't keep camera glued to your eye, only lift it up when you're about to shoot, but keep it very, very ready, be smooth....
2. Be lithe and graceful when you weave in and out of people
3. Always smile and apologize if you bump anyone, also don't block anyone's view for more than a few seconds, and nod to say thanks
4. Don't get stuck looking at your images too much, you'll miss shots and miss the show itself
5. don't be the "guy with the gear" waving his $$$ stuff around like a fashion accessory.... I hide my stuff under an oversized unbuttoned shirt
- moniker0
6. Post your results here... unless your gear gets stolen.
