band photography suggestions?

Shooting a friend's band this coming weekend - the first time I'll be

shooting this sort of event.

 

Any suggestions for what sort of film/processing I should use/get

done? I've fallen in love with slide film since I've started

shooting, and would like to stick with it as I'm forced to learn the

most. It will be taking place in a bar, and I assume there won't be

much heavy single light sources. I have no flash, either.

 

I usually use Kodak Elite Chrome 200, and have been experimenting

(with success!) with rating it 320 and pushing it one stop, as was

advised by fellow photo.net folks. However, with such harsh lighting

as you'd find in a bar setting, pushing it is probably not a good

idea, huh? I like the EC 200 because it seems to have a good range

(as opposed to very high contrast), which I imagine would be good for

something like this. Perhaps EC 400 or something faster? Anyone?

 

Thanks!

Hi Tim,

 

I'm sure you'll get more useful responses than this, but I figured I'd throw in my knowledge, from a fellow beginner.

 

I would suggest -- forget the slide film. Print film is a lot more forgiving for missed exposures. Since you will undoubtedly by shooting in very low light, I would recommend you use at least 800 speed film. I like to shoot b&w, so that I can print my own shots, and use Ilford HP5 (400 ISO) at 1600. Fast lenses really helps, too. I love my 85/1.8. See some of my shots at:

 

http://www.physics.ubc.ca/~gmarsden/gallery/

 

Also see:

 

http://www.photo.net/concerts/mirarchi/concer_i

 

I've read that a bunch of times.

 

I tried shooting Fuji NPH 400 (colour) pushed to 800, but didn't have a whole lot of luck. It was more that the photos were boring than improperly exposed, though.

 

Make sure to bracket lots. I unfortunately don't have a spot meter, so I generally set my aperture close to as low as it goes, then play around with the shutter speed.

 

Good luck!

cross process EPJ320 or Provia 400. rate it at 640 and push 2. use center weighted metering and becareful of the stage lights on your exposure decision.

I've used slide film for a few of my kids recitals on stage with EPJ 320 tungsten balanced film pushed to 640. It's GRAINY and quite expensive. I'd bet that the lighting at the bar your friend is playing will be even more crappy than the stage lighting at my kids recitals. I'd at least consider bringing a few rolls of print film. Fuji NPZ (800) is a superb film for this purpose, and can be pushed.

Tim,

 

A lot depends on how well the bar is lit; as well as how good your "glass" (lens) is. If you're lens is f/2.0 or better, then you can shoot Kodak EPJ slide film, which is tungsten balanced at ISO 320. If you try to shoot conventional daylight film, you'll end up with a yellowish mess.

 

If you don't have a fast enough lens (like a typical zoom lens), then 800 or 1600 color print film is the way to go, since color casts are removed in the printing. Check out Konica Centuria 1600, which is slightly better than Fuji Press 1600.

 

I'm assuming that you have a Nikon or Canon 35mm SLR camera, and if you *really* want to shoot EPJ slide film, then you can rent a good lens for the day for a $20 bill. If you don't have an SLR, you can add in a good Nikon or Canon body for a few more bucks... Most professional camera stores have rental desks.

 

Cheers!

Dan

I have a friend who does pretty much the same thing as you're doing only with Provia 400, same amount of pushing. Typically, I use plain old consumer 800 film for concerts because of the contrast and saturation like you're getting.

As far as I'm concerned, Fuji Provia 400F is the only "fast" slide film that is worth using. Kodak's ISO 400 slide films are intolerably grainy.

 

Fuji NPZ 800 or Konica Centuria Super 1600 are the films I would go with for that situation.

Great responses guys!

 

Looks like I'll have a bit to consider before the weekend.. I should have listed what I'll be shooting with - I apologize for not doing so earlier.

Just a Canon AE-1 Program, 50mm 1.8, and 35-105mm 3.5..

 

I'm planning on metering the light directly from one of their faces close-up, maybe a slightly darker area to be sure since the light on their face may wind up being almost a highlight in such low level lighting, and using that reading for all the shots, bracketing the ones that have potential to be better shots.

 

All shots will likely end up in a digital format (scanned in), so I'm not sure if color accuracy should be my biggest concern since Photoshop can fix some of it (as long as it's not too far off).

 

Anyway, I'll read up on each of the films recommended here and probably come back to here before the end of the week to post my findings and final decision. I'm definitely considering negative film since it is more forgiving.

 

Thanks again!

Ok, looks like the Fuji NPZ 800 will be my choice, since that's what most are recommending! I've read quite a bit on it, and have seen many favorable reviews (especially for this application).

 

I have about a 1/2 roll of Elite Chrome 200 I'll probably finish up there, and it will be nice to see how [badly?] they compare to the NPZ 800. I'll have to check the lighting when I get there, and if I'm getting readings below the 4 range @ 1/60th (which my 35-105mm 3.5 won't be able to handle well) I'll just rate it 640 and push it a stop as recommended.

 

Thanks for the links, Gaelen! I'd completely forgotten about the Learn section here, which I read a great deal of when I was first beginning (and learned a LOT from!). Your photos are great, too. I'll be VERY happy with results 1/2 as good. :)

 

I'm still very much open to any other suggestions if anyone has any. Thanks again!

�I'm still very much open to any other suggestions if anyone has any.�

 

NPZ is a god send. It�s a great film that I rely on often. But you�re shooting a band. And NPZ is, yawn, really boring. Try cross processing as mentioned above.

Hoya!

 

Yes, I think NPZ is the way to go.

On the other hand, you may try some Superia 800 or 1600.

I saw the Grand-Mothers (some former Frank Zappa bamd members) in London a couple months ago in a small venue and Superia 800 managed this quite nicely!

 

A.

Oops, I accidentally said I'd rate the 800 as 640 and push a stop.. I was thinking it was 400 speed film.. silly me!

 

Anyway.. They're a bluesy/classic rock-type band, so I'm not so sure the whole cross processing thing would be a wise choice. Besides, this will be my first band shoot in a low-light setting, and since there's not a whole lot of pressure (it is a friend's band and all) I'd like to use this opportunity as a learning experience and get it "right" before I go experimenting with something as unpredictable as CPing. Thanks for the suggestion, though. Perhaps when I'm a bit more comfortable and shooting a more "hip" band heh..

 

As for the Superia.. I'll have to check that out as well. I can probably find the info elsewhere, but I may as well ask here incase I come up empty: Will the NPZ 800 push well even up to 2 stops (I don't mind a little extra grain), or is 1 stop enough? And should I rate it at exactly 1600 if I push it one stop, or would you recommend rating it a bit lower and having it processed +1 (as I've been suggested to do with 200, rated at 320 and pushed +1)?

 

THANKS so much!

In low light conditions, for more contrast, I rate my NPZ like this:

 

N=500asa,

Push 1=1000asa,

Push 2= 2500asa.

 

For bland lighting, I rate it like this

 

N=640asa,

Push 1=1250asa,

Push 2= 2500asa (not a typo)

After looking at the Fuji Hunt C41 processing manual, to push NPZ you expose it at E.I. 1250 [And there's a difference between E.I. 1250 and ASA/ISO 1250!] and push process it one stop (3 minutes 45 seconds in the color developer).

 

For a bigger push, expose at E.I. 1600 and push process two stops, which is 4:15 in the color developer. That is the limit of what Fuji recommends.

 

Cheers!

Dan

All of my questions here seem to turn into a never-ending drama! :)

 

SO a small update. I completely overlooked the fact that all the pro shops I know of here in NYC are closed due to the Jewish holiday, so it's hard to find the NPZ 800. I finally found a place not far from home that sells Superia 800, but not the NPZ 800. Following Antoine's advice (and also due to circumstance heheh), I'll have to give the Superia a shot. Time to read up on how well that particular film pushes a stop or two, just incase.

 

Again, thanks to all for the help!! This site, and especially these forums, are an amazing resource.

For classical concerts I used to use NPZ, 1/30, f4 and bracket with a Hass. Not as sharp as I'd like, but was all I could do. Used negative for more latitude. There would be at least 2 stops difference on stage, from front to back. Would try not to blow out the highlights, and Photoshop in some of the face shadows. Now I started shooting RAW digital, have a 50mm/1.4 and other primes. Definitely tripod.

 

Digital has a low latitude like chrome, but I'm hoping RAW 12-bit will give me a little more.