Concert Photos

I am totally an amateur photo taker, notice that I didn't even say photographer. I have a Nikon D40 with

the 2 kit lenses that came with it, I also have the SB-600 Speed Light. I belong to a local Blue Grass org.

and I am the photo person.

 

When we have a concert (indoors) I have been using the AF-S Nikkor 55mm-200mm 1.4-5.6 lens as I

usually can not get right next to the stage. I have NOT ventured off of the auto mode yet, but I do hope to

progress to that. Some of the problems that I am having is that it is hard to tote around a tripod in this

situation and of course on the long shots sharpness surely isn't there. Another big thing is the colors that

come from the stage. Usually the stage is lit up with red, green and other lights. I really don't always

know what I will get.

 

Where do I start to learn to take better pics under these conditions? Any tips?

 

I hope that it is OK to say a web site where you have photos. If you have a few minutes and care to look at

them to help me they are here:

 

http://picasaweb.google.com/phil.burtfarm/JWB32108?authkey=SfVScv31OD8

(Sorry, I don't know how to make this a clickable link)

 

This is on Google and there is a whole mess of pics on it.

 

Thank You......Phil

I usually set the white balance to Incandescent. This handles the underlying light source and the gels can be what they are. If you use a flash, it helps to use an amber gel to fit the Incandescent background. I prefer not to use a flash, or at least to use "Slow Flash" to capture the ambient light.

 

Exposure is problematic. I usually take a few spot readings and use the camera in manual mode. Otherwise the dark background predominates and the faces get overexposed. It usually takes some experimentation.

I would try to shoot without the flash, to avoid the shots where the foreground is overexposed, the middle is OK, and the rest is underexposed. As to the tripod problem, this kind of situation can be shot from a monopod, which would be much easier to get around.

Phil....I'll give a vote to NOT using flash as well.

 

What ISO are you shooting at?

Kill the flash. Don't use it in general. To stop motion in your band shots, you're going to have to plunk down the dollars for the fast lenses. No way around that one.

I know there is a general preference NOT to use flash since most people prefer a more "natural" look. However, I would say that MASTERING how to use your flash unit (IF ALLOWED) would probably be of more value to you in general than trying to figure out how to shoot in the dark.

IF ALLOWED is a big part, as you say, Keith. I would never blast a musician with flash while he was performing. Besides being obnoxious to him AND his audience, it captures something different. You are trying to get an image that shows the live experience, not a studio shot, right Phil?

I was in the same position as you 2 years ago, when I started using my D80 & I have learned a lot over a short period of time.

 

Yes I agree w/ everyone who has posted on this, that you need to stop using your flash! With indoor or outdoor nighttime concerts, the flash will distract the musicians & in many cases piss them off. Daytime it's O.K. to use though.

 

You really do need to get some faster lenses! 1 lens you might want to consider, if you are on a tight budget is the Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 or f/1.8. Personally 1 of my favorite lenses is the Sigma 30mm f/1.4 which goes for around $350 to $400 (USD). Out of the 4 lenses I own, it is my favorite for concert photography. But make sure if you do buy 1, or any other lens for that matter, to buy it from a authorized dealer. My other lenses are a Nikkor 70-200mm VR f/2.8, a Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 & a Nikkor 35-70mm f/2.8 AF-D. (Your D40 won't work w/ the Nikkor 35-70mm f/2.8 though.)

 

Also start working on shooting your D40 in Aperture Mode & set your ISO on Auto ISO. Practice first of course! I would also go out & get a monopod too. They are much easier to move around & easier to carry around & also try to shoot w/ your D40 handheld.

 

Here is a link to a great article about shooting concert photography: http://on-no.net/concert-photography/

 

If you want to get some more advise from me feel free to send me a message & I will give you as much in-sight as I know. I love shooting all kinds of photography, but concert photography is my passion. Also what made me want to become a photographer.

peace & karma,

Youman<div></div>

my once and only time photographing a concert was back in october when i was using a D40. fortunately on my way to the show, i purchased a 50mm f/1.8. it was not able to autofocus, but it saved the night for me. i didn't know what i was doing (maybe still don't), but 1/25 shutter speed, ISO 200 and a little tweaking yielded the attached photo. with a little practice, you could do better... you just need a faster lens than what you're working with.<div></div>

It looks like there's plenty of light.

This was shot using at d70, 1/160 @ 4.5, and I think ISO 400 or 640.

It was lit by a single spot from the back of area, outdoors at night.

<br><br>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/nohodamon/1503454034/" title="NoHo Arts Fes_016 by NoHoDamon, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2106/1503454034_5fc608bf2f.jpg" width="353" height="500" alt="NoHo Arts Fes_016" /></a>

<br><br>

Practice not using your flash. Focus your attention on the part of your subject that you want to be in focus-- get into their groove-- and "squeeze the trigger" so your camera doesn't move when you shoot.

<br><br>

<a href=" title="DSC_1850.NEF by NoHoDamon, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2070/2101547896_3002046606.jpg" width="332" height="500" alt="DSC_1850.NEF" /></a>

<br><br>

Break the rules. Motion blur, for me, doesn't ruin a shot unless the key part of the shot is blurry. It can add a sense of movement to the shot that you might actually like.

<br><br>

Also, if you're a member of the club, convince them to let you get closer.

<br><br>

Damon

I am in the process of writing two articles for photo.net on this topic, one specific to post-processing, and it would answer a lot of questions. As someone who shoots concerts/clubs regularly, typically six to eight times a month, I would take issues with some of the comments above, particularly concerning flash. Always look for evidence of experience with this type of shooting before taking someone's comment seriously.<p>

 

What you need to do is learn how to control and use flash effectively. If you don't take the time to do this, the comments above about forgetting the flash are appropriate, but you will miss out on a lot. I would add that I have never had a musician complain about flash except in small and intimate clubs with constant lighting. Most clubs don't fit this bill, and most concerts allow some use of flash. I have had one or two venues object. Musicians are used to flash, if you don't do it, there are always twenty people with digicams who are doing it anyway.<p>

 

It does help to have a fast lens, and you can use a cheap 50 if you can get close enough. If not, a lower priced 85 should fit the bill. It would always be nice to have the fastest lenses, but it's expensive if you're not getting paid.<p>

 

With flash, learn to balance the flash with the environment. It is particularly useful with mixed lighting, where it can balance out the problems with multi-colored lights, as in the photo that William posted. Sometimes the mixed lighting works, and sometimes it doesn't. William's shot is an example where flash would have made a significant difference. When you do have to shoot with mixed lighting, especially lights with colored gels, shoot in RAW and use a good RAW processor to get some of the balance back. The problem with trying to do this in-camera is that a) the lights often change, and b) the camera's auto white balance function generally can't deal with it. <P>Just to show some examples, these were done with flash:<p><center><img src="http://www.spirer.com/delbombers2008/slides/JDSL5071.jpg"><br><i>Del Bombers, Copyright 2008 Jeff Spirer</i><p><img src="http://www.spirer.com/andrea/content/bin/images/large/JDSL2897.jpg"><br><i>Andrea Stray Band, Copyright 2008 Jeff Spirer</i><p><img src="http://www.spirer.com/roots/images/roots12.jpg"><br><i>The Roots, Copyright 2004 Jeff Spirer</i><p><img src="http://www.spirer.com/pmslims/content/bin/images/large/JDSL2578.jpg"><br><i>Perfect Machines, Copyright 2008 Jeff Spirer</i></i></i></center></center><p>These work with flash because it's used properly. With the exception of The Roots show, which was often well-lit, most of the shots without flash at these shows are muddy, have color balance problems, and lack snap.

Jeff,

 

NICE stuff!

 

Damon,

 

Marvelous images, especially, imho, the second one!

Jeff beat me to the punch, but to elaborate my earlier post, using a flash is not a bad thing IF you know how to use it. In addition, Nikon i-ttl is SOOOOO good, it's almost a shame not to use it because of pre-conceived and sometimes ill-conceived notions. As Jeff stated, most on-stage musicians are SOOOOO into playing their music that they don't even notice your flash.

<p><p>

This was in a small club, takesn with a 17-35mm and a D200, using an SB-800, then a quick desaturation in PS.

<p><p><center>

<img src="http://klix.smugmug.com/photos/253006457_d4aDY-L.jpg"</a>

</center>

Excellent advice so far. A couple of good resources:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Concert-Photograpy-Shoot-Business-Photographs/dp/0964700913/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1206386711&sr=8-1

 

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

hey phil,

i prefer to take no-flash pictures at concerts, but even with a fast lens and a d300 (which can handle iso 3200), that can be challenging.

 

first thing is to get out of Auto mode. i usually shoot Manual, setting the aperture at the widest setting, than adjusting the shutter accordingly -- usually between 1/60 and 1/100 to prevent motion blur. sometimes, this isn't fast enough though, which is when you want to consider flash. if using flash, you can shoot in aperture priority, since you can use faster shutter speeds (1/250, or higher w/ Auto FP).

 

bouncing the flash (i also use a sto-fen diffuser on an sb-600) is generally a must unless you are very far away. also, you should try to familiarize youself with the flash settings. dialing down the flash in manual (flash) mode can do wonders, and using rear curtain sync, you can shoot at lower shutter speeds with a hint of motion blur with the main subject in focus.<div></div>

the above shot was 1/250 i believe. here's another one taken in an art gallery using 1/10 shutter and rear curtain sync.<div></div>

and here's a no-flash pic<div></div>

WOW, Is all that I can say at this time. Reading all of the posts has told me I sure do have a

lot to learn. Like I said before I did all of this in auto. What I need to be able to do is find

the chance again and take a bunch of pics in Aperture Mode and see what I can get. I

needed the shots from this last one so I didn't want to take any chances. I used the flash

on most of them and just had that set to auto also.

I am printing out all of these responses so I can digest them and hopefully learn a whole

bunch. Thanks so much for all of the photos that you posted, it shows me that it can be

done and gives me a goal.

Thank You ... Thank You and Thank You ALL, for all of the responses.

phil

Hi Phil:

 

I studied your slide show carefully and think you have a great eye and did a very good job of capturing the vitality of the concert. I am sure with a little practice you will easily correct your flash exposure imperfections. Keep experimenting and I'll bet you figure things out in short order.

 

I liked a lot of the constructive suggestions you received in response to your inquiry. I think you would be wise to invest in a Stroboframe and sync cord so that you will be able to get your speedlight higher above your camera which will eliminate the red eye problems you have been experiencing with your tight shots. Finally, get in the habit of editing your slide presentations ruthlessly and go on the premise that less is often much better than more.

 

Wishing you great success with your future work.

 

Sincerely,

 

David Bagnard

Garden Valley, Idaho

Well I was at a concert for the first time (for taking photos) It was night, outside, somewhere in a forest.

I was not used flash, just my Nikon D40 and a 55-200 lenses(with VR) no monopod or tripod used.

Settings on camera: 1600 ISO, Camera on Aperture priority mode, I do not remember what was the white balance settings but anyway here are my pictures.

http://www.shareapic.net/content.php?gid=416435&owner=rakasenkeli

I really love some of the pics and Some are not what I wanted to be.

Like I said already It was my first time but hell if I am ashamed of the photos I've made<div></div>