Concert shots with Rebel XT Suggestions Please

Hi

I'd like some input regarding shooting at concerts. I'm using the EF-S
17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM for most of the shots and also have a EF 70-300mm
f/4-5.6 IS USM. I'm not looking at shooting at large arena type concerts
but the more intimate concert venues where on would be 10 to 35 feet from
the stage. Typically the performer's lit with a spotlight while everything
else is dark. Could someone suggest a camera setting that would be a good
place to start?

Thanks

Eugene

 

Are you able to use a flash?

 

Sorry - no flash

Thanks

Eugene

 

Take a shot, look at the lcd, adjust the exposure, till it looks decent.
Or even better, turn on the histogram to see exactly what your exposures
look like.

 

Aperture priority mode wide open f/4-5.6 and keep an eye on the shutter
speed to be sure it's hand holdable and if not lean on the wall or
increase the ISO. Put the metering mode in whatever is most center
weighted, spot meter if available. Put it in manual mode if metering is
a problem, the aperture is already set, just dial the shutter speed in.

 

This is a particularly good idea in dim lighting the LCD may appear
brighter with your eyes adjusted to the darkness.

 

I have photographed classical choirs on stage, a bit different in that
the lighting was much broader and more even across the stage, in
contrast (no pun intended) to a spot-lit performer, but appropos the
suggestion above from 'fishfry' (reminds me it's friday night, yum yum)
about looking at the lcd; in a theatre, where the audience is basically
in the dark, the lcd will shine like a beacon and distract everybody
around. Much better to see if you can get in on a rehearsal, or else at
the beginning of he show before it really starts, check your exposures,
then turn the lcd off.

Colin D.

 

Aperture priority mode wide open f/4-5.6 and keep an eye on the

Expect to need ISO 1600 no matter what. This IS will help with
hand-holding shots, but musicians tend to move, so you still need
reasonably fast shutter speeds, and it's rare that lighting is good
enough that you'll get a sharp image at f4 and above otherwise. Also,
consider applying some negative EV compensation - underexposing versus
what the meter tells you is appropriate. Otherwise, the metering will
be suggesting a shutter speed slow enough to make the scene look as
brightly lit as the "average" scene, which it probably isn't. As a
bonus, the negative EV compensation will speed up the shutter even more.

Beyond that, just take lots and lots of shots, and expect that most will
suck.

---------------
Marc Sabatella


Music, art, & educational materials
Featuring "A Jazz Improvisation Primer"
http://www.outsideshore.com/

 

My immediate guess is that those lenses are too slow to work well for
this application. Yes, I see the "IS". I'm sure IS is great -- but
my experience with this kind of club shoot is that the *subject
motion* is the limiting factor, and IS doesn't help a bit with that.

My secondary suggestion is -- instead of looking for "settings" advice
from people who've never been in the club in question and haven't seen
the lighting, *use the power of digital*. Take a few sample pictures
and look at them *closely*. Zoom in. Check sharpness and detail on
the face. Check the exposure histogram, see what's being cut off.
Then adjust from there.

Good luck!

 

I'd be inclined to see if there was any way that you could be allowed to use
a flash - I suspect it'll make a big difference. Worst they can do is say
no. Perhaps a bribe with some free publicity shots?

 

IANApro, but I've taken a few pictures at concerts, some of which
have come out pretty decently. I think everything that's already been
said is pretty sensible. I'd just like to add:

- You may not be able to get technically great photographs (high ISO,
performer moving, weird lighting). So don't fight it, use it! Use the
weird colors, let the performer blur a little, make it atmospheric. One
of my concert photos I like, of a drummer, is not very good - the
drummer is overexposed and everything else is dark, he's motion-blurred
and the focus isn't great anyway - but I like it because it captures the
energy and motion of the moment, conveying the drummer's movement and
emphasizing his isolation and complete absorption in what he's doing.
Another one shows one performer silhouetted against another: the
non-silhouetted one is a little too orangy-red and the background a
little too blue, but if I "correct" the picture to bring out the
foreground performer and make the colors more accurate, it loses all its
drama.

-Be aware that the lights may be at bad angles, shining right into your
camera, so take this into account when thinking about exposure.

-If you're not doing it already, shoot in raw format to maximize your
ability to correct things like white balance.

-Try to explore beforehand to see where you can go, what kind of angles
you can get, and what blocking issues there will be. Consider what the
background of your shots is going to be. I have one that's pretty good,
with the performers in the bright yellowish stage lights and the
audience in the background in blue shadow - except for one annoying guy
standing forward far enough to be in the same lighting as the stage!

 

The other thing is that your photos won't *look* like performance
shots if they're lit by flash. Flash comes from the direction of the
camera, and stage lighting is essentially always off in some very
different direction.

 

I'd be inclined to see if there was any way that you could be allowed

It will, as others indicated, make the shot look considerably less like
we expect a concert shot to look. Also, as a professional musician, I
can say that flash from any distance close to enough to actually be
effective can be extremely distracting. Yes, you can always ask, but
often musicians won't have the guts to say no, even though they really
mind. It's sort of like asking someone if they mind if you smoke -
sure, it gives them opportunity to tell you not to, but realistically,
it also puts people in an awkward position, and you might be causing
some resentment if they say "go ahead" but it really does bother them.

Oh, I don't remember if anyone said this, but if not shooting RAW,
choose the warmest white balance setting you have (generally
incandescent). And expect the shots will still look quite orange - most
stage lighting is *very* intensely warm.

---------------
Marc Sabatella


Music, art, & educational materials
Featuring "A Jazz Improvisation Primer"
http://www.outsideshore.com/

 

It's not ideal - but some of my experiences have been a case of "damned if
you do, damned if you don't" - often one just can't get the shutter speeds
high enough without it - so you end up with 99% of the shots being blurry.

Something to take into consideration for sure, but then again there are many
performers who are quite used to it. My experience is that (the ones I'm
photographing) invariably have managers who aren't affraid in the slightest
to say no.