Tips for taking photos at gigs?

[John Darroch]

Hey I'm about to start taking photos of raves and dance music events and was wondering if you folk had any useful tips or advice? I've been photographing a bit at house parties and normally bounce the flash from my canon 430ex off the ceiling to get photos like the ones below. I occasionally just use ambient lighting but find it difficult to get usable photos using only ambient light. I have a 400d the canon 18 - 55is and the 50mm f1.8 that I use

I was wondering if there were any bits of advice or pointers you could give me?

Ps I was quite hammered when I took these photos last night so they arent 100% more at http://www.flickr.com/photos/12492550@N03/sets/72157621860171317/detail/


http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2450/3802140393_c23eaee96a.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3558/3803005244_6a05415eb8.jpg


http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3569/3803022026_076a40c598.jpg

[robo git]

When shooting a band / DJ I tend to not use a flash, or manually dial down the power so it acts more as a fill-light.

Most venues won't have a white ceiling, and in many cases it won't be as close as a house ceiling, so you can't rely on it for bounce-flash - think about getting a small flash-mounted diffuser instead.

2nd Curtain Synch is your friend: Having the flash go off at the end of a long-ish (eg 3sec) exposure gives you movement and light-trails with a nice sharp subject at the end of the light trails. Also for posed shots, if the you need the time as well as the flash, then having the flash go at the END of the shot means people won't move until the end of the shot ;)

Also do not be afraid of high ISO settings - on some shots it's the grainy effect that actually makes the shot.

Shoot on either Av or M - either way is a little hit & miss, but you get control over the depth of field and can shoot as fast as possible for that environment (less motion blur) or deliberately get a motion-blur going with lights in the background only to freeze the subject with the flash at the start/end of the shot.

Use either spot metering and lock-in exposure over the bright-part of the image (which can occasionally mean you miss a shot!) or use Evaluative so that it takes the average across the whole frame; Personally I don't like Centre-weighted average in club/band environments. However TRY stuff - find out which mode works best for you.

If shooting Av dial down the Ev meter to somewhere between -1 and -2: Protect those highlights! It's easier to increase exposure in post then it is to extract detail from a blown highlight, and even on -2 with stage-lighting you'll find yourself blowing highlights every so often.

If shooting M, chose your aperture for the effect you want, then select a shutter-speed that calculates for somewhere between -1 to -3, aiming for an average of -2. Again: Protect your highlights!

Even if you go for high ISO, you may find yourself getting a lot of motion-blur in the shots: Get good at holding the camera still :p or select a wider aperture... or it might actually be the band-member/DJ/Club patron IS actually moving, in which case to catch them you need to use a flash.

White-balance: Experiment a bit ;) I use either "flash" or "fluro" when using a flash, or I take a photo of the most common lighting (eg orange-red from the above) and use that for no-flash shots - but mainly if Tungsten WB doesn't give satisfactory results. I find there's often WAY too much red & orange in clubs, which is fine while you're there, but a bit garbage for photos, hence the want to custom-WB shots.

SHOOT RAW. If the lighting is even slightly variable, shooting RAW (or RAW+JPG) can be the difference between a lost shot and one that perfectly captures the moment because you were able to extract enough light information.

PS: I get the impression you quite like the chick on the keyboard:D

[John Darroch]

Cool thanks heaps, thats a huge amount of detail, I will definetly try and put your advice into practive.

The curtain synch method makes a lot of sense, I have seen quite a few photos that seem to be using that method and was wondering how they had done it.

I usually use Av or M, I find however that it takes longer and longer to figure out what I want as the night goes on and I drink more and more :) I think some self discipline might be the key to improving there :)

The notes on EV metering and white balance are invaluable, you just saved me weeks of playing round.

Heh I like the photos of her - she just happened to be closest to where I was standing so thats why so many of my photos have her in them :rolleyes:

Anyway thanks again

[ndiginiz]

John a simple rule of thumb is don't drink until you've finished shooting. Then get as sloshed as you want.

I purposely don't start out using a speedlight at concerts as they can distract and unsettle artists/performers. I usually crank up the ISO put the NR on and use a fast lens. Only in certain circumstances where I'm confident the effect of my speedlight is not going to distract or unsettle the artist and there are plenty of alternating and diffrent coloured stage lights, I might use a speedlight.
Like robo I manually dial in my speedlight or my built-in flash so it acts as fill-light rather than as an illuminator. Depending on the time of day (if outdoors) and the available light (indoors or outdoors) I might go as low as 1/16th of full power. I want to maintain a sense of temperature in the light consistent with the environment and the subject/subject matter as well as the temperature in the colour(s). The more you get use to doing it the faster you become at doing it. I find it satisfactory for concert photography as well as low light and even day light portraits.

two available light examples;
Dave Dobbyn and the Dave Dobbyn bass guitarist
Cambridge 2007 | © all rights reserved

http://www.hellophoto.co.nz/picture.php?albumid=54&pictureid=744

http://www.hellophoto.co.nz/picture.php?albumid=54&pictureid=745

In these two flash examples I've adjusted the head position of my speedlight to fill or illuminate certain areas
Nail: Juggernaut lead guitar/backing vocals
Hamilton 2009 | © all rights reserved

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3390/3577320131_2081b2b591_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3353/3578125450_9fd0c9cc10_o.jpg

[robo git]

Yo ndiginiz,

The available light examples: I'm assuming they're not meant to be a 1x1 pixel white GIF file?

John a simple rule of thumb is don't drink until you've finished shooting. Then get as sloshed as you want.I don't go that far, but I do limit myself to 1 beer/hour max while shooting, although more often than not I'll stick with water.

Another thing I do is I make time to talk to the band before they get on stage: Make sure they know I'll be there, ask in advance about using a flash, get an idea how much access I'm allowed on the stage (eg: shots from behind the performers over the crowd), maybe even take a few pre-performance posed-up test shots for the band as "promo" material. Definitely more important sorting out flash usage for live music than for DJs, as the club-scene has flash usage as more of a normal, even expected, activity.

Depending on the act you may not be able to talk to the band, but you should be able to at least talk to their manager or the event organiser so that you make sure you understand expectations. This does work a lot better if you're there as an "official" photographer of course ^_^

Cheers!
-me

[ndiginiz]

Yo ndiginiz,

The available light examples: I'm assuming they're not meant to be a 1x1 pixel white GIF file?

I don't go that far, but I do limit myself to 1 beer/hour max while shooting, although more often than not I'll stick with water.

Another thing I do is I make time to talk to the band before they get on stage: Make sure they know I'll be there, ask in advance about using a flash, get an idea how much access I'm allowed on the stage (eg: shots from behind the performers over the crowd), maybe even take a few pre-performance posed-up test shots for the band as "promo" material. Definitely more important sorting out flash usage for live music than for DJs, as the club-scene has flash usage as more of a normal, even expected, activity.

Depending on the act you may not be able to talk to the band, but you should be able to at least talk to their manager or the event organiser so that you make sure you understand expectations. This does work a lot better if you're there as an "official" photographer of course ^_^

Cheers!
-me

Although I can see them both, I'm guessing those first two examples are not showing for hah?
I think we all know what I mean when talking about with drinking....

robo adds some good common-sense considerations about speaking to the band or manangement for the band. And as he suggests if your there in a capacity as the official photographer that's even better.

[BenClement]

one thing i have learnt is that your flash can be your worst enemy at shows with bands getting pissed off. so try try try boucne it off something thats not a person (especially in the band) experiment with hi ISO no flash.

Get a good position before the band starts

And get to the show early to test out the lighting so you have an idea of aperture and shutter speeds.

heres a few shots of my own.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2401/3533292622_c67282903e.jpg


http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2445/3532482511_40924a89c0.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3024/2986663850_203f67ce55.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3448/3268921244_56932ba4f6.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3411/3553132760_2b8b90dcbf.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3452/3350344192_5c40e4b06b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3559/3349509609_15ea12350c.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3592/3349508475_dafb50d4c8.jpg

[robo git]

That's some seriously mint shots there Ben - Ka Pai! (Y)

[ndiginiz]

"so try try try boucne it off something thats not a person (especially in the band)"

Are you saying never direct flash at a performer cause that's what it reading like? Be confident in your technique and technical ability not to distract a performer or performers with flash photography, is al I can say.
Nice post production work. I'm afraid that's all I see though in the majority of your photos.... post production work.

[robo git]

Nice post production work. I'm afraid that's all I see though in the majority of your photos.... post production work.Come now, that's a little harsh - the lighting is good.

That being said it looks more like (the band's) studio where some of those photos were taken, not at an actual concert.

[smurff]

"so try try try boucne it off something thats not a person (especially in the band)"

Are you saying never direct flash at a performer cause that's what it reading like? Be confident in your technique and technical ability not to distract a performer or performers with flash photography, is al I can say.
Nice post production work. I'm afraid that's all I see though in the majority of your photos.... post production work.

be arogent and dont care that the performer is trying to put on a show for 100 - 1000 people, its your photo that really matters... thats what i see in your comment

-smurff

[ndiginiz]

Arrogance?.... wow.

If you've done your home work and your ground work before the gig/concert/play/show/performance whatever, as alluded to earlier in the thead, then directing flash at a performer should not be an issue, if done with the approval of and with courtesy to the performer and consideration of the audience within range of the flash. Though in most circumstances the audience don't really seem to mind.

[John Darroch]

Regarding the flash/no flash thing I have genererally found most artists dont mind it and audiences dont seem to notice a lot of the time. That said if I want to use flash I always talk to the performer before hand and check its ok, if for whatever reason I can't get to the band or personally feel its not appropriate I crank up the ISO and use a low aperture. Using Facebook or email its suprisingly easy to make contact with a band and I always feel much better knowing they are happy to have me around. That said I've only been shooting small gigs (under 100ppl) I'm sure with commercial events it gets tricky quickly.

I think Bens work is great - really inspiring, the comment about post production seems a bit hard ndiginz but that could just be how I'm reading it.

I dont usually drink whilst taking photos I was being a bit facetious - that said its been known to happen.

[Rick0r]

Only use flash if there are already existing strobes..

If not, it's fucking horribly offputting if you're flashing them in the face and they're in an otherwise dark room, it'll put them off their game, make you look like a dick, and chances are they won't invite you back.

If you HAVE to use flash, make SURE you tell them that, BEFORE you start shooting.


The above only covers bar/club gigs.

For big-time gigs, there's generally a very strict no flash rule. If the security sees a flash going off, you're out of there. I saw one guy get thrown out (by force) at Vodafone Homegrown for using a flash.

[BenClement]

Come now, that's a little harsh - the lighting is good.

That being said it looks more like (the band's) studio where some of those photos were taken, not at an actual concert.

all photographs are taken live. at venues.

i don't tend to do much pp usually just a few colors here and there.

to the comment about not minding aiming your flash at a band member. i play in bands myself and it can be highly distracting having someone especially just a pop up flash aiming there camera right in your face. Plus ir gives you more of a challenge not using your flash or bouncing the flash which in my opinion is more confidence in your shooting

---------- Post added at 03:51 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:49 PM ----------

one thing i have learnt is that your flash can be your worst enemy at shows with bands getting pissed off. so try try try boucne it off something thats not a person (especially in the band) experiment with hi ISO no flash.

Get a good position before the band starts

And get to the show early to test out the lighting so you have an idea of aperture and shutter speeds.

heres a few shots of my own.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2401/3533292622_c67282903e.jpg


http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2445/3532482511_40924a89c0.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3024/2986663850_203f67ce55.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3448/3268921244_56932ba4f6.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3411/3553132760_2b8b90dcbf.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3452/3350344192_5c40e4b06b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3559/3349509609_15ea12350c.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3592/3349508475_dafb50d4c8.jpg


the first 5 shots in this series have no flash whatsoever. and the most edited one is the first one which are just color adjustments

[monkfish]

Ndiginiz whats with the whole being a twat to Ben? his photos are stunning, no need to be jealous because someone has talent.

[NikonF4s]

Ndiginiz whats with the whole being a twat to Ben? his photos are stunning, no need to be jealous because someone has talent.

http://www.photographersonline.co.nz/showthread.php?t=39