concert photography
May 15, 2012 02:38:50 #
If you don't delete in the camera an dounload them quite often if a photo id too dark you can bring it out in PP or select a portion and bring it out. lots of tricks in cropping too
suntomoon wrote:
quote=Harvey Which Lumix and what editing program... (show quote)
May 15, 2012 21:40:36 #
Welcome to the Hog Tink. I don't go to many concerts, but do like to take photos when I go. One thing I can recommend is to get to the venue early and take shots of the stage. You can often get right up to the stage before the concert starts no matter where your seats are. I think it is cool to get intimate shots of the instruments that will be played.
By coincidence, I went to see Steve Winwood in St. Louis last night. Here is a shot I got during the concert.
Good luck.. I'd like to see your work.
By coincidence, I went to see Steve Winwood in St. Louis last night. Here is a shot I got during the concert.
Good luck.. I'd like to see your work.
May 15, 2012 23:30:20 #
Harvey wrote:
If you don't delete in the camera an dounload them... (show quote)
Oh yes, ok!! But I don't use any programs as of yet, I like what comes from the camera.
Check out Smartphone Photography section of our forum.
Oct 2, 2015 10:50:14 #
tink erbell wrote:
I never use a flash. they are completely prohibited. For really dark venues I use a 50mm 1.8 prime.
They aren't always prohibited, in fact in some cases they are most definitely needed! They are only prohibited by certain artists or certain venues. They are always prohibited when being recorded for television.
This is one of my favorite shots of Trace Adkins, but it would never have been possible to capture without a flash with that 5k light shooting right into my lens.
The other reason to use flash (when allowed) is to fill the dark shadows that concert lighting creates. The photo I shot of Charlie Daniels is a perfect example of this. Charlie's hat casts a huge, dark shadow over most of his face. Remember, the faster shutter speed you use to compensate for the bright lights, the darker that shadow is going to be. You'll want/need to use flash to fill that shadow.
Aug 4, 2023 14:35:35 #
OddRockerPhotography
Loc: Virginia
For concert photography:
Get a fast lens or lenses- f2.8 at least, for low light photography
-24-70mm lens
-70-200mm lens
(these 2 will enable you to cover most of the venues you will shoot in. Be aware that nowadays some of the bigger name artists are making photographers shoot from the soundboard area, instead of from the pit in front of the stage. In those cases, you will need a telephoto lens with reach - 300mm to 600mm at least).
You will probably use a shutter speed around 300 or more depending on subject movement and venue lighting
Shoot in RAW format - this is so you can control the amount of information your camera captures, depending on your settings, and then edit your shots in Adobe Lightroom (or whatever photo editing program you choose to use). The extra info captured allows you to manipulate/correct lots of aspects of the image: color, brightness, contrast, etc. in order to bring out the best of the photo. JPEG file format does not capture as much info as RAW does, so there will be limited editing you can perform on your JPEG images
Try not to shoot from directly in front of the lead singer to avoid what is known as "mic mouth" (microphone blocking singers face) and try not to shoot up the nose shots (unflattering). Try to stand a little to the side so you will be able to capture their facial expressions/emotions while they sing. You also won't have to fight as much with the other photographers in the pit all trying to get directly in front of the singer.
Try to shoot guitarists in a way that the head of the guitar is furthest away from you - this results in capturing their fingers and hands playing and looks cooler than seeing the back side of the guitar neck and head. For example, if the head stock of the guitar is on the guitarists left hand side as you're looking at them, try to shoot from their right side
ALWAYS shoot the drummer! :)
You will need to be affiliated with a web site or magazine in order to obtain press passes to shoot any of the bigger acts with a professional camera rig (ie, not a point and shoot or cell phone). This is especially true if it is a Live Nation venue, which are most of the arenas and pavilions in this country
You will be limited to shooting the first 3 songs, if that, of the show. Sometimes you will only get 1 song!
Beware of rights grab contracts; in order to be allowed to shoot a show, you may be asked to sign a contract that makes you give up your ownership/copyrights of your images to the artist, in perpetuity. These can be especially predatory and inexperienced photographers will tend to sign away all their rights to their work (you can even be stopped from displaying your work on your personal website/pages), just so they can shoot a band they like.
No flash (unless in a small club and the artist is ok with it. This is very rare)
Carry extra fully charged batteries and formatted flash cards in your pockets - you probably won't have any place to store your camera bags safely in the pit or you may not even be allowed to take a bag into the pit
Wear ear plugs!!!
And last, but definitely not least; Have fun!
Get a fast lens or lenses- f2.8 at least, for low light photography
-24-70mm lens
-70-200mm lens
(these 2 will enable you to cover most of the venues you will shoot in. Be aware that nowadays some of the bigger name artists are making photographers shoot from the soundboard area, instead of from the pit in front of the stage. In those cases, you will need a telephoto lens with reach - 300mm to 600mm at least).
You will probably use a shutter speed around 300 or more depending on subject movement and venue lighting
Shoot in RAW format - this is so you can control the amount of information your camera captures, depending on your settings, and then edit your shots in Adobe Lightroom (or whatever photo editing program you choose to use). The extra info captured allows you to manipulate/correct lots of aspects of the image: color, brightness, contrast, etc. in order to bring out the best of the photo. JPEG file format does not capture as much info as RAW does, so there will be limited editing you can perform on your JPEG images
Try not to shoot from directly in front of the lead singer to avoid what is known as "mic mouth" (microphone blocking singers face) and try not to shoot up the nose shots (unflattering). Try to stand a little to the side so you will be able to capture their facial expressions/emotions while they sing. You also won't have to fight as much with the other photographers in the pit all trying to get directly in front of the singer.
Try to shoot guitarists in a way that the head of the guitar is furthest away from you - this results in capturing their fingers and hands playing and looks cooler than seeing the back side of the guitar neck and head. For example, if the head stock of the guitar is on the guitarists left hand side as you're looking at them, try to shoot from their right side
ALWAYS shoot the drummer! :)
You will need to be affiliated with a web site or magazine in order to obtain press passes to shoot any of the bigger acts with a professional camera rig (ie, not a point and shoot or cell phone). This is especially true if it is a Live Nation venue, which are most of the arenas and pavilions in this country
You will be limited to shooting the first 3 songs, if that, of the show. Sometimes you will only get 1 song!
Beware of rights grab contracts; in order to be allowed to shoot a show, you may be asked to sign a contract that makes you give up your ownership/copyrights of your images to the artist, in perpetuity. These can be especially predatory and inexperienced photographers will tend to sign away all their rights to their work (you can even be stopped from displaying your work on your personal website/pages), just so they can shoot a band they like.
No flash (unless in a small club and the artist is ok with it. This is very rare)
Carry extra fully charged batteries and formatted flash cards in your pockets - you probably won't have any place to store your camera bags safely in the pit or you may not even be allowed to take a bag into the pit
Wear ear plugs!!!
And last, but definitely not least; Have fun!
Dec 30, 2023 14:41:49 #
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