cdavis7820 Loc: Akron Ohio

Local artist Anna and the consequences at Blu Jazz night club in Akron Ohio

(Download)

jim quist Loc: Missouri

Sometimes you just gotta hate microphones...and stage lighting. What lens and settings did you use?

MaksimAxelrod

I love the black and white, and the contrast. What did you shoot with? The b/w goes really well with the look and vibe. The mic got in the way a couple times for me, but overall i think you did great for your first shoot!!! Some real nice candid moments. hopefully many more to come, keep on shooting!!

HOHIMER

The location of the microphone is a big distraction for me in most of theses images.
Shooting at an angle that places the mic. more to the left or right of the singer’s face would be more pleasing.(IMO)

cdavis7820 Loc: Akron Ohio

I intentionally took shots with the mike being a part of the photo as I was trying to capture the moment from the prospective of the audience.

Canon 5DS R with EF 24-70mm F2.8 lens –Shutter 1/50 App 2.8 ISO 1600.

fosis Loc: Pittsburgh, PA

My suggestion is to use your camera to provide an even better view than the audience gets. More intimate, more "clubby," by getting to the side and letting the spotlights glance off the subject's face, leaving the shadows dramatically dark. And the closer the better, to capture the emotion of the singer's presentation. If you're going for a more reality-based portrayal, how about a very wide angle shot from high above, including a large amount of the dark audience (providing leading lines toward the subject) and allowing the center of interest to be the brightly lit singer. You might even put the singer/stage in a top corner, creating a diagonal composition within the frame.

cdavis7820 Loc: Akron Ohio

Thanks for the tips. I’m just an amateur sitting in the front row with my camera and a single malt scotch.

pithydoug Loc: Catskill Mountains, NY

I can't tell if the focus is off or just a very small physical file. 1/50 is too slow for starters, any movement such as guitar player's hands are blurred and musicians seldom stand still. When I do concerts I go manual with aperture set to DOF I want(2.8 4.0 etc) and a shutter appropriate to catch the movement and then use AUTO ISO. Let the camera do the work so you can concentrate on shooting and not settings as light changes. Yes, some of the ISOs selected will be high but the 5DS has one hell of sensor not discounting the monster # of pixels. I would shoot raw so I cans post process the white balance.

jaymatt Loc: Alexandria, Indiana

There are some good suggestions here that you might want to consider, but I believe you've done a good job for your first try at this.

cdavis7820 Loc: Akron Ohio

Great tips. I did resize the files really small to upload here. For some reason I was thinking 1/50 because of the low light in the room and trying to keep ISO at the lowest I could. What shutter speed would you recommend in this type of dark setting with movement and hand held? Thanks

Bazbo Loc: Lisboa, Portugal

Nightclub performances usually present the photographer with challenging lighting situations so you have to make do with what is usually butt-ugly light.

However, I especially like the lights behind the singer that create leading lines that naturally draw the eye to the singer.

Many people have offered helpful suggestions that I won't repeat (microphones, creating a view that the audience does not see, etc.). To that I would addd just a couple f things:

If possible, move around and get closer. Consider a longer lense. Think about how to use the crappy light to your advantage. If you know you are going to be plagued by slow shutter speeds, thing about compositions in which you can use that limitation by emphasizing motion and fluidity. I am attaching an example to illustrate what i mean.

Overall, a very good start. Please keep at it and post some more.