Thanks Mike! Just have fun with it. The nice thing about digital is we can take so many pictures. Some will be good and we want to delete others before they are seen! I know I am getting a little better when I delete fewer! Hope you capture some great memories!

I am curious? Are you shooting your child’s choral concert? Based upon the equipment you mentioned you have, I pretty much assume you are not a professional doing this shoot for compensation. If so, just enjoy being a parent photographer and enjoy trying to get the best pictures of your child and his/her choral group that you can! Some pics will turn out good and if you are like me, you will scrap some. In my previous reply, I tried my best to answer the questions you posed in your post. I think you asked for some advise about taking pictures at a choral concert. I just tried to share my experience while inserting some humbleness and humor as well. Just have fun and learn. You will get better every time you shoot photos! Again, good luck!

Welcome to UHH!

I am actually a high school band director and teach yearbook/photography at my school. Just this past Tuesday, I took pictures at our choral concert. The chorus wears traditional black and white. As well, they used theatre lighting and using flash was not an option during the performance.

I was shooting with a Canon D6mkII with a F4 24-105mm lens. I saw where someone earlier said to put the camera on auto and just shoot. My experience was that didn’t work for a number of reasons:

1. All of the black adversely affects the camera’s ability to sense light. It thinks things in the scene are darker than they are and therefore faces and anything light in color will potentially wash out.

2. The auto setting tended to choose the lowest F stop which for the lens I used was F4 or F4.5. Considering the staging front to back, the F4 didn’t yield enough DoF to keep the the entire photograph in focus. I had to sit on the front row. I wish I could have been a little further back in the venue and shot more with my EF-L 70-200 F2.8 IS, but it was not possible in this venue. That in itself would have made dealing with the DoF issues more manageable.

3. Once I switched to manual mode (which was very quickly), shutter speed became an issue. I had to be very careful that I had a fast enough shutter speed to freeze movement and avoid motion blur.

As you can see, it was not simple.

What I ended up doing was shooting the majority of the shots using a mid range F stop with a fairly high ISO setting. The larger F stop setting helped deal with the DoF issues. I tried to keep the shutter speed about 1/250 any time there was movement and above 1/100 when thing were still. I really tried to avoid going below 1/60 any time. I also tended to shoot at a shutter speed that yielded an exposure a little on the dark side (easier to brighten an exposure in post processing then eliminate over exposure). As a general rule when hand holding the camera, I try to keep the shutter above 1/focal length (or zoom length). That rule seems to work well for me.

Fortunately, I have become very familiar with the controls on the camera that control focus (Depending on the shot, I would change focus settings), F stops, and shutter speed. Also, as lighting changed, I would adjust the ISO setting.

I urge anyone to practice with their camera using the manual setting. The best way to learn is to practice and experiment. I have learned you can yeild very similar exposures using various combinations of settings (literally 5 to 6 different settings). I have also learned that similar to playing a musical instrument, using a DSLR requires practice just for the sake of practicing. Fortunately, that is far more a realistic possibility with digital photography than when shooting exclusively on film with a single ISO as in the past.

I am pleased to say that most of the shots came out okay. I had to scrap a few mainly some of the first ones; however, most shots did require some post processing. If you can attend a dress rehearsal and practice, I would encourage you to do so. I went into this performance blind.

Do keep in mind that what I stated above was applicable to a full frame camera rather than a crop frame such as your T3. I do have a Canon T6s which is similar to yours. It just was not my choice the other night.

With all of that being said, I was glad I was just shooting for the yearbook and not for compensation! LOL That is probably why I will never earn a penny taking pictures much to my wife’s “playful dismay” considering the money I have spent on cameras, lens, and other equipment. I don’t call these items an investment because, I will probably never see one penny of return on the money invested. I just call it money well spent that affords me a whole lot of enjoyment! Not wanting to brag, but I just might be one of the better “free” photographers in my community. LOL

I hope you have a great time shooting the concert! Good luck!

I was actually a little amazed at this exposure. It was almost dark. f22 and a 20 second shutter speed yielded an exposure I found to be surprising. I knew I wanted as sharpe of an exposure as possible through the entire range of the photo while blurring the movement of the water. Sometimes it is better to be lucky than good! LOL

In the words of my farmer cousin: When you look deep you can see beauty in almost everything. Farmers hate those thistle weeds, but I have to say from looking at them through your lens they are beautiful.

Here are some photos of thistle in different stages of blooming.

With you having a 5DmkIV, you have one of the nicest cameras made. Congratulations!

Regardless of what you do, I would encourage you to invest in Canon EF-L series lens, the Sigma Art series, and as well as the higher level Tamron lens. (Regardless, I find even the older EF-L series lens to be extremely sharpe. You can get good used lens.) The red line on the lens is the key. Yes, they are more expensive and they hold value fairly well if you purchase one and then decide it was a less than optimal choice for you. Although the lower priced versions are good, they don’t have the sharpness of the L series lens at least in my “very humble” opinion. I have duplicates of many (the lower priced versions and the L series as well.). I often use the lower priced versions with my Canon T6s (crop frame) especially when I might be going into a situation/conditions where I just don’t want to risk taking my “far more” expensive lens and camera.

I don’t think you would go wrong with the EF-L 24-105 f4 for a first lens. I do well over 50% of my shooting with that lens on a Canon D6mkII (okay... a little jealous of your D5mkIV 😀).

My main suggestion to you is start collecting high quality lens for the camera you have. Look for slightly used lens if and when possible. You can often save money by doing so. Think about what you want to shoot and prioritize your lens selection to those goals. I have some lens that I use constantly and some that I seldom use; however, when I need them, I have them.

My second suggestion is to find a local camera store and establish a good relationship with them. I live in Auburn, AL. We have an outstanding local store with a local owner. The store is Cameragraphics. The help and advice that I have received from John Oliver, John Rhodenizer, Brian Peters, and Ashley McVey has been so valuable. As well, when a good used lens that is exceptional comes in, John let’s me know. Their advice has been priceless over the last three years.

Of course my advice was free and often you get what you pay for! (LOL) I hope I at least gave you something to consider. Bottom line... I have learned that even the best camera in the world is no better than the lens attached to the front of it. You are fortunate and have one of the best cameras. In all reality, I would rather have a better lens on a lesser camera than a lesser lens on a great camera. The lens is the eye of your camera!

I teach photography at a high school. I have a handout that explains the triangle balance of ISO, shutter speed, and f stops. I will be glad to send it to you if you will email me. jmhillsman3@gmail.co

The attached picture was my first attempt at blurred water with a good tripod and an L-Series Lens. I stumbled upon the location on the French Broad River. It was literally dusk when I set the tripod and dark when I walked out. I think this particular shot was taken at F16 with a 15 second exposure. I had it printed on a gallery wrap for my wife. I admit I was proud when I went to the camera store to pick up the print and while I was standing there 4 or 5 people asked the owner who took the shot! I am so new at this almost serious shooting that I get elated about any success or one that someone else at least perceived it was a successful shot.

I have looked through you shots. You are very good. Your captures of animals is exceptional! Love your Amelia Island shots! Love Amelia Island and the GA Golden Isles!

JH

Yes, a lens beyond the Sigma or a Tamron 150-600 starts getting pricy. I feel your pain on that one! John

Look at the Canon T6s. A whole lot of camera for the money.

I would encourage you to try the lens on a crop frame sensor camera. Doing so will give you a 960mm equivalence. I have the Sigma version of basically the same lens. I have a full frame Canon camera and a Canon crop frame camera. When I need to reach out a little further, I put the lens on the crop frame camera and get good results. You will actually get more reach putting the lens on a 1.6 crop frame rather than using a 1.4 converter. I really don’t notice lot of IQ sufferage. Always good to have two cameras anyway! 😜

I recently purchased a Canon 6D mK II and it is very good in low light conditions. I started with a T6s (very similar to the 80D believe it or not). I knew I wanted both a crop frame and full frame camera. I also started buying EF-L series lens, which work on both cameras along with a handful of EF-S that only work on the T6s. Eventually, I would like to have a version of the 5D, but for now the 6D mk II was a good bridge into full frame while giving me the ability to begin to purchase some fine glass! I have learned that the camera is important, but nowhere nearly as important as having a collection of good lens that are suited to what you want to photograph. To skimp on lens... Well let’s just say that you’ll never get the pictures you want to take without them! They are the eye of the camera.

The attached picture was taken at dusk so that I could use a setting of F16-22 and a long exposure. When I walked up from the river bed, it was dark. That will somewhat illustrate the low light capabilities of the 6D mk II.

I hope you find my comments to be helpful.

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I sure enjoy mine as well!

1. Megapixels (Will you want to make large prints? If yes, more megapixels)
2. Lens focal lengths and features (zoom or prime - image stabilization)
3. Lens f values (lower = more light + plus better capability to blur backgrounds)
4. Weight/size
5. Focus (number of focal points, focus settings, etc.)
6. Built in flash or not (more advanced cameras generally don’t have built in flash)
7. Full or crop frame (Unless you buy used, a full frame is not within your price range.)
8. Simplicity or more advanced (Do you want a number of settings such as auto, various scene settings, and/or various manual settings.)
9. Expandablity (Will you want to eventually expand your lens collection?)
10. Other features such as ISO range/control, flip and/or touch screen, etc.)

If expanding your lens collection is not important to you, you might consider a nice point and shoot such as the Canon SX60HS. It has great focal length and features. My wife regularly prints 16x20 prints from hers. She wanted features in a single lens camera. When it comes to full DSLR, I think one of the most overlooked cameras is the Canon T6s. It is very advanced for the Rebel line. It is very akin to the D80 in features. Pair it with a EF-S 18-135 IS and you have a good package for what you are describing that you want to do. I teach photography/yearbook and I bought one for class and it has served us well. The students will fight over that camera over the T7i and our two T5i models.

I would strongly suggest that you go to a camera shop in your area and let them guide you. The guys at Best Buy and the big box stores seldom know cameras like the guys and gals in a dedicated camera store do! Camera prices seem to be controlled by the manufacturers so no real savings for purchasing on line, etc. If you are like most of us, you just initially want to take great pictures; however, the better your pictures get, the more you will become bitten by the bug to take even better and more creative pictures! Therefore, initially purchasing an expandable setup will save you a lot of money in the long run. I can attest, but after my initial purchase, I hooked up with some great photographers at our local camera store in Auburn, AL and they have guided me well! What I have learned is that no one camera and a single lens will did it all! More important than features (as others have pointed out also) is knowing what it is you want to accomplish with your camera. Go from there and you will end up happy and pleased with your purchase.

This picture is one of those that was almost missed all together! I was riding on the Amtrak Cascades from Seattle to Vancouver. We rounded a curve and there was this old rusting boat with a bald eagle perched on the front mast. I just happened to have my camera in my hand looking at pictures I had taken in Seattle. There is a lot wrong with the picture, but the moment and the composition was captured from a moving train through the window as the sun was beginning to set. I am really not sure why this is one of my favorites of my photos. I guess it just eludes a feeling of timelessness. I think as one ages, timelessness in itself takes on new meaning. I printed the photo as a gallery wrap, and I was very pleased with how it turned out.

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