Concert photographie

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kawaracer

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Kris
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Hi, I m a amateur photographer with a great interest in live music so take lots of pics of live gigs. I want to improve my photos so I'm looking door some feedback and workpoints. Here on the people and portrait forum I don't see much other concert photos and the feedback I get is rather general. Is there a better forum to post some concert pics to be analysed?
 
I would suggest you keep posting here for a bit longer. You tend to find that when you're in a small niche it takes a while for others interested in that subject to find your posts. And I think there tends to be more concert photography posted here in the summer festival season.
 
I could be wrong on this one but from past experience generally you can't get interchangeable lens cameras into gigs so your best hope is normally bridge cameras and compacts. Because of this (unless you are lucky enough to get a press pass of course) a lot of gig photos will tend to be camera held overhead from a distance shots and as such a lot of them won't be all "that" relevant on a photography forum since apart from advice on camera settings the photos themselves aren't all that critique-able. I could well be wrong of course and i am sure someone will correct me if i am but that would be my guess as to why there aren't that many threads with gig photos in.

There are some with gigs though if you use the search, smaller venues/bands and some lucky ducks with press passes etc (i would love to try that myself), just not many from concert goers who happen to take a camera with them.

It never hurts to put some photos up though if you want help and advice, they are a friendly bunch on here, albeit quite straight talking at times so you will definitely get good advice if you share.
 
I do loads of this stuff. Post some pics, some you're happy with and some you're not and I'll we'll give some feedback.
Without seeing where you're at it's hard to give advice.
NB Some folks don't like clicking links.
 
Graham W said:
I do loads of this stuff. Post some pics, some you're happy with and some you're not and I'll we'll give some feedback.
Click to expand...
He has done, several threads (with embedded photos, not links).
 
Well I'm still regulary a bit jealous when I see the magazine pics and the photos in booklets of CD's. I don't see what I have to do to get to that level.
Secondly I think I'm not consistent enough, I can't garantee very good photos ervery time and I think I need to more severe in selecting.
These last two things I'm working on but the it seems like I can't make the next step in qualtity.
 
kawaracer said:
Well I'm still regulary a bit jealous when I see the magazine pics and the photos in booklets of CD's. I don't see what I have to do to get to that level.
Secondly I think I'm not consistent enough, I can't garantee very good photos ervery time and I think I need to more severe in selecting.
These last two things I'm working on but the it seems like I can't make the next step in qualtity.
Click to expand...

There's 2 very separate but important issues here and the first breaks down to 2 too.

1. Consistency - you should be able to get a well exposed and in focus image getting close to every shot. However, when you've done that your standards go up, and your 'keeper rate' will actually be the same as before. But the quality of stuff in your bin will be so much better.
2. learning to edit is a dark art that takes a leap of faith. You need to 'edit in', if an image doesn't grab you in 3 secs it's not a keeper, you need to be ruthless. There are many bad reasons we 'like' our own images, including seeing 'our influences' reflected back, adding value because of technical difficulties we overcame, etc. We have to learn to be brutal (this takes work from all of us) - remember that most photographs you see published were chosen by a picture editor.
 
kawaracer said:
Well I'm still regulary a bit jealous when I see the magazine pics and the photos in booklets of CD's. I don't see what I have to do to get to that level.
Secondly I think I'm not consistent enough, I can't garantee very good photos ervery time and I think I need to more severe in selecting.
These last two things I'm working on but the it seems like I can't make the next step in qualtity.
Click to expand...

Your work is really very good. I've never done concert photography so don't have a lot to contribute, but the images which stand out are those where you capture some emotion as well as nailing the composition and lighting.

I wonder whether working on different lines for a bit would change the way you think about your work and add to your skill set. Perhaps do some street photography or some studio portraiture?
 
Phil V said:
1. Consistency - you should be able to get a well exposed and in focus image getting close to every shot....
Click to expand...
In Focus and well exposed is'nt the problem I think It is more the creative site that bothers me sometimes. So I obliged myself to use both 20-70 and 70-200 lenses during at least 1 song to get more variation in the results. The wider I go the dificlulter I find it it to get the composition ok.
Phil V said:
2. learning to edit is a dark art that takes a leap of faith. You need to 'edit in', if an image doesn't grab you in 3 secs it's not a keeper, you need to be ruthless.
Click to expand...
I'm now on the level of keeping 1 out 10 shots for a single concert, For festivals It is around 1 out 15 shots. I select them by putting similar pics together en picking the best ones out, that way many good pics are trown in the bin. But often the feeling I have with a pic come's from te memory of the moment, Therefore I have to go through my sets after a month or 2 so the emotions of the moment has faded to see the strength of the pics.
 
juggler said:
Your work is really very good. I've never done concert photography so don't have a lot to contribute, but the images which stand out are those where you capture some emotion as well as nailing the composition and lighting.

I wonder whether working on different lines for a bit would change the way you think about your work and add to your skill set. Perhaps do some street photography or some studio portraiture?
Click to expand...
thanks,

May be that is a good idea, The experience I have with portraiture is that guiding the models is'nt easy. And the first time it confused me because I'm used to adapt the exposure to the lighting and not to adapt the light to the settings. Street photography I never done. I do some sports cycling (CX) and handball and basketball.
 
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Lighting at the shows affects consistency massively. If you're regularly shooting at smaller gigs with poor or just okay lighting, the chances of a decent shot are so much slimmer. I shot for many years, worked for a couple of magazines and agencies, but still could not get a half decent shot in the bloody second room of the O2 Academy in Birmingham! (The magazine editors know the venues with the rubbish lighting too!)

You look like you've got a knack for catching those real personality-driven moments: the weird little things that a musician does that stand out, and they're what make for the best concert photos in my opinion. If possible, I'd suggest getting a wider-angled lens too, to open up your options. It's helpful if a singer decides to jump in the crowd right next to you, or if you want to get a whole stage shot for a bit of atmosphere. You come out of the gig with a bit more variety - especially useful for bands that don't move around a lot, when by the third song you need to try something slightly different!
 
That's smart, it always helps to know in advance when something good is going to happen.

Thanks very much :) He was jumping around like a lunatic for the whole show - nothing better than an exciting performer!
 
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