Concert photography
- Thread starter taff63
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Firstly, very jealous! Its been a long time since I saw Joe Satriani live....I think he still had hair!!
Usual advice for this sort of thing really. Spot meter and focus on his face, nice wide aperture, ISO high enough to enable a fast shutter speed ( to be fair you will only need a really quick shutter speed for his hands) :0) He does tend to stand in one place for long periods of time, so you won't be chasing him around the stage! What focal length will you be shooting at? I'm afraid I'm not familiar with the venue, so the above is just general advice...
If he uses his chrome plated Ibanez, remember to look out for interesting lighting effects as the spotlights reflect off of the body and headstock!
Please post the images up here too ;0)
Usual advice for this sort of thing really. Spot meter and focus on his face, nice wide aperture, ISO high enough to enable a fast shutter speed ( to be fair you will only need a really quick shutter speed for his hands) :0) He does tend to stand in one place for long periods of time, so you won't be chasing him around the stage! What focal length will you be shooting at? I'm afraid I'm not familiar with the venue, so the above is just general advice...
If he uses his chrome plated Ibanez, remember to look out for interesting lighting effects as the spotlights reflect off of the body and headstock!
Please post the images up here too ;0)
seriousrikk
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With big venues I generally find the lighting to remain remarkably static on the artist, so once you get a good exposure you can probably just dial it in manual and only change it as you see fit.
I guess the other thing to advise, make sure you are allowed to take your DSLR in before attenting. Venues tend to be fine with compacts cameras and even bridge cameras these days. However DSLR's can still be frowned upon and are often prohibited by the terms of ticket sale.
I guess the other thing to advise, make sure you are allowed to take your DSLR in before attenting. Venues tend to be fine with compacts cameras and even bridge cameras these days. However DSLR's can still be frowned upon and are often prohibited by the terms of ticket sale.
seriousrikk
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Had a quick look at the terms for the venue
They would struggle to exercise their so called 'right' to confiscate such recordings, however they would be well within their right to ask you to stop, or indeed refuse entry.
They would struggle to exercise their so called 'right' to confiscate such recordings, however they would be well within their right to ask you to stop, or indeed refuse entry.
nikontos
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I hope you get to use your camera in there! Light will be the main problem I guess - the faster lens the better. If you have a telephoto prime it would be better than zoom in this situation as the distance will not change and primes are usually faster.
Keltica
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I doubt whether you will be allowed in if security see a large camera with large lens slung around your neck, so that will be a problem.
If you do take the risk of sneeking it in, then it's all down to the camera really. If it's a pro camera then very high ISO is not going to be a problem.
I have never been other than accredited shooting at a gig, so I get as near as you can, although for the first 3 songs or 20 minutes only.
Its a toss up whether you want to shoot at a dedicated fStop but my suggestion is to choose no less than 250th/sec and start from there.
Green lights are the worst problem, they make everything look like an outing from the Adams Family.
Picking your moment to fire a frame off is better than just taking lots of shots, and constant focusing on the subject is essential, so my thumb is always on the A/F button, with my finger waiting for just the right moment to press the shutter button.
Have fun.
If you do take the risk of sneeking it in, then it's all down to the camera really. If it's a pro camera then very high ISO is not going to be a problem.
I have never been other than accredited shooting at a gig, so I get as near as you can, although for the first 3 songs or 20 minutes only.
Its a toss up whether you want to shoot at a dedicated fStop but my suggestion is to choose no less than 250th/sec and start from there.
Green lights are the worst problem, they make everything look like an outing from the Adams Family.
Picking your moment to fire a frame off is better than just taking lots of shots, and constant focusing on the subject is essential, so my thumb is always on the A/F button, with my finger waiting for just the right moment to press the shutter button.
Have fun.
Depending on how fast your zoom lens is (eg what the widest aperture is), you may be better off taking a lens with a shorter focal length that has a faster aperture. For the few gigs I've shot at I stick to fast prime lenses, generally a 135 1.8 (although have used a 135 2.8 in the past) from the distance you'll be. The alternative as others have highlighted is to boost the ISO but worth practicing in a dark room to get a good idea of the noise levels at each setting. Just because cameras have >1600 ISO doesn't mean they should be used 
Finally, on the permission thing, I'd contact both the artists team and the venue and explain you're a 'keen amateur' photographer and want to bring your DSLR camera with you. Also stress you have no intention of selling the photos. Do all of this via email so you have a record and *if* they do allow it, print out the email thread and take it with you.
One very very final thought (and I'm as guilty as any one of this), try to only shoot for a few songs. Then consciously put the camera down. Firstly this prevents you taking loads of very similar photos to sort through but most importantly gives you a chance to properly take in the music and enjoy the gig. Life through the lens is very enjoyable but you need to take in the moment too
Have a great time and keep the thread updated on progress
Finally, on the permission thing, I'd contact both the artists team and the venue and explain you're a 'keen amateur' photographer and want to bring your DSLR camera with you. Also stress you have no intention of selling the photos. Do all of this via email so you have a record and *if* they do allow it, print out the email thread and take it with you.
One very very final thought (and I'm as guilty as any one of this), try to only shoot for a few songs. Then consciously put the camera down. Firstly this prevents you taking loads of very similar photos to sort through but most importantly gives you a chance to properly take in the music and enjoy the gig. Life through the lens is very enjoyable but you need to take in the moment too
Have a great time and keep the thread updated on progress
Oh, one final thing. In post processing, do play with both white balance as well as black and white, filtering out red green or blue channels separately. As someone above mentioned, the lighting can make some images come out not quite right so shooting in raw and playing with the above can bring out some great images from what appears to be poor captures.
OP
taff63
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Update on this concert it's next Wednesday and pumped up big time UNTIL yesterday when had accident in work with a forklift which ended with broken bones in my foot where forklift ran over my foot gutted was really looking forward to this gig so ticket is in my draw have advertised on gumtree and a selling page on Facebook would advertise on here but can't on my iPhone my laptop back in my flat which is impossible to get due to steps not happy mark