General Gig Advice

joyofanonymity

joyofanonymity

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Clare
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Hey,

So I am frantically trying to read through the posts on here in hope of learning LOADS however in the interim, I have a gig on Saturday night that I'll be togging at (1st outing for my new DSLR - yikes!)

It's unpaid, but obviously i'd really like to get the best I can at newbie level.

My ISO goes to 3200, I am for the moment using my kit lens (17-80mm i think) and not quite grasped the use of much apart from "auto"...lol

For a gig scenario (inside) what would be people's immediate tips and tricks - should I use anything from PASM, I'm not allowed flash as it's a live gig and don't want to end up with a load uf unusable images.

Thanks so much!

Clare
 
earplugs, aperture priority mode as wide open as your lens can go, spot metering mode, iso as low as you can get away with though don't be too afraid to bump it up if need be. Shoot lots.
 
a couple of questions if you don't mind..
what F number does your lens go to?
how noisy is 3200ISO on your camera?
what kind of gig? rock??? really loud music? (for ear plugs)
and is this at the fringe? or are you staying closer to home?

edit@ okay, missed the 2nd post!
 
DizMatt said:
a couple of questions if you don't mind..
what F number does your lens go to?
how noisy is 3200ISO on your camera?
what kind of gig? rock??? really loud music? (for ear plugs)
and is this at the fringe? or are you staying closer to home?

edit@ okay, missed the 2nd post!
Click to expand...

Erm, the F number I shall tell you when I get home (see, told you I was brand new to this camera - hehe)
and as for the noisy ISO, i'm unsure as I haven't tried out the ISO on it yet properly...it's a Sony A350 but don't know if that helps so much...
It's a live DJ set in Glasgow (2manydjs) so yeah, I'd forgotten about the need for earplugs but chances I'll be near speakers - found that out the hard way at King Tuts - owwwwww...
 
yeeeaaaaah for 2manydjs you will definitely need earplugs :P
Jealous, love them :P

Another thing to watch out for, was shooting chase&status (video), and had about 30s at a time before I needed to clean the lens off, the venue was that humid - it'll be pretty obvious if it is though...
 
Ah cool, so a cloth in the bag it is then...

Gah, it's horrible being so new to it all - cheers for the tips...
 
Ah cool, so a cloth in the bag it is then...

Gah, it's horrible being so new to it all - cheers for the tips...
 
To be quite honest, you're going to struggle without using flash.

From what I've read about the A350, once you get to ISO1600 you lose most of the detail you're trying to capture as the noise reduction is incredibly agressive. If you've got the kit lens (which apparently has a maximum aperture of f/3.5 according to a quick Google), you will probably find you don't have enough light to get a fast shutter speed.

It does, of course, depend on the venue and your subjects. If the lighting is fairly decent and consistent you might be able to get some good shots. I've taken photos at gigs where even at ISO1600 and f/1.4 I've only gotten shutter speeds of 1/60s and I've been at the other extreme as well where I can use much more friendly settings. It's difficult to predict unless you've been to the venue before.

Basic 'rules' (remember they're there to be broken!) are using a nice wide aperture and the highest ISO you feel comfortable with (in terms of getting good detail and low noise) while still getting a fast enough shutter speed to stop motion (which is dependant on your focal length mostly).

If it's your first gig, just experiment a lot. Try and use some decent settings but if you can't, be more creative with your shots!

Good luck and have fun!

George.
 
Wow, this camera malarky is going to take some getting used to...lol. I'll maybe play around with my settings tonight to make sure I know quickly how to get the most shots quickly...

Wish I could use flash but my
publication (and most bands/artists) dictate they're not allowed - puts them off and apparently captures more atmosphere. Except it'll probably just mean that I get lots of crap photos...lol.

Thanks so so much for all the help - might post my previous practice shots on here to see feedback etc :-)
 
It's built into the camera :-)

Not got round to buying extra bits and bobs of kit for it yet unfortunately...
 
The academy isn't bad for lighting, much better than Tuts. The lighting set up for 2manydj's should be pretty good. Are you shooting from the crowd or in the pit?

I would recommend using AV mode (aperture priority) and setting it as wide (low number) as it will go, probably be around f4 if it's a kit lens. I try to avoid going above 1000 ISO at gigs, although sometimes it's unavoidable!

If you can, I'd shoot in RAW, this will give you more control over the editing of the image when post processing.

3846144833_f1ab2aa02f.jpg


The above shot was taken in Stereo on Friday night, it's pretty dark downstairs in there. I shot this at f1.8, ISO800 and shutter speed of 1/60 which was pretty slow, I usually try and keep the shutter speed above 1/100.

If the images are quite noisy due to the high ISO you can convert to black and white, you'll get away with more noise in b&w!

Dave
 
Thanks Dave - i'll try to remember that and go with that...

Might need to read the manual again to make sure I know how to do all the things...hehe...

As for where I'll be, because it's a free-flow DJ set, my press contact wasn't sure so i'm thinking i'll be by the stage rather in a pit - rowdy dancy Glasgow peeps probably don't want a pit getting in between them and 2manydjs...:lol:

And thanks for the example shot - it's good to see what it *could* end up like but as a first outing for the new camera, I wonder how they'll actually turn out...:shrug::thinking:
 
2 Many DJ's use quite a bit of strobing so you may need to take a burst of shots (I recommend 3), one will be pitch black, one will be bright white and one will be (hopefully) correctly exposed.

Bring some ear plugs (use toilet roll or something if you don't have any).

Enjoy the gig :thumbs:
 
the_doctor199 said:
2 Many DJ's use quite a bit of strobing so you may need to take a burst of shots (I recommend 3), one will be pitch black, one will be bright white and one will be (hopefully) correctly exposed.

Bring some ear plugs (use toilet roll or something if you don't have any).

Enjoy the gig :thumbs:
Click to expand...

Ooh, I hadn't even thought of burst but I'll give that a shot - quite looking forward to uploading some of the pics that I don't use for publication on here and seeing how they all pan out!
 
My advice is don't be afraid of using the highest iso if you have to. Better to get a usable shot with noise at 3200, rather than a lower noise shot with too much blur. Maybe if your looking at doing this more regularly a cheap upgrade would be a 50mm f1.8 fixed lens but great for low light. I always forget ear plugs, but should use them, it can get so loud sometimes.

I think with a kit lens 3200 may be a necessary evil. Plenty of memory cards as well, you always use more than you think you will.

Have you got so long or all gig to photograph? Either way this advice applies. It is easy to just pump off shots all over the place, esp with limited time. But chill out, frame properly, and don't panic about the amount of time you have to get the shot, you have plenty, even though it may not seem like it.

Research (maybe you know this, sorry if i am preaching to the converted) press shots of the band, live shot, google and flickr always bring up the goods. See what has been done before, and try to make yours stand out from what you see. Look at similar stuff and see what the must have shots seem to be and go from there. Good luck and can't wait to see the pics.
 
ding76uk said:
My advice is don't be afraid of using the highest iso if you have to. Better to get a usable shot with noise at 3200, rather than a lower noise shot with too much blur. Maybe if your looking at doing this more regularly a cheap upgrade would be a 50mm f1.8 fixed lens but great for low light. I always forget ear plugs, but should use them, it can get so loud sometimes.

I think with a kit lens 3200 may be a necessary evil. Plenty of memory cards as well, you always use more than you think you will.

Have you got so long or all gig to photograph? Either way this advice applies. It is easy to just pump off shots all over the place, esp with limited time. But chill out, frame properly, and don't panic about the amount of time you have to get the shot, you have plenty, even though it may not seem like it.

Research (maybe you know this, sorry if i am preaching to the converted) press shots of the band, live shot, google and flickr always bring up the goods. See what has been done before, and try to make yours stand out from what you see. Look at similar stuff and see what the must have shots seem to be and go from there. Good luck and can't wait to see the pics.
Click to expand...

I think most of the gigs work on a 3 song rule principle so i'm going with that in mind, just in case. I have a 2gb memory card for the moment, thinking about maybe getting another one for future but will be working on what I have for Saturday...

I did another gig with a non DSLR camera recently - the pics are here... but please bear in mind, this was taken with a non SLR camera, in my very first attempt so they are *very* rough...

I am so glad to have found this forum before Saturday - feeling more confident already!...thanks
 
Im shooting them on Friday night so I'll try and get a few shots online on Saturday morning and you can get an idea of what you're in for :)
 
Well, I shot them an hour or so ago. Ummm, hard to break the news, but we couldn't physically see them lol I even climbed on top of one of the touring boxes to get myself an extra 4 feet and still couldn't see them.

They have these huge lights at the front of the stage that are impossible to shoot past but look awesome.

I managed to talk myself a AAA pass and got on stage with them, then their tour manager wouldn't allow any photos so my only option was to shoot wide..

dsc7256.jpg
 
Hey,

Nice picture :clap:

And cheers for the heads up - was considering not taking the camera for a split second there but on reflection, i'm going to take it and hope that since it's an indoor gig, that they might have a few less barriers to pictures...:shrug: a girl can hope, anyway...lol

Thanks very much though, guess it's a wait and see game for me tonight to see what I can get, if anything

x
 
all good advice.
just shot a gig at the salutation in Nottingham.
Union x. (on my myspace , unedited so far. )
lighting up and down like a yoyo.
3200 iso. f2.8 mostly.
took a shed load.
i could use a little flash, but try not to if i can help it.
there will be a lot you wont use, if light is very variable.
we dont get perfect shots every time, even if people tell you they do.


how DID it go?
 
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