Gig Photography advice or tips please

Ocean Rum

Ocean Rum

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Sasha Kwan
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Ive just got my first live gig job for later on this month. It will be in a small venue photographing an indie band.

Any tips on settings, gear and anything else would be appreciated. I have the nift fifty 1.8 lens I be taking with me. I am debating whether to buy a 70-200mm 2.8 lens too and also a wide angle one. but it all costs so much altho this is what i will be doing in the long term.Just wondered if the nift fifty be ok for small venue.

Also I have a Canon 400D which doesnt have spot metering. Any advice on what metering mode to use n how to meter in this low light situation?

Thanks
 
this is what i do [ime with nikon full frame]

i usually stand with my left shoulder to the stage to get the guitars in most are rh

small venues i get close in with the 50mm f1.4

then i step back a bit and use 85mm f1.8 for portraits on the mic

i also have a 35mm f2 i use as well for group shots

with changeing lights i leave wb on auto

fixed light i put on the lowest settings,experiment

i practise on the first group to get the best results for the main band

ive learnt to look for angles and were the lights fall,i also move them if i can or talk to the soundman to ask for help.

a lot of the venues i go to know what i like and help me out

at first i tried to get rid of the red cast then i decided to use it

cfe7402f.jpg


b3495d19.jpg
 
I can't really give you much advice as i'm a novice, but I did a bit of photography for a dance show.

If you can, it seriously helps to be able to talk to the person doing lights and ask him to change them if needed.
 
The shows I've done I've used a 24-70 on one body (1.3 crop), and 70-200 (1.6 crop) on another. Normally at a higher ISO than I'd like and f4 on 24-70, and 2.8/3.2 on 70-200 (which I'll only be using for head shots).

I shoot RAW, as the light colours change and I can fix easier afterwards with white balance. I've normally used the first song to get the setting right, then shot like a maniac for the 2nd and 3rd song. I did come unstuck with one show, as the artist only sang one song.

Oh yea, I never use flash as it's not allowed, plus you lose the atmosphere. It does annoy me that all the regular audience are shooting with their digital compacts and allowed you use flash.
 
Thanks very much for your advice everyone :D Very helpful

Is there a lot of difference between the 50mm f1.4 and 1.8 as i have the 1.8.

What do i do in terms of metering the light,my camera doesnt have spot metering.

Thanks
 
I've had a little experience with gig photography, but only from the crowd.

What's the best way to get a pass for the front? Is it the promoter, venue, artist or management that's best to contact?

Dave
 
If its an unsigned local band call them direct. If its a bigger band or signed one contact their promoter,band manager or pr company. A lot of times no point in calling venues as the passes issued by band's promoters. Best way to get passes is work for a newspaper or magazine. Failing that to get started just build a folio on unsigned bands and then approach bigger ones and also magazines etc.With unsigned bands most will say yes to u taking photos for them if it is free.
 
and most importantly...get yourself some earplugs, you will be glad that you did.....the band wont be offended.. :O)
 
paulc said:
and most importantly...get yourself some earplugs, you will be glad that you did.....the band wont be offended.. :O)
Click to expand...

forgot to mention those i have them in all my camera bags now

my left ear especialy starts to hurt i allways end up by the speaker :cuckoo:
 
I wudnt have thought of earplugs at all so go get them, I am already half deaf from my ipod,dont want to blow my ears out in first gig haha
 
My advice, and i shoot alot of gig photography:

Buy the Sigma 24-70 f2.8. If its a small venue, you will be better off with that lens. Or hire the Canon 24-70 f2.8.

Dont be afraid to shoot ISO1600 and shoot in RAW. Make sure you take plenty of CF cards with you and DONT forget ear plugs!

Want more advice, just ask. Im no Carsten Windhorst, but i do shoot a gig on average once a fortnight and in the most horrible place going (But then i get to shoot Enter Shikari at a bigger, better venue, pics to come soon)

Mike
 
i notice most pros use zooms nowadays but at big venues with big lights

i have one venue its 2 bare red light bulbs i need the 50mm f1.4

i much prefer primes and the extra speed

personaly i shoot jpeg and now with the d700 i set auto iso and min 250 shutter speed better to get a picture with noise than nothing imho.

small venues without security i just go forward and take pics, just look like you should be there.

eventualy i know now most of the soundmen,doorstaff etc.of my regular venues [and ime no henry kissinger] i just go with the flow and try not to stand out or get in the way.

if i go to a new venue i just suss out as much as i can beforehand and give the venue a call i also contact the band on myspace that helps a lot.

in the end take advice but use what works for you

ive gone from manual focus cameras and b&w film to digital in 8 mounths and ime still learning

here a couple with the 2 red bulbs

160568a4.jpg


51050496.jpg
 
Hi, Ocean Rum.
This may be completely irrelevant, but PhotoPlus had a spread on this type of photography a month or two ago. If you can track down a copy you might find it useful.
Hope you are able to post some shots from your gig. Good luck!
Andy.
 
Even with the big gigs, I shoot mostly using a nifty fifty - I used to have the 1.4USM but dropped it and broke it - the nifty ain't as quick like. I don't agree with the "talk to the lighting techs" bit - you should shoot what you're given, their job isn't to make it easier for togs, it's to make the stage look as awesome as possible. Unfortunately that means a lot of red and dark blue.

Make sure your shutter speed is enough to stop motion as much as possible (a little motion blur on SOME of a pic is ok, drummers look odd without a little bit of shift on their sticks). Gain all the stops you need through aperture and ISO. I'm usually somewhere around the 1/250 mark with f/2.8

If you don't know the venue, get down early and check out the layout before you start, small venues tend to have fixed lighting rigs, not so much of the sweeping nonsense and strobes you get in the bigger places.

Shoot in RAW - you'll be glad of it when you realise that you did everything wrong.

Bass players are naturally drawn to shadows. There is nothing you can do about this.

Try to remember the crowd when you're shooting, they came to see a band, not a photographer getting in the way - again, at a big venue you'll probably have a pit - much less likely at a small venue. On the other hand, at a big venue with a pit and security, try to keep an open on the back of your head for incoming crowd surfers.

Always be nice to the security.

Earplugs are for big wussy girls. This is rock and ROLL, baby!

If you're autofocusing (and it's probably for the best) keep setting to single focus points - you'll get used to doing that quickly - and shoot to that. Otherwise, every time you try to shoot the drummer, you'll focus on the shiny hardware. The middle of a guitar strap tends to be very close to being on a plane with a guitarists face normally, which can be invaluable when you're trying to frame a shot with a wide aperture.

If you're in a pit, there'll always be some idiot in the front row who thinks it's hilarious to push your head just as you're framing what would have been the best shot of the night.

Get drunk first. I already mentioned that this is rock and roll, right?
 
paulc said:
and most importantly...get yourself some earplugs
Click to expand...

Good advice .. I SAID GOOD ADVICE ..

I've done gigs where people connected with the band have been using flash because that's all they have and it's the only way to get photos.
I've also seen a person dragged out of the pit and off out down the fire escape backwards for using flash.

Have plenty of or large memory cards. For every 10 exposures you make, one will be usable. For every 100 you make, you'll get a couple of photographs. It's not unusual to come home with 10 to 15 GB+ of data

Be prepared for a lot of knockbacks from gatekeepers who give out photo passes. I've been given the mobile numbers of industry legends and given
a pass there and then "my pleasure" and I've also been knocked back by the first person to pick up the phone who decides, there and then, third
date of a 20 date tour that "we have enough photographs for this tour" How she was in a position to know is anyone's guess.

At the gig, have a laugh. Organise a lift home and have a few beers or three, kick back, get into it and enjoy yourself. If you're in the pit with other
photographers, be friendly and say hello. The ones who don't say hello back are the noobs, who think YOU are the noob and you are not worth a hello :lol:

This band had just come off stage and I showed the bass player a decent shot. When the lead singer saw it he said can we have a group shot here,
pointing to some stairs backstage. I said yes. There were 2x 50W halogen down lighters and one of them was bust. They arranged themselves.

I shouted 'come on, for fxs sake, look sexy' and they sucked their cheeks in, snarled a bit and after a bit of PP I got this:

IMG_2307-mono.jpg


The IQ isn't up to album cover quality, sadly, but it's a nice after show snapshot of a pretty decent band and yet another free night out ;)

This advice is worth exactly what you paid for it. ..edit: as far as lighting goes, it's all in the timing.

"Get drunk first. I already mentioned that this is rock and roll, right? " I agree :)

.. forgot to add ~~> \m/
 
all the soundmen ive talked to appreciated the lighting advice and even asked for help when they had new lights to put up.

its all part of being on the team side, i help groups when i can as well.

when i was out of hospital on crutches they would pick me up at my house do the gig and drop me back home.

i was on three guest lists on the same day the other week i tried to make it to 2 shows but couldnt.again one group offered to pick me up,ime still not able to walk far or stand long with my injuries.

i was at the front with the stooges on crutches with a manual focus nikon,thats rock and roll

ive had my beers paid for me, proudly been given the bands latest t shirt and i get into lots of venues free takeing pics or not.

not every small venue has lightmen usualy if it looks good it is good for the band as well.

i want to still hear jimmy hendrix when ime 80 most bands wear plugs now. no one gets as close as i do right on the speaker.its as macho as driving with your lights of i wear them on my motorbike as well.

raws slower i aim to get it right first time.depending on the lights i get between 50-90% usable but i allways aim for 100%.


i get drunk after the show i dont need it. i am rock and roll as richie carved on his arm "for real"

everyone has there own way of doing it

bw04036.jpg
 
Thank you everybody for your advice and directions,have learnt more off you lot in last 24 hours than any books I have read haha. Basically to cut a long story short, get ****ed,earplugs on, f.2.8, 1/125 shutter speed n all will come together!

Can anyone give me advice on metering? No spot metering my 400D hasnt,only has partial,centre weighted or evaluative.Which one shall i use n where shall i meter the light from cos there wont be much light i dont think.
 
ditchdigger said:
all the soundmen ive talked to appreciated the lighting advice and even asked for help when they had new lights to put up.

its all part of being on the team side, i help groups when i can as well.

when i was out of hospital on crutches they would pick me up at my house do the gig and drop me back home.

i was on three guest lists on the same day the other week i tried to make it to 2 shows but couldnt.again one group offered to pick me up,ime still not able to walk far or stand long with my injuries.

i was at the front with the stooges on crutches with a manual focus nikon,thats rock and roll

ive had my beers paid for me, proudly been given the bands latest t shirt and i get into lots of venues free takeing pics or not.

not every small venue has lightmen usualy if it looks good it is good for the band as well.

i want to still hear jimmy hendrix when ime 80 most bands wear plugs now. no one gets as close as i do right on the speaker.its as macho as driving with your lights of i wear them on my motorbike as well.

raws slower i aim to get it right first time.depending on the lights i get between 50-90% usable but i allways aim for 100%.


i get drunk after the show i dont need it. i am rock and roll as richie carved on his arm "for real"

everyone has there own way of doing it

bw04036.jpg
Click to expand...


What a fab photo that is :D
 
Great thread, nice Iggy shot ditchdigger!

I've only done a handful of gigs myself, loads of great advice on here for me aswell.

The standout bits are:

Shoot loads, you WILL throw most away.
Be confident and just get up and take the shots

One thing that might help..................

Last gig I used the nifty 50 at f2.0 rather than 1.8 and I think I got better results
 
Ocean Rum said:
Thank you everybody for your advice and directions,have learnt more off you lot in last 24 hours than any books I have read haha. Basically to cut a long story short, get ****ed,earplugs on, f.2.8, 1/125 shutter speed n all will come together!.
Click to expand...

Depends on the venue/lighting, dingy pubs I've shot in I have used F2.0 1/100on the nifty fifty.

Ocean Rum said:
Can anyone give me advice on metering? No spot metering my 400D hasnt,only has partial,centre weighted or evaluative.Which one shall i use n where shall i meter the light from cos there wont be much light i dont think.
Click to expand...

No I've experimented on all settings on my 350, hopefully someone might be able to enlighten us though!
 
The club i mainly shoot in (Like those Voodoo Six shots in People/Portraits) had to be shot at ISO1600, f2.8, 1/50 i think. I dont believe you can say to people "You need to shoot at this shutter speed" because you cannot predict the lights at all.

I shoot my 40d and always focus on the face with the furthest right (in landscape) focus point. Who cares if the bands t-shirts are sharp if you cant make out who it is! Haha! So many (and i used to) use the centre focus point and end up with soft faces!

Dont get drunk before shooting, you will get worse camera shake.
Drink red bull, gives you an edge when shooting i find!

Most of all, HAVE FUN!
 
Dont be afraid to shoot ISO1600 and shoot in RAW
Click to expand...

Ultimately it's better to have the noise and get the shot, however I would avoid using ISO 1600 if possible! I have a 400D and it's all a bit messy when you crank it up that high.
 
Ahhh, i never used a 400d so i cant comment on that, but as you say, personally i feel its better to get the shot and deal with the noise, then to ruin a shot because its too dark

Mike
 
I shoot a lot of theatre and much of the sale rules apply. I try not to use flash and sometimes its pretty dark. Slowish shutter speed, fastish aperture and as high an ISO as you can get away with. I shoot on final dress rehearsal night so its run as a show, just without an audience. I can't go asking lighting guys to up the lighting as its run as a show, not as a benefit for the photographer.
 
I shot a local gig last night - my first.

Can I also reiterate EARPLUGS. My ears were still ringing this morning.
Good fun though. I had my 40D on ISO3200, F4.0 mostly on my 24-105 IS, and tried to get as fast a shutter speed as possible.

Watch the light patterns - sometimes they strobe and you can time the shot. Othertimes don't take just one but take two or three shots as the light levels change constantly.
 
So shall i just use tv mode and set shutter speed at around 1/125 or shall i use av mode n set aperture to f2.0 or 2.8. Or does it not matter which one i use?

With the metering I have read somewhere that to use partial metering as it's closest one to spot metering.
 
i allways use aperture priority and open the lens to max

i dont know canon i would use the narrowest metering
 
Another tip which I believe has a technical term (not sure what it is as I just started using it without realising!), is to adjust your camera to underexpose by a stop or two. You can do this in manual by just increasing the shutter speed slightly, or in Aperture priority mode by holding the "Av+/-" button on the back and scrolling left. Doing this will give you a faster shutter speed, hopefully avoiding blur. This will mean your pictures look slightly darker when straight out of the camera, however if you shoot in RAW you can increase the exposure without and loss in quality, within limits, hence allowing you to get those sharper shots.

Personally I wouldn't use Aperture priority for shooting at gigs without flash. If the stage darkens slightly when you hit the shutter button on that shot you know will be a keeper, the shutter speed will increase without asking first and you will suffer the sheer frustration of not having the image you wanted, ending up with a blurry mush of colour.

If however you spend 10 mintues beforehand in manual getting used to the lighting/conditions and set your camera up with a fixed shutter speed/aperture(probably at widest)/ISO, you can (almost) guarantee your pics will turn out reasonably sharp. As stated above, if the stage does darken slightly, shooting in RAW will mean you can compensate later on PS. Remember you can compensate for exposure (within limits) but not for focus or blur from low shutter speeds.

Hope this helps.
 
Good advice. Know your camera, know how to adjust it on the fly, get stuck in and see what you get.

If you can find the fuse for the smoke machine, remove it asap.
 
Personally, id shoot in Manual too. get down to the gig early, shoot the support band on the setting you have already sorted, and then adjust from their. Also, as stated by digital clarity, under expose to get a faster shutter and shoot in RAW so you can adjust later.
 
Get down to the gig early, shoot the support and learn the venue and how the lighting works, for each song the lighting will usually change but if you watch it, you can work out where it will go next.

After the support look through your shots on your camera and see what works and what doesnt, then for the headline band youll have a better idea of what to do. Have a chat with security during the gap also, it's always good to be friends with these guys if anything goes wrong from time to time :thumbs:

For settings,i would shoot manual, with the 400d i wouldnt go past iso 800, it gets really messy after that. Go with partial metering, aperture at 2.8 or whatever the widest you can go is. Shutter speed to at least 1/100 and work from there. if flash is allowed and the lighting sucks, use it, just use it off-camera or bounce it, im not someone who is totally against flash, its perfectly acceptable if its used right providing you havnt been told not to use it ;)

And most of all, enjoy the show and have fun!

Ps just to throw in two shots of Dragonforce a few nights ago

DSC_7666.jpg


DSC_7623.jpg
 
I like to try my hand at this sort of thing
I've got a few photos up.
the venue changes everything. If you're in a pub with no decent lighting and you can't get to the front because there is no pit, then I use the flash.
outdoor gigs with a pit are a god send, so much fun.
Gigs with decent lighting indoors are the best things to work with. frankly don't worry about spot metering...it's all a load of pap for gigs.
my reason for saying that is simply this. in the time it takes you to press the button, the camera has focused, metered and then spent upto 1/50s for the shot. In this time the lighting has already changed.
run on iso1600 if you can or lower if you can get away with it. Try not to shoot directly into lights over peoples shoulders (unless you want that effect)
shoot lots.if there is a shot either set it on aperture priority if you want to freeze the action as best you can. shutter priority if you think 1/100s is the best shot for you or manual if you can figure out what's generally best. Then shoot 3-4 shots every time you press the shutter. One of them should be metered fairly well. you can always delete a few between songs or after you've been in the pit between bands. (normally 3 songs I think)
the 50mm 1.8 is great but you might have to go manual focussing. the 1.4 is better but nothing groundbreaking in my opinion. I just like the extra stops and focussing wheel.
shoot RAW as has been mentioned and make sure your card is fast. it makes such a difference. I live on sandisk cards.
the 50mm will be 85mm ish for your 400D which might be a bit close. try not to chop off guitar heads if possible. I always do it! if you know someone with a 30mm 1.4 try that one out too. a lot of pros use L glass f2.8 but their cameras can run at higher ISO's without as much noise as your 400D and they have IS which is handy but not as much as pure shutter speed. just because it reduces camera shake it doesn't mean your subject isn't moving. sorry for the waffle. if people disagree fair enough.
good luck and enjoy it!
my gig shots are here. quite varied and with non pro equipment. 350D or 40D and non pro primes normally

Doc199, Really like some of your shots :)
ps. re-reading your first post, you might get away with flash in a small venue as the lighting might be non-existant. if so try bouncing it off the wall behind you and if you're at the front, don't be afraid to try the kit lens for some wide angle low shots of the band
 
Great thread this:thumbs:

Has anyone got an example of an underexposed RAW file that they have later worked on?

Cheers
 
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