gig photography

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benny the jet

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Matt
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Hi folks. Daft question again.
My friend has asked me to take some pics of her band at a small venue. Its an unsigned night and there are other bands playing

1. Are the venue likely to not allow me in with a dslr?
2. My equipment is limited to 1100d,18-55 kit lens and a nifty fifty. Which lens should I take? I know neither are ideal but I'm assuming the nifty fifty would handle the lighting conditions better

Cheers :) Matt
 
It'd be worth giving the venue a ring to make sure you can bring a dslr to the gig, with them being unsigned bands I think you have a good chance of being allowed but it's better to be safe than sorry.

As for lenses you might be a bit stuck if it's a small venue. The 50 1.8 would be best as it's a faster lens but then you're stuck with a single focal length equivalent to around 80mm on the 1100D and that might be too long for a small room. The 18-55 would give you the benefit of range but it's limited by the lens speed. You'd have to up the ISO quite a bit to get a decent shutter speed, which would then lead to noisy photos. Ask the venue if you're allowed to use flash if you're allowed to take it in, which would help you with the 18-55, but take the 50 with you to be on the safe side.
 
Thanks Stuart. I'll take both. There's nothing on website about dslr but states 'no flash photography'. I'll give them a bell
Thanks for replying
 
Which venue is it Matt?

I have shot a lot of small / unsigned bands this year and the smaller venues rarely object to use of flash.

Having zoom is nice, as is being able to shoot wide - although I would say the 50mm will yield better results if you do have the room to move about. Unless it is a well promoted night, you will likely have room to move about... especially if the band is on early.

Ideally you would want to use high ISO and flash, with flash as fill light rather than primary light. This retains a fair amount of the atmosphere. Be prepared to be at ISO 3200...
 
Erm...i just phoned my friend. This 'small' gig is apparently at Birmingham academy! I think I'll leave the camera at home :/

Thanks richard
 
benny the jet said:
Erm...i just phoned my friend. This 'small' gig is apparently at Birmingham academy! I think I'll leave the camera at home :/

Thanks richard
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Cripes, Nice! Am I likely to have heard of the band?

If the band have asked you to take photos, and you want to try gig photography, take the opportunity. Tell the band you will need a photo pass for the event in order to bring your camera along as larger venues can be quite difficult about things - this will grant you access to the photo pit (if they use the barriers) which is generally the best place to be!

That said, an unsigned event doesn't have the same promotion pressures as a larger band, so the venues may be pretty relaxed. Always worth a phonecall yourself saying you are shooting for X-X band... :thumbs:
 
Gripes indeed :) I'm so far out of my depth here

The band is Tiger Lilly. Female singer/songwriter.

Thanks for the advice. I'll give it ago but I'm not expecting great results
 
Just did my first gig a few weeks back...here's a few things I learnt.

the 50mm is fast, but depending on where you are, you might be framing things way too tightly. I had a fairly big issue with using a 30mm on a cropped body so bear that much in mind.

I then opted for the 24-105 f/4 and shot at f/4 - f/5. although not as fast, the slightly wider aperture was more forgiving even though the band didn't move around a whole lot.

feel free to browse my results of the night.

While researching for it, although the artist might not mind the flash, bear in mind if people have paid to see the concert, they may not be entirely happy with someone popping a flash and ruining their experience! Without a flash, you can end up with some entirely unexpected shots that look great!

I also found it super useful to shoot in full manual. AF was set to one shot. I also went incredibly trigger happy and that's something that is a good and bad thing. Good because earlier shots weren't as good. Bad because I ended up with ~700 images to trawl through to finish with 49 that I was happy with.

As for iso, as above, don't be scared to use a high iso, if anything, b+w the image, bump up contract, blacks and fill on lightroom and you'll get that classic concert sort of image!

Don't leave your camera at home! The worst that can happen is you wont get great pictures, but you can learn from them and most importantly of all, enjoy the experience! It's not easy, but can be incredibly fun!
 
Great advice. Thankyou. Nice set btw

This forum is wonderful. I have been given so much and given so little in return. I can't wait for the day when I know enough to advise other people
 
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Not heard of the band, but do know a few folk that were invited, it looks like a fairly well promoted event. Should also be fairly well lit, although you will likely not be allowed to use flash even as fill.
 
Yeah i only have onboard flash so was going to avoid that anyway. Thanks for the info
 
I live in Birmingham, I'm still a relative beginner but gig/festival photography is my love.

I'm not sure about Birmingham Academy 3 but they don't let you use an SLR in the Academy 1 or 2 unless you have a photo pass. I've never been in the Academy 3 but if the lighting in Academy 2 is anything to go by then it won't be great!

I doubt your kit lens will let enough light in so use the 50mm. I'd initially set ISO 1600 2.8 1/100 and take a couple. If unerexposed, increase the ISO to 3200. If still underexposed increase the aperture to 1.8. You'll need to use just one focus point to focus on the eyes but bear in mind your depth of focus is very narrow with a wide aperture. Unless the band is completely stationary I wouldn't go slower than 1/100 as it'll just be blurred. For metal or energetic bands more like 1/200 is needed. No flash, it kills the atmosphere and the singers/guitarists I know hate having a flash go off in their face.

Good luck, enjoy!
 
Thankyou Katie. Unfortunately I've had a response from the Academy saying just that. Gutted. I was looking forward to giving this a go
 
It sounds like you've either spoken to the wrong person, or approached the venue in slightly the wrong manner.

If you think you've spoken to the wrong people, phone again and ask to speak to the PR or marketing manager. Tell them you have been hired by the band to take pictures of their performance and want to know who to speak to in order to get a photo pass, and what the house rules are. The rules will, as they always are more or less, first three songs and no flash. They don't need to know it's your mate's band so if you present yourself confidently you should be fine. It may be that they'll want to you leave after your friend's performance.

If you think you've already spoke to the right person and they've knocked you back, ask your friend in the band to say 'I've hired a photographer for my performance, how do I get them in for the first three songs etc etc'

I've no direct experience of the Birmingham Academy, but the Newcastle one was fairly easy going when I applied in the past. Getting access is often about knowing the conventions and a confident approach so I'd be surprised if they really blocked access for someone shooting an unsigned band, especially if they've been 'hired'!
 
Thanks for replying Dan. Maybe I did approach it wrong and was a bit too honest. I haven't actually been hired by the band it was just a favour for a mate. I'll try again
 
benny the jet said:
Thanks for replying Dan. Maybe I did approach it wrong and was a bit too honest. I haven't actually been hired by the band it was just a favour for a mate. I'll try again
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I know no money has changed hands, but in effect you are being asked to provide a service for the band and will need a different kind of access to that of a punter buying a ticket because, as you rightly point out, you won't get in with a dslr with a normal ticket. So you need to apply for a photo pass. Don't give up, you probably just spoke to the box office ;)
 
I spoke to the promoter. Do you have any idea who I should have spoken to?
Tbh I'm thinking it would just be easier to take my bridge camera. My keeper rate will probably be better as I'm pretty new to slr
 
Hmm, that's probably the right person. But ring the venue and ask to speak to the marketing or PR manager saying who you are shooting for etc and see what they say. If they refer you to the promoter, as sounds likely, just explain a bit more fully to the promoter what exactly you are wanting to do ie PR shots for the band as they don't have any yet and this is their biggest gig to date, and you just need to put your name down on the photo pass list. You can always say 'I think we got our wires crossed last time we spoke'. I don't see why they'd knock that back, they are after all supposed to be promoting the gig!

If in doubt, bring both cameras, but I suspect your 50mm on the dslr will be your best bet.
 
Update. I tried speaking to everyone about getting a camera in. The answer was the same. I got to the gig and couldn't move for the dozens of people showing off their dslrs
Maybe i should have been less honest and just smuggled one in

Gutted. Thanks again for the advice and tips folks..Next time :)
 
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