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Hey folks. A while ago the place I work for organised a big outdoor music concert featuring some really great Australian bands. Normally working in graphic design for them, I thought this could be a good chance to try something new in another field i've always been interested in - photography! I've studied a bit of film at uni so had a small understanding of the basics, but this was the first time I'd ever used a dSLR. We decided to hire one for the event and after doing some research, we picked up a D200, Sigma 24-70 2.8, and a Nikon 80-200 2.8. Luckily I had a few hours during the day to play around with it before the night event, and these are a few shots that I came up with. Thanks for looking! (Shot in RAW, PP in Photoshop RAW).

A terrific set of images Jeff. There is a lot to like in this set from the selective focus to the treatment and framing. First and the last are standouts here. Great lighting and composition. You have captured a great feel in these images.

A little friendly advice we have a policy here of not submitting any more than 4 images in a single post, partly to not 'Glue' up the system. Sorry about the poor pun but someone was bound to.
cheers
marco

Thanks Marco.

Ahhh 4 images is it!? I read through the 'how to post guides' also looking to see if there was a limit but I didn't see anything, but thanks for that, I'll definitely remember for next time - or post thumbnails - what's the limit for that?

Jeff, the second from last is an absolute corker

Great shots Jeff. The first and last are my favourites.

In the third shot of the crowd I find the unhappy guy in blue distracting. You could try cropping him out, blurring him more, making him darker, or even desaturating him. I'm lazy, so I would just crop his head off.

Daniel

Nice shots you've got there!... and you say it was your first time using the DSLR well done Nice colours and composition

However, your signature looks like a canon lens

#2 and #4 are my favourites amongst a very fine selection of gig photos.

Exceptional photos. Really like the last one and the purple tinge.

Number 2 for me is a great shot

Hi Jeff, nice set of images. So you know for next time, we have a 4 picture limit for posts, over that a link to your site is suggested. Thanks

G'day

Good shots Jeff. Number three leaves me with the best lasting impression.

DanielA wrote:In the third shot of the crowd I find the unhappy guy in blue distracting.

The main reason why I like the third shot is that only the two women are in focus. They are the only happy ones in the crowd, the rest of whom seem to be somewhere between listening to the music or not wanting to be there.

1st time you've used a D200? Please tell me you've done plenty of other photography to churn out shots like this. There seems to plenty of other shots on the forum from live gigs but these are up there with the best IMO.

I really like #1, 2, 4 and 6 - great lighting and composition.

For a matter of interest, who (or what band) is the drummer in #1? I could pick the others but not him.

Have to agree with all the others here Jeff - a great collection of images. Composition-wise, it's easy with hindsight but it's all about location, location, location. You've aboslutely nailed that in all the shots - except the one of the roadie (?) which I find misses the mark due to him facing away. I'm sure that couldn't be helped though, given the circumstances, but you have certainly captured some wonderful lighting ambience if not the eyes of your subject.

Last is, for me, the shot of the series. Fantastic work.

Thanks for all the positive replies guys, definitely makes me want to get out and shoot more, which is what I will be doing now that I have bought my first DSLR!! Received my D300 and 17-55 from Photobuff this morning, just in time for when I go away to NZ on Saturday, so hopefully I'll have some more good snaps to share you all when I get back!

BullcreekBob wrote:

DanielA wrote:
In the third shot of the crowd I find the unhappy guy in blue distracting.

The main reason why I like the third shot is that only the two women are in focus. They are the only happy ones in the crowd, the rest of whom seem to be somewhere between listening to the music or not wanting to be there.

This is exactly why I like this shot too. Although I agree that the guy at the back could probably do with a bit more separation from the main subjects of the shot (the 2 women).

Ladybird wrote:1st time you've used a D200? Please tell me you've done plenty of other photography to churn out shots like this. There seems to plenty of other shots on the forum from live gigs but these are up there with the best IMO.

I really like #1, 2, 4 and 6 - great lighting and composition.

For a matter of interest, who (or what band) is the drummer in #1? I could pick the others but not him.

Thanks! I'm glad you liked them. Yep, honestly was the first day I'd used the D200, I'd previously done a week course in B&W film photography, but that's about all with an SLR. I did a lot of reading about concert photography before the date though, so I think this probably helped a bit with knowing what settings to try.

Drummer in #1 is Cec from The Mess Hall. Great 2 piece Aussie band.

Manta wrote:Have to agree with all the others here Jeff - a great collection of images. Composition-wise, it's easy with hindsight but it's all about location, location, location. You've aboslutely nailed that in all the shots - except the one of the roadie (?) which I find misses the mark due to him facing away. I'm sure that couldn't be helped though, given the circumstances, but you have certainly captured some wonderful lighting ambience if not the eyes of your subject.

Last is, for me, the shot of the series. Fantastic work.

I was lucky enough to have a stage pass, so location definitely helped! Yeah the shot of the roady was an interesting one. I found him back stage later in the night when the gig had finished, it was all very peaceful by that time and I just had to shoot it. I know the framing's a bit unconventional, but I still think the shot is quite well balanced overall. I think the fact that his back is to the camera sort of complements the story of the life of a roady. Always quietly doing their work behind the scenes setting up the concert for the people, whilst the people never get to really see who they are.


Thanks again for all the comments everyone. Can't wait to get some more worth while shots with the new cam to post!