live band photography

[Thommo]

hey guys,

i have been asked to take some photos of some friends bands at their next gigs. however i am unsure as to how i would take such photos dueto the low light condidtions. can you guys give me some advice

cheers

[AlistairF]

Hi Thommo,

I've managed to get some great band pics before, but I had to use my 105mm F2.8 with a high ISO of around 800-1200. I guess this doesn't help if you've only got the kit lens.

Can I suggest setting off a couple of magnesium flares in the venue?

Alistair

[Thommo]

lol, i think the venue they are going to be playing at is quite lit up so i could work to my advantage... and one of the shows in the arvo... but we will have to see, what settings did you use

[AlistairF]

I was using ISO 1000 in plain simple Auto mode. My early days with the D70.

Although, I'd give Aperture priority mode set to F3.5 a go with ISO set to Auto. I suggest snap as many pics as you can physically take and you should end up with some nice ones with the right action and correct light. Stick some flares in your back pocket just in case

[Mj]

Thommo... your going to stuggle if using the 18-70DX and no other lighting. I would suggest (assuming you're on a budget) get yourself a 50/f1.8 for < $200. Of course there are other options (85/f1.4 comes to mind) but thats a whole other ball game.

Michael.

[Mj]

 BTW... of you wish to get hear from someone with good experience in band/club work you can't go wrong with advice from Mr Stark.

Michael.

[Thommo]

funny you say that, i was actually considering getting the 50mm f1.8 but now i think i will go do some bargain hunting....

[birddog114]

Thommo... your going to stuggle if using the 18-70DX and no other lighting. I would suggest (assuming you're on a budget) get yourself a 50/f1.8 for < $200. Of course there are other options (85/f1.4 comes to mind) but thats a whole other ball game.

Michael.

MJ,
Get a Nikon 28/1.4, it's cheap as chip!!!!!

[Greg B]

thommo, there is the 50mm f1.8 @ approx $200, the SB800 flash at approx $500 ish, there is 1600 ISO with noise but possible dramatic effect. There is also the little on board flash which might help close up.

Keep it wide and slower shutter speeds will be less obvious. Move in thommo, move in. Take charge. Be a part of the show.



Anyway, good luck.

[Thommo]

thanks for the help guys, im going to go in and grab a 50mm 1.8 tommorrow for about 250... might see if i can get it a bit lower but am prepared to pay 250... a good flash is on the cards somewhere with a 80-300 and some filters...

[darb]

50mm F1.8 nikkor = $200 ? what the! where are you guys looking? i didnt realise they were that cheap?

[Thommo]

im prettty sure they mean from hksupplies. i am grabbing one off the shelf tommorrow for 250

[Greg B]

50mm F1.8 nikkor = $200 ? what the! where are you guys looking? i didnt realise they were that cheap?

darb, jdonline has them, and also see Birdy's list.

[birddog114]

50mm F1.8 nikkor = $200 ? what the! where are you guys looking? i didnt realise they were that cheap?

darb, jdonline has them, and also see Birdy's list.

It's currently $180.00, don't know, what will be on Monday
Don't miss the boat

[robw25]

It's currently $180.00, don't know, what will be on Monday
Don't miss the boat :wink


i've been impressed with my 60mm micro 2.8 nikkor for portraits, will the 50mm F1.8 nikkor be better for portrait shots or should i save my money ???

cheers rob

[sirhc55]

It's currently $180.00, don't know, what will be on Monday
Don't miss the boat :wink


i've been impressed with my 60mm micro 2.8 nikkor for portraits, will the 50mm F1.8 nikkor be better for portrait shots or should i save my money ???

cheers rob

robw25 - if you are happy save your bucks for something else

Chris

[gstark]

Thommo,

Don't count too much on the stage lighting to help you out. It's quite likely to be cast in one colour or another, and the D70 seems to be overly sensitive to red, meaning that if you're stuck with red lighting and available light, you're going to be looking at some serious issues.

Remember too that a stage is an area of high contrasts. Your lead singer will be well lit, but his or her immediate surrounds will have no lighting at all; if you're bumping into high ISO settings, those dark areas will be even more noisy than the band while they're trying to tune up.

While the lead singer will be highly illuminated, you'll also get to make the following observations: the greatest ego will be with te lead guitarist, and he'll be wanting all of that light himself. The rhythm guitarist, and also the bassists, won't be as egotistical, and may even not stand within any available light source. The drummer of course will be on a riser, but several feet further back, and again, mostly out of direct light. (That lily-white skin is his drummer's suntan, acquired through many painstaking years of arduous sleeping in till 2 pm every day.

Speaking more seriously, I will generally shoot with either the built-in flash or the SB800. Manual mode, 1/30 - 1/125 sec @ f5.6 - f8. At least one stop down from wide open; two stops are better. Dial the FEC back to between 1.3 - 1.7 stops. That's enough to give you an adequate level of fill for the shadows left by the stagelighting, but still permits the stage lighting to remain dominant.

Lens choice - I like to get up close and personal, and the 24-120 is ideal, especially if you can work at the foot of (or to one side of, but on) the stage. The kit lens doesn't have the same reach, but is fine and works well. Note my comments regarding aperture above.

Use the camera with the lens at its widest setting; don't put it anywhere near your eye, but hold it towards (and in the direction of) the musos. Or use it at max zoom, shooting from eye-level, and focussing on the eyes.

If you're shooting the whole band, remember that you're going to be dealing with light fall-off issues between the front and back of the stage.

Here's a few images I've shot. Back up from there to see a few other dates at the same venue as well. Lenses vary from kit, 50 1.4, 24-120, and even a couple using the 80-400, mostly ISO 200 with a bit of flash.

Play with your settings, shoot raw to give yourself maximum flexibility, and have a ball.

And don't forget to listen to the music!

[Greg B]

Gary
Did you ever use that film that had an ASA of 25-1600 (all on the same roll!), it was BW, and processed in C41. Ilford made it, and I think there may have been an Agfa version too.

It was great stuff for stage photography, lots of detail in the darker areas, didn't over expose in the light pools, and still had decent contrast. The negs had a brownish tinge.

Geez it was handy stuff.

[gstark]

Greg,

I know of the film that you're referring to, but no, I didn't use it.

I recall it was an Ilford emulsion too, but most of my B&W shooting was confined to AP100. I love that stuff, and Leigh seems to have inherited my taste for this as well.

[Thommo]

gary thanks for that in depth post.


i purchased a 50mm 1.8 on saturday and am loving the lens.

i am still quite a noob so i will try to talk this through.

using the internal flash, i should be shooting at between 1/30 and 1/125 @ f5.6-f8 ( should i still be shooting at this f value even with the 50mm?) and by FEC do you mean the value that can be changed whilst holding the flash button down?, if so this is the neg value correct? and i should be shooting around ISO 200...

thanks for the time you put into the post gary, i just needed to clear some things up first..

[gstark]

Thommo,

It's truly my pleasure to be able to try to help you.

i am still quite a noob so i will try to talk this through.

Always the best way. if there's anything that's not clear, just holler. And others of course are free to offer their PP0.02 as well.

using the internal flash, i should be shooting at between 1/30 and 1/125 @ f5.6-f8 ( should i still be shooting at this f value even with the 50mm?)

In fact, you can use pretty well any shutter speed you like, but remember that by slowing it down (1/30, 1/15, etc) you'll be getting more of the ambient light included in your image. This is often a good thing, because you're often trying to get a balance between the harshness of the flash (bad) and the ambience of the stage (anything from great to oh, shit!)

But as you use a slower shutter, there's also the risk of movement creeping into the image. Movement in the form of camera shake is probably not what you want, but if you can grab a drummer's downswing with a stick, then that's probably acceptable subject movement.

Within those extremes, you will still want to have the subject keep his head still (and capture that as a sharp image) so it's a matter of experimentation and seeing what works for you.

One point I neglected to mention earlier - as (if) you slow your shutter speed down, switch to rear curtain synch for your flash.

and by FEC do you mean the value that can be changed whilst holding the flash button down?, if so this is the neg value correct? and i should be shooting around ISO 200...

I think you've got it.

Flash head is raised, hold down the flash button and turn the front command dial. You'll be able to dial in a range of numbers from 3 through -3; I generally find that around -1.3 or -1.7 works, but feel free to play with the settings to see what works for you.

Surprisingly, ISO200 will give you quite good results under most conditions, if you're shooting up close and within the sort of parameters I'm describing.

if you need to be further away from the stage, then you'll need to pull more from the sensor, and bumping the ISO will be the way to go.

[Thommo]

thanks heaps gary