Live music photography

[sdo01]

Hi,

I want to try my hand at some gig photography and looking for some tips.

There are a few local bands that play each month around my area in pubs and clubs, I have been to watch a few and want to start taking my camera. The venues they play in do not have the best light so any tips/help would be greatly appreciated.

Regards

[amk1977]

Hi Steven,

Firstly, you may need to get the owners permisson as I should imagine all the venues will be private property. Try getting in touch with the bands too if possible and get chatting to them. See if you can get access to the stage while they are warming up for some interesting angles and shots that you woudln't otherwise be able to get, if shooting from the average persons view point. You could offer the bands use of your images for promotion purposes as an incentive if they are a bit reluctant initially.

Your main problem is going to be light. Without adding additional light sources or using flash (which the bands may not want and it will cause you to lose the ambience in the image anyway), your only options are high ISO and fast lenses. With high ISO comes noise. I'd recommend firing off a few test shots prior to the bands going on stage to see what shutter speeds you are getting and how high your ISO can go before the noise starts becoming detrimental.

I'd forget about using a standard kit lens for the gig itself. It might be ok to use if more light is available as the bands set up, but if they dim the lights, you'll only achieve f/3.5-4.5 depending on the lens, so you can forget that. A 50mm f/1.8 or faster would be ideal together with an f/2.8 zoom lens for flexibility, especially if it has image stabilization. Bear in mind though that wide open, you will have a very shallow depth of field, so pay attention to your focus area mode. I tend to shoot in spot focus mode and aim for the eye when doing portraits.

Don't rely on the cameras auto focus mode as you'll probably end up with sharp microphones and soft faces. I've seen that happen a few times. If the members are moving about a lot you may need to switch to continuous servo focus mode so that the camera tracks them. If they are relatively static you would probably be better off with a combination servo mode. I'd avoid single servo though as the AF is probably going to struggle a bit in the low light anyway.

If you can use a small, lightweight tripod for some shots, then do so. Removing camera shake on your part will greatly reduce the chance of blurred images. You may be limited to positioning this off to one side, infront of the stage but it might offer some clearer results. If not, grab a chair or stool and use the back to rest the camera on.

Look for shots of both the members and their equipment and if you can go wide enough, the band and their fans reactions. If you can get some posed shots, all the better but I'd try to keep them looking as candid as possible. After the band has finished, follow them out to their bus or van if they have one and grab a few shots there too and see if you can get some posed shots there.

Lastly, avoid the mosh pit lol.

[karenoliver]

My friend Nicole does a lot of rock music photography and live gigs. Here is her my space page if you want any ideas, and if you contact her she might give you some tips. I know she does use flash at some venues and uses slow shutter speeds with second curtain synch flash or something like that to create special effects.

http://www.myspace.com/nrlphotography

Karen

[jinky]

AMK has covered most points. I`d just add a couple having done a few shoots in different types of venues myself.
1. Permissions is key and having / using a self made badge/ pass will save some aggro with paying customer. For the bigger bands you need to talk to promoters in advance and get a pass - telling them who is interested press wise in your shots to get through the permissions. At smaller gigs talk to the venue organisers but also the bands / sound people etc in advance to get all bases covered.

2. There is often a "first three songs" rule alongside the no flashes rule. Tp prevent aggro with audience you get in , get your shots and then move back before being thrown out for outstaying you welcome.

3. White balance / colours can be a nightmare depending on the lighting style. Shoot raw if you can to give yourself some options later and use spot metering and I`d say aperure priority so that you know what you are getting. You`ll be at high ISO levels so be prepared to convert some shots to black and white to use that grain and chill about noise levels. Better to get a shot with noise than miss it.

4. Never had the room / time to use a tripod at such events myself - especially difficult at the more intimate , pub venues where they just would not let you set them up due to fire regs / nuisance value unless they were advanced set up shots during sound checks.

Have fun

[sdo01]

Hi,

AMK some great advice, I think I will struggle to use a tripod but have a mono pod I might try and use or as you suggested leaning on a chair or stool.

I am trying to stay away from using flash as Jinky says it will take away from the ambiance although looking through Karen's friends Nicky's flickr site there are some interesting shots using rear curtain flash.

I have always though better to get a shot with noise than no shot at all

I have 50mm 2.8 and a 105mm 2.8 so will have a go with both of them and see how I get on.

Regards

[tcr18h]

I shoot a few bands, and all are my friends, so permission is never a problem for me. The '3 songs no flash rule' is pretty much the standard for bigger venues.

I shoot in aperture priority and use spot metering. You will need fast glass and even then you need to up the iso to maintain as fast a shutter speed as possible. A blurred image is useless but a sharp image, even with noise will work. Try converting to black and white. The narrow dof at wide apertures is often a trade off so watch this carefully.

Even a mono pod may not solve you the problem. It's not camera shake that is your enemy but the band moving about on stage that will blur the shot. As i said earlier you may have to max out the iso at times. I will often minus ev to get a better shutter speed so try this if things get tight.

Get there early and look at the angles available to you. Beware of all the cables, mics, cymbals and other stage paraphernalia that will get between the lens and the band. You may have to move around to do this so try and have alternative angles planned if you can.

The lighting will probably be poor and most likely the predominant colour will be red. It's a double edged sword really as the lighting is what helps create the atmosphere. It depends on making the most of what's there.

Hope this helps and sorry if I'm repeating what's been said.

[riddell]

You've had some good advice so far, I shoot a lot of concert photography. I mostly shoot the larger well known groups.

Like all photography, if you really want to do things properly you cannot rely on any auto modes, you need to meter and set everything manually and don't forget that many stage shows are going to constantly have changing lighting so keep manually metering and resetting.

You'll also need to master techniques in balancing lighting, and a lot will depend on the individual venue when you get there you'll have to quickly analyse it and set it as neccesary.

And as others have said, the 3 song rule is very normal, and its not as much time as you might think, not to get the shots you REALLY need, so you need to make every shot count. Don't waste time looking at your display. Get it right and shoot.

Quality lenses are an absolute must.

Paul.
www.photographybyriddell.co.uk