Concert Photography

Papasken

Papasken

Messages
399
Name
Stephen
Edit My Images
Yes
Hi

I have been invited to photograph a local gig featuring a couple of bands. I have been told there will be a multitude of coloured lights, strobes and smoke machines.

Can anyone offer advice on best settings to use to obtain the desired photos?

Also any hints and tips on positioning, what to look out for to get the best from the shoot

Any help appreciated
 
There's a TP guide to concert photography - well worth a read.
Presume you have been invited by either the bands or venue; make sure they both know you are photographing as sometimes both apply photography restrictions and both need sorting out in advance.

Also - advice will depend on whether audience is seated, whether you are shooting from the pit and what lenses you have to go with your D7000.
 
Thanks for the swift response.

I have permission from all concerned so that won't be an issue.

Audience is likely to be seated and there will be no pit.

Lenses I have a few:

70-200mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor

50mm f/1.4D AF Nikkor

70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor

18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G IF-ED AF-S VR DX Zoom-Nikkor

Sigma 105mm f/2.8 EX DG Macro

AF-S NIKKOR 85mm f/1.4G
 
70-200 on a crop sensor should be about perfect for shooting from the sides.
The 50 f.14 should allow you to cope with really bad light (if you need to) and shallow DoF for isolating small groups of people from the background.
You will need the 18mm for scenes with the whole stage and audience.
It's a similar setup to one I used at a recent festival apart from using the 70-200 with a 1.4TC on full frame (instead of a cropped sensor) and a Fuji X10 for the wide angle.
http://www.wild-landscapes.co.uk/Blog/2012-05-05-Bristol-Folk/22883050_8GWR5H

Your challenge is going to be having just the one camera body as swapping lenses at a concert is not always easy or possible.
I'm lucky enough to have two DSR bodies plus the X10 and a carrying system so I can swap focal lengths instantly by putting one down and picking the next up.

Most of the time I use manual exposure, but in fast changing light levels sometimes aperture priority is better. For close ups, expose for the face (ignore the rest of the image which may be deep black or bleached white but won't really matter). You may find that the lighting on the faces is far more constant than the general lighting as they probably will have spotlighting.
For wide images expose to keep colours in the lighting and effects (ignore the individual performers faces who will usually be exposed badly). With wide scenes metering is very hit and miss!

Keep an eye on the shutter speed, below 1/125s you will be getting quite a lot of motion blur on the performers, which is fine if done deliberately but dramatically reduces the number of keepers if not intentional.
To achieve this, most concert lighting seems to need about ISO 6400 at f5.6. If the D7000 isn't up to this crazy high ISO then stick with your 70-200 f2.8.

Focussing is always a sod as the performers don't like standing still.
For closeups I prefer back button focussing and pre-focus on the face when the performer is standing at the Mic, then wait until they come back to that position. If they do something interesting away from the Mic you have to be quick, but that's where experience and practice come in.

I always take RAW!
Gives me a fighting change to control the lighting colours and tones to give the effect I want, plus maximises the opportunity to recover a great shot that got mis-exposed.

And have fun!
 
Last edited:
Thanks - that is an awesome reply. I forgot to mention I have two D7000s and by then may have purchased another Nikon model - not sure which one to go for yet.

I expect I will see a lot of rubbish photos but if I take enough, I should get some decent keepers (I hope!!)

One again, many thanks
 
Depending on the size of the venue, you may find your 50mm and 85mm lenses are the most suitable. You only really need a 70-200mm if you're shooting an arena show, and even then, it's not absolutely necessary to have such a long focal length. Plus, those two primes mentioned are fast, which you need in concerts due to the lighting, which is unpredictable and often insufficient.

I shoot gigs using manual only. Using Av mode often results in shutter speeds which are too slow, so it's better to stick to manual. You didn't mention what kind of music it is, but if it's rock then the performers are likely to be moving quite quickly - this means you may need to shoot as fast as 1/250 or even 1/320 (the latter being the speed I shoot most commonly at gigs) to freeze action, which is yet another reason to use fast lenses. High ISO is necessary too. I have mine set to auto but constrain the auto range to a maximum of 6400. Aways shoot in raw.

Use spot metering and expose for the performers' faces. It's often best to underexpose the face slightly to avoid blown out results, especially from red lighting, which tends to overwhelm the sensor. Use your camera's AF system, but set it to single point and move that point around to get as close to the performer's eyes as you can before locking and shooting. Depending on the energy of the performers, you may find it useful to use AI Servo to keep track of them if they start moving very unpredictably.

Composition-wise, try to include guitarist's headstocks in the frame if you can. Since most guitarists are right handed, this means that their heads will generally be in the top left corner with their guitar headstocks in the right side of the frame. I have a custom profile on my camera with my single AF point positioned in the top left for both portrait and landscape orientation, so that it's close to the performers' heads/eyes when I am shooting.

Don't forget the drummers! People often forget to photograph them.
 
onona said:
Depending on the size of the venue, you may find your 50mm and 85mm lenses are the most suitable. You only really need a 70-200mm if you're shooting an arena show, and even then, it's not absolutely necessary to have such a long focal length. Plus, those two primes mentioned are fast, which you need in concerts due to the lighting, which is unpredictable and often insufficient.

I shoot gigs using manual only. Using Av mode often results in shutter speeds which are too slow, so it's better to stick to manual. You didn't mention what kind of music it is, but if it's rock then the performers are likely to be moving quite quickly - this means you may need to shoot as fast as 1/250 or even 1/320 (the latter being the speed I shoot most commonly at gigs) to freeze action, which is yet another reason to use fast lenses. High ISO is necessary too. I have mine set to auto but constrain the auto range to a maximum of 6400. Aways shoot in raw.

Use spot metering and expose for the performers' faces. It's often best to underexpose the face slightly to avoid blown out results, especially from red lighting, which tends to overwhelm the sensor. Use your camera's AF system, but set it to single point and move that point around to get as close to the performer's eyes as you can before locking and shooting. Depending on the energy of the performers, you may find it useful to use AI Servo to keep track of them if they start moving very unpredictably.

Composition-wise, try to include guitarist's headstocks in the frame if you can. Since most guitarists are right handed, this means that their heads will generally be in the top left corner with their guitar headstocks in the right side of the frame. I have a custom profile on my camera with my single AF point positioned in the top left for both portrait and landscape orientation, so that it's close to the performers' heads/eyes when I am shooting.

Don't forget the drummers! People often forget to photograph them.
Click to expand...

Once again - many thanks for the in depth response :) Truly informative from all
 
Top advice above, nothing to add really. I shot a gig last night, 12 soul musicians. It was a big enough venue and I was free to roam about up and down the aisles. I just wasn't allowed too near the stage, as the seating went pretty much up to it. PLus it was an all seated affair.

I shot most of the gig with the 70-200 2.8, from further up the steps I was able to get the whole stage in at 70mm, and pick off individual musicians and the singer at 200mm.

My average settings were M, 1/200, ISO 1250 - 4000, f/2.8 - f/4. When the lights were strong I was able to switch to f/4, even took some at f/5 - but mostly I was at 2.8/3.2 and managed all 12 performers sharp.
 
@greg0436, That is why he posted his concerns here because he wants to ask for some useful advice from the experts. You should know that.
 
greg0436 said:
Hi "Papasken", if you want to get high quality photos from your camera and unable to set the settings on the same, then you must ask the expert or any professional photographer about this.
Click to expand...

I thought that is what I had done!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top