Advice on my first gig?

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I started a thread a while ago on advice into breaking into gig photography and got some excellent advice. I was planning on starting small, with local bands and such, but I thought I would put my name out into some of the larger venues in Glasgow. Never in a million years did I think they would actually let me come in. But a couple of weeks ago I got an e-mail back from an extremely popular venue in Glasgow inviting me to come in whenever I wanted. This is just unpaid and purely for experience.

I have now got my first gig next wednesday. This will be my first ever gig and have got a some good advice from people.

I am going in with my Canon 400D, my 50mm 1.8 and I am borrowing a Sigma 24-70 2.8. I also have three memory cards. Chances are I wont even interact with the band, I will probably be put in front of the railing.

I know I will start to panic as soon as I get there and I will be so nervous I probably wont be able to speak! :eek:

I just wanted maybe some last minute tips or words of advice from the people on here as I probably wouldnt have got this far if it wasnt for this site!

Cheers.
 
if you can see a way of making money a fast telephoto would be well worth a rent if you will be off stage in a big venue, just a thought

If storage isn't likely to be a problem shoot RAW

You may want to shoot manual, using the cameras lightmeter as a guide, as stage lighting can get tricky (and changes a lot)
 
Watch the peformance for the first verse and chorus of each number. Chances are any moments/poses that make the best shot will be repeated next time around, especially in the chorus so you can anticpate them. Also watch for good facial expressions that go with the sound of certain words/letters, knowing the song helps but again if it's in the chorus you can grab it on the second/third time round.

Earplugs can be useful too :thumbs:
 
What band is it? Do some research on them, look at previous setlists and listen to the first three songs / watch them on youtube, check out shots on Flickr.

Just relax and you'll be fine. There will probably be with other photogs before the band come on, talk to them and get comfortable. If you relax and think things through it will go a lot better than if you rush all your decisions :)

Ps make sure you bring your email for confirmation and try and get the tour managers number or another on site contact.
 
To help you out please tell me where it is?
I am from Glasgow and do gig photography too.
See my flickr.
Different venues require different settings.
 
Thanks guys. I'm getting all this down. I have three memory cards so will try and shoot as much RAW as possible. I cant get a hold of a telephoto lens but its quite a small venue, not a high stage at all.

I have listened to the band, they're quite the jump about rock so hopefully I could get some good shots. I didnt think of the youtube idea though!
 
Vic said:
Thanks guys. I'm getting all this down. I have three memory cards so will try and shoot as much RAW as possible. I cant get a hold of a telephoto lens but its quite a small venue, not a high stage at all.

I have listened to the band, they're quite the jump about rock so hopefully I could get some good shots. I didnt think of the youtube idea though!
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Ive never once had to change cards during a gig (when im shooting three songs) so chances are you wont need to, but spares are always good :)

On the 400d, the 50mm can be quite telephoto anyway when your in the pit so you'll be fine. :thumbs:
 
Thanks Doctor! Do most gigs give you that three song rule? The guy I am dealing with hasnt mentioned anything as yet. Three songs will probably be enough before I pass out with nerves :D
 
First off well done for getting into such a good venue in glasgow.
Theres a lot of great bands play here all the time.
The thing is though in glasgow there is so many great venues in which you could shoot at least 4 or 5 times per week due to the volume of traffic that glasgow has throught it.
Which is great.
Plus another great venue to start of in glasgow too is Barfly.
They are really good with phototogs in there.
Where you are going it very dark and dingy.
I have only shot there twice and both times I used my 50mm 1.4.
I would take there other lens with you too but the way the lighting is in there the 50 is usually the weapon of choice.
They have a barrier in there sometimes.Both times again I have shot there the barrier was there but I have been to many gigs there and there was no barrier.
Im not sure if they leave it there all the time now.

Memory card wise 2 should be enough.
Thats all I ever take,sometimes 3 if i know who the support is.
You will only fill about 1 and thats if you are trigger happy.

Shot in raw and then you can at least edit later.
Shutter speed I always start at about 125ish depending on what the light is like or how the performers move etc.

Aperture again I always start at 2.8 and adjust as I see fit.

Iso on my d50 I always shot at 800 as anymore and it was very noise,Im not sure on your camera but I imagin it will be similar to my old one.
Now I have moved onto a diffrent camera I can change it more.

Relax,take your time and listen to any instructions you are given by they security.

Also if you know how to shot in full manual thats a great start and to know how to change all the settings as you see.

My first gig I was pretty nervous as I didnt think I knew what I was doing and I made mistakes that I have worked on for my other gigs.
Its all a learning curve and the more you do the more you will learn.

And HAVE Fun too...


I dont know if I have missed anything,if so pop em up and I will try to answer any other.
But Im sure there is others on the forum that can help you too.

Stephen
 
Vic said:
Thanks Doctor! Do most gigs give you that three song rule? The guy I am dealing with hasnt mentioned anything as yet. Three songs will probably be enough before I pass out with nerves :D
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Yeah, its probably three songs if its a medium sized venue and not too big a band. Its only the really big bands that are tools about it (Celine Dion - 1song. The Police - 2 songs.)
 
Thanks Stephen. That helped a lot. Think I have got everything organized, now just gotta deal with my nerves :) Hopefully got a few more gigs coming up there if I do well with this one.

the_doctor199 said:
Yeah, its probably three songs if its a medium sized venue and not too big a band. Its only the really big bands that are tools about it (Celine Dion - 1song. The Police - 2 songs.)
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He's just confirmed its three songs and I can photograph the support band if I want which Ill probably do?

Also I know this sounds like a weird question guys, but after the three songs are up what exactly should I do? There music is good so can I stay behind the barrier or do you think security will move me??
 
I've only ever done small gigs for fun so I dunno how much help I'll be... But, I'd say shoot the support band if you have the space, it'll get you loosened up and more into the flow when the main band comes on. Are you using flash? I usually try not to and with the 1.8 you shouldn't need it, depending on the kind of shots you're going for. Try and get a nice variety of shots - crowd / band interaction is always good, and experiment, especially if you get a good few shots early on - you never know what might happen.
 
watch your shutter speeds.
camera shake kills nice shots in dark venues.
if youve only got the three songs, shoot the support band too. easier to get an idea of the lighting, your position etc while the support are on. less likely to have crap shots when the big name is on.

i,m lucky, i only shoot for fun in a local venue.
i can do what the hell i like in there. even on the stage..
not sure i,d enjoy it in a big venue .
good luck, and enjoy it.
mark.
 
Vic said:
Also I know this sounds like a weird question guys, but after the three songs are up what exactly should I do? There music is good so can I stay behind the barrier or do you think security will move me??
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Yep, shoot the support, you'll get an idea of the settings you should be using, although the lights will be slightly brighter for the headline act generally.

After the three songs leave the pit, if your being escorted in and out youll be walked to the door and will have to leave, some venues let you walk around on your own, if so, you can stand and watch, but make sure your camera is tucked away, dont even think of taking it out, you'll just get yourself blacklisted.
 
Since this is your first time doing gig stuff I too would recommend shooting the support band too.

But don't go crazy with pictures!
Just take you time, take a few, have a look at then and then see how you can maybe improve them.

For me when I shot with my d50 I started with a base of.
ISO 800
Aperture f2.8
Shutter 125

I usually work around the aperture and speed depending on the light and how the performers move!

Where you are shooting tonight I can't imagine that you will be kicked out as soon as you are out the pit.
It's a small venue and usuallypretty relaxed about about stuff like that.

S
 
Brilliant! Thanks for advice on the settings guys, I think I've got the basics sorted so like you say Ill probably have to play around with them depending on the light.

Ill maybe have a wee chat with the stewards before hand and just ask them what I should do after the three songs, they always seem pretty friendly when I go there to watch a gig. But I will definitely put my camera straight back in my bag.

Well guys thanks for all your advice, its been a life saver! Ill post my results tomorrow for some C&C!!
 
Apologies for the late update on how the gig went. However shortly after arriving home I started to download the pictures onto my laptop and what do you know it died. Just got it back from the extrememly understaffed computer store. Luckily still had all the files on my camera and my the bulk of my photos on a hard drive.

Anyway the gig was an experience. Was in no way prepared for the lighting conditions I guess. Also felt a bit uncomfortable actually shooting the band.

The main problems I had were focusing. I used my 50mm and put it on AF however it took ages to focus and more often than not focused on the head of the guitar rather than the guys face. I started to use manual focus towards the end.

Another issue was my pictures turned out so dark and so noisy (to be expected). I was shooting more ofter on ISO 1600.

I have attached some of the ones i could recover, criticsm is desired please. Any advice you could give me on them and more tips on the ISO, etc? I have another gig on wednesday and the support band has also asked for me to shoot them.

Vicky.

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I love the second one, the one of the drummer. Just something about it makes me go wow :) Other than that they are all a bit dark, but I guess you've cranked them up as much as you can in PP already though?

I've just read through this thread because I'm looking to do a few gigs in my local area and the advice on here is great. I'll be using a 50mm f/1.8 by then I would've thought so this is very interesting to me!

I'd say a good first attempt in the difficult conditions, keep going and get used to it!
 
danielfellowes said:
I love the second one, the one of the drummer. Just something about it makes me go wow :) Other than that they are all a bit dark, but I guess you've cranked them up as much as you can in PP already though?

I've just read through this thread because I'm looking to do a few gigs in my local area and the advice on here is great. I'll be using a 50mm f/1.8 by then I would've thought so this is very interesting to me!

I'd say a good first attempt in the difficult conditions, keep going and get used to it!
Click to expand...

Thanks Daniel, yeah the lighting totally threw me. Tried to get them a bit lighter on PS but they were just too noisy. It was the 50mm 1.8 that I was using, it was a great lens to use, just the focus annoyed me!
 
They look pretty good to me yano, the lighting looks really tough, i call that 'Glasvegas' lighting.

Only thing I would say is that there are quite a few obstacles between you and the subject of the photo, try and find a clear passage to the subject, but there a great start.
 
Don't get drunk, I onced shot a gig and got so drunk I forgot to load the film.
It was only 3 songs from the end I thought hey this film is lasting a long time.
I put some film in and shot away like mad, the band loved the pics they got.
 
theres more there than you realise
i might do better still with a totaly unedited full size pic.

my advice is look where the light is falling,move a little so spots are behind the person your shooting.

funny i said to someone the other day i had far more in film days in focus when i manual focused.

but i find it hard to manual focus a AF lens,i may try my mf nikkor at my next gig.

i cant advise on camera settings as i use nikon but i am totaly aware that having a D700 is a massive advantage in gig photography.

the best advice would be buy a D700 [i sold lots of my stuff to buy one best thing i did]

the other advice?
dont be scared to ask the sound man to alter the lights after saying hello and a smalll natter first of course,he may not even notice he has left them turned down.

also it take time you will get better each time and slowly they will get to know you at the gigs.
i was away a long time, now after this past year i have loads of new friends. when i get to the door of local venues they just wave me in.sound man says high,barman serves me first and a band ive shot before come over and says thanks.

you will also get requests i had to turn 5 down this weekend as i was going for a op,last night as i hobbled down the street on crutches one of the musos came storming out of a pub to see if i was ok its great as they are all friends now!


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