Band photography tips

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Jan
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No
...............but not a band at a gig.
My partner plays drums in a rock band with a few mates. They don't gig as they only get together four times a year when my partner goes 'home' to the Motherland (Scotland). He has a whole drum kit in Scotland that I've never seen as I don't go up there with him. Soon there is a Significant Birthday in the family so I'm going, and while we're there the guys are organising a session in the rehearsal room. Then the inevitable 'we'd love it if you came along (I'm taking ear plugs! I love rock music but I have sensitive ears) and since you'll have your camera (never leave home without it) it'd be great if you got some photos of us playing'.
I don't do people photography. I've never photographed a band. I've never been in a rehearsal room. I don't do photography indoors. I'm a landscape, wildlife and astro type. At least not being a gig there isn't going to be any flashing coloured strobe lighting but I don't know what type of lighting the rooms have. I have a Canon 550D and as I have the Tamron 17-50mm f2.8 I guess that would be the best lens to use (it's the widest and fastest lens I have). Any hints and tips would be very gratefully received as really I don't know where to start. I'll shoot raw to I can easily correct the white balance if necessary, but any advice on aperture, shutter speed, what to meter off, focus mode etc etc....................? Something to bear in mind is the 550D's high iso performance isn't great.
Oh yes, and I haven't been able to figure out how to make the built in flash work in anything other than full auto mode and I want to work in full manual..............
Thanks in advance.
 
Sounds tho' you are going to have a great time.

Can't advise really, flash on modern cameras is trial and error unless you do it often (!) I also use auto for flash on the Oly.

But possibly flash might not be the way to go, existing lights and highish ISO might work, and will/might give more ambiance to the photos.

Anyway, will be great to see what you produce, as an Astro photographer you will be used to low lights...................:)
 
Ramp up the ISO! A grainy noisy in focus image is better than a noiseless blurred image! You can use on camera flash but ..... ocf be better off the ceiling bounced ! On camera flash will kill any lighting in the room ! The 2.8 lens will do the job
 
On the basis that the room isn't lit too well, i'd still stay away from on camera flash and use f2.8 with high iso. Think about the possibility of having mono images for the end result and look to capture shots of each member individually as well as the whole group. Maybe capture moments in between the practice sessions too and try to enjoy it.
 
I think you may all be right about flash. I have used a hotshoe flash on my old 35mm slrs that I could bounce, but the Canon's is a bit useless tbh and off camera flash isn't an option. Ambient light will make metering a lot easier. Mono's a good idea, at least for some of them. Might hide all the grey heads te he ;) I'll have a try for the 'arty' instruments shots as well. There must be some potential in the drums and I think the guys who play guitar have a few between them (old age = disposable income!). Hmmm, really not my thing at all. Hopefully one or two will be good enough for me to be allowed to share. Just don't laugh too loud - just remember some of the bands they cover are even older.......:banana:
 
A couple of things, because this isn't landscape:

Grainy/noisy doesn't matter.
Shallow depth of field is good, provided the key bits of the image (players eyes, usually) are sharp.
Odd colour temperature is fine if there's any kind of mood lighting.
Mono fixes colour temperature issues.
Shadows blocking up/blown highlights is not a problem if the key bits are lit OK.
Blur from a slow shutter speed can actually enhance an image.

Oh, and try to relax and enjoy something different. :) FWIW the people covered by one of the bands I play with at the moment have all been dead for a while
 
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Hi, I used my D7100 becasue my D750 was being attended to by Nikon. It was coupled with my 20mm f1.8, settings were generally 1/125th , f2.2 or thereabouts. ISO auto from 640 to 1250ish, except for the drummer, who was in a separate room as this studio is used for recording too.

I've no idea how to insert a gallery here - I'll carry on looking and post a link or gallery in a min!

OK - all I can do for now is put a link to the Album

https://www.talkphotography.co.uk/gallery/albums/band.2527/
 
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agree with @ancient_mariner here - i recently had a similar request actually. I have lots of experience shooting gigs in venues with decent lighting, but not bands in dingy rehearsal rooms. They wanted some performance shots and then shots of the band together (which i was expecting, as people are not my forte either). Lots of b&w, grainy shots, some noise reduction, twiddling with presets etc, def no flash. I didn't think much of what i got and probably wouldn't show them off as an example of my work, but i think it worked for them and they have been using them. Group shots and ones of each member, and possibly in couples and you should have everything covered - good luck! :)
 
agree with @ancient_mariner here - i recently had a similar request actually. I have lots of experience shooting gigs in venues with decent lighting, but not bands in dingy rehearsal rooms. They wanted some performance shots and then shots of the band together (which i was expecting, as people are not my forte either). Lots of b&w, grainy shots, some noise reduction, twiddling with presets etc, def no flash. I didn't think much of what i got and probably wouldn't show them off as an example of my work, but i think it worked for them and they have been using them. Group shots and ones of each member, and possibly in couples and you should have everything covered - good luck! :)

Thanks, I'm definitely keeping the flash off and I'm definitely going to try to get a bit creative with the processing. The good news for me is that the shots won't be used for anything. The guys are just a bunch of old friends doing what they do purely for their own enjoyment, and they've never had anyone photograph them, so I'm under no pressure whatsoever (if I was I wouldn't be doing it....!). It's all just for us, friends and families and you know what most people are like - wouldn't know a good photo if it had 'good photo' watermarked all over it...............;)
 
If there's enough space, I'd slip on a 50mm - even f/1.8 will be a significant gain over f/2.8. Shouldn't break the bank for a 2nd hand one and you should be able to sell it on for close to what you'll have to pay. You might even be able to borrow one (or a 35mm) for the duration. Ramp the ISO up as high as you dare then add another notch or 2 and call the noise "filmic grain" after a B&W conversion!
 
My fast lens is 17-50, Nod, so I'm covered for focal length. I don't know anyone who could lend me a lens and I'm not buying one. I'm just going with what I have to get what I can and then have a bit of fun with the processing afterwards. We're all going to be there for fun, nothing more.
 
I wouldnt rule out the flash if you dial in your setting right with the light that is available some cracking shots can be had without losing any of the atmosphere.......attatched some images of the last gig I shot where flash was used throughout the whole set
 

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Thank you guys for all the great advice here. We were up in Scotland last weekend and a great time was had by all. The rehearsal room was much bigger than I expected and the lighting as bad as I expected. Shutter speed was 1/80 to keep the iso noise to something acceptable, though the noise does show. Initially I was very self conscious and felt like I was poking the camera into faces, but once I realised that the guys really weren't taking any notice of me at all, even my partner who like me hates having his photo taken, I actually enjoyed it. I think that shows in the photos - the later ones are much better than the first ones. I'm now ploughing through the processing, and every one I'm having to sit and look at and think how to process and crop that particular shot to express what I want from it, so it's taking a while. I'll post a few once I've finished them. Considering the guys only play together 4 times a year they sounded pretty good as well :)
 
I did this a few years ago with a friends band....dark grey carpet on the walls, proper dingy. As has been said, black and white, ramp up the iso and enjoy yourself.....sorry, just read you've already done it, look forward to seeing some. A single off-camera flash can also be helpful, hope you don't mind me posting an image..

All Consumed by Paul Dobson, on Flickr
 
I've only ever 'photographed' one. Outdoor, at night, with loads of lights in the background.

Got some nice shots from it, but also junked a load that were blurred.

There are some great ones above.

Here are some of my efforts.

Canon 600d. Sigma 30mm f/1.4 (probably at 1.4 throughout) and a Canon 430 flash.

It was a festival put on by our friends for her 50th, so I was able to take photos throughout and get nice and close with any security.

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As a musician who has more experience in this type of shoot from the other side of the camera, I find it's best to make sure the subject are doing something or showing emotion. So often I see band live pics and the band members are standing staring at the floor or their fretboard . The lighting might be amazing but if the subject is dull then it's an average photo at best. The best photos of me while playing are the ones my bass getting held at a weird angle (for what ever reason), or I'm interacting with another band member of the crowd.

Promo shots are the same for me, every band has the cliche standing in a line looking different directions. Imo the shooter should be looking for something different these days.
 
As a musician who has more experience in this type of shoot from the other side of the camera, I find it's best to make sure the subject are doing something or showing emotion. So often I see band live pics and the band members are standing staring at the floor or their fretboard . The lighting might be amazing but if the subject is dull then it's an average photo at best. The best photos of me while playing are the ones my bass getting held at a weird angle (for what ever reason), or I'm interacting with another band member of the crowd.

Promo shots are the same for me, every band has the cliche standing in a line looking different directions. Imo the shooter should be looking for something different these days.

Quite right. My pet hates are band members who are lifeless, never open their eyes or as you mention, continuously stare at the floor, plus LED and red lighting. Also challenging lighting with the band dressed in black.

Although the OP has now shot the band, still a useful reference thread. I don't think metering has been mentioned, if possible select to suit the circumstances, I often spot meter on faces. In challenging light shoot at whatever ISO allows a suitable shutter speed. Then when you have some shots in the bag, reduce the ISO, shoot at a slower shutter speed and try to capture moments when body movements become slower or stationary. Shooting on continuous helps. The hit rate will be poor, but there will be useable shots with less visible noise.

Below, stage lighting was good, shooting at ISO 3200.

170708 Glen Matlock and Friends playing at the Thame Music Festival DSC4450 by Steve Bell, on Flickr
 
Yes, band has now been well shot.............;) Actually I thought they were pretty good considering they only get together 4 times a year and my partner (the drummer) had a shoulder injury. The lighting in the room wasn't good and I ended up shooting f2.8, 1/80, iso 1600. Most of them I've had to lift the exposure in post but the extra noise I get from doing that is probably less than the extra noise I'd get from pushing the iso to 3200. My camera really isn't happy at anything over iso 400. I'm still working on processing but there are a few up on my Flickr. One of the guitarists was great to shoot, and he seemed to have the best lighting. The other guy was a bit of a nightmare as he was in poor light, dressed all in black and spent most of the time looking down at his hands, but I did manage some decents shots of him. Then my partner was tucked down behind his drum kit. He's short and I'm short so it was very hard to get anything showing his full face, but again I did manage it. His drums have a metallic dark red paint job and are very photogenic. Then they set up so they're all facing each other, so for me they were very seperated, but we did a few posed shots at the end with them all together and facing me. The guys have only seen a few shots yet but they like what I'm doing.
 
The lighting in the room wasn't good and I ended up shooting f2.8, 1/80, iso 1600. Most of them I've had to lift the exposure in post but the extra noise I get from doing that is probably less than the extra noise I'd get from pushing the iso to 3200.

I'll bet if you experimented under controlled conditions, you'd find that overexposing at a higher ISO produced cleaner images than underexposing at a lower one.

Also, your camera is very 'happy' over 400 ISO, it's you that's not happy with the results. Again I'd suggest you print some results, I'll bet the images look better than anything possible from 15 years ago. I find photographers brought up on digital gave unreasonable expectations of IQ in less than ideal light.

I'm shooting images that were literally impossible to achieve 20 years ago and delivering them in albums to delighted customers.
 
I think you should go to the settings of a barconcert instead of a stageconcert. When I do a bargig I work at High ISO (3200 or higher) and a 24/70 at F2.8. I f you can manipulate the lights or the position of the bandmembers try to get some light directly on them. When the faces are well lit and you use spotmetering to get de exposure correct on your subject, the shadows you can leave dark then the attention is drawn to the faces.
examples: https://clicksofconcerts.wordpress.com/2016/09/18/shotgun-sally-libertad-leuven/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/kawaracer1/albums/72157665079636122
 
why not consider a 35mm f1.8 lens Janny - cheap enough ad a very useful bit of kit

here's my effort - no flash high ISO and shot at f2.8

WiNaTFl.jpg



Les
 
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