band shots

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gazza2168

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Gareth
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I dont know if this is in the right place, but a friend of mine is in a band and i would like to take some pics of them practising, now all i know is they practice at bradford uni, so i know nothing of the lighting, space, if its a stage area etc, now if any of you was in my shoes where would you start, i cant get to see the place beforehand so i am struggling a bit. i have a nikon D70s with 18-70mm f3.5-4.5 G ED lens, would there be anything that i may benefit from, was thinking of a decent flash, or maybe a nikon 50mm f1.8 (which would be a good investment), any ideas guys?. Gareth
 
I'm no expert by any means but I have found a 50mm 1.8 great for gig photos, so I imagine could be handy for band pics too. I guess though if you want the whole band in focus you probably don't want to be shooting wide open at 1.8 so a flash might be handy.
 
Hiya,
If they are practising they are unlikey to have the 'gig lighting' and it all really depends on the light. If the light is poor you will struggle with a F3.5 and will have to use flash if the band will allow it. This can produce unnatural shadows and lose any atmosphere.
I agree with the posters above that you will need a 1.8 lens, I generally use a 1.4. The other thing with a prime lens you have to move to frame shots as you have no zoom but its great practise!!

Cheers,

Dunc
 
The other thing I meant to add was shutter speed! I generally leave in AV mode and let the camera sort the speed out. I know some shoot in manual but you have to be really quick to alter settings and you may miss a good shoot whilst dial fiddling! This is why a fast lens is important as in the poorer light you will find your shutter speed dropping to 1/60 or less and that is not fast enough to stop hand blur!! So wack up your ISO to 1600 if poss, AV mode and see what sort of speeds you are getting. If the light is reasonable and shutter speed is high enough drop your ISO a stop and so on.
There is also a really good tutorial by DOC199 [hope I got that right] which is worth reading several times!

Cheers,

Dunc
 
Thanks for the recommendation Duncan, here it is :) Clicky

If you can get your hands on a flash, use the 18-70 and bounce it off the ceiling. Practice rooms are usually slightly bigger than bedrooms, so on a crop camera, 50mm won't be nearly side enough.
 
A flash would be the 1st investment IMO.

I tend to use the flash on camera in busy gigs but if space allows I use any number of flashes off camera & radio triggers. Using AV mode probably won't be an option indoors unless you want to use high ISO, wide apertures and really bright lights. High ISO on a 5D is fine but on a D70s it's pretty awful.

What is your budget?
 
the_doctor199 said:
Thanks for the recommendation Duncan, here it is :) Clicky

If you can get your hands on a flash, use the 18-70 and bounce it off the ceiling. Practice rooms are usually slightly bigger than bedrooms, so on a crop camera, 50mm won't be nearly side enough.
Click to expand...


Thanks DOC, just read your thread and it is so informative, top class mate, thank you for that. (y)(y)
 
martinsmith99 said:
A flash would be the 1st investment IMO.

I tend to use the flash on camera in busy gigs but if space allows I use any number of flashes off camera & radio triggers. Using AV mode probably won't be an option indoors unless you want to use high ISO, wide apertures and really bright lights. High ISO on a 5D is fine but on a D70s it's pretty awful.

What is your budget?
Click to expand...


not a lot of money at the moment, got a holiday to pay for, but i would say up to £100 so not a lot.
 
As it is a practice then I don't see flash as being an issue. I have taken pics at two pub gigs in Coventry,there was no rig lighting just two red spots at one side. I had two flash guns with diffusers, one front left one back right, I had no issues at F4.0 (17-50 F2.8) although I did have a 50mm 1.8 available.
What I did do ask the bands if they minded if I used flash, they said no problem; but to be honest they never noticed it as it was off camera and not into their faces. At one gig there were a couple with on camera flashes and I thought it was a lot more intrusive. When speaking to the bands we took some pics off stage, enjoy the experience/



 
gazza2168 said:
not a lot of money at the moment, got a holiday to pay for, but i would say up to £100 so not a lot.
Click to expand...
A Nikon SB 28 would be my choice then. I like them so much I bought 3. Otherwise a Vivitar 285HV which is cheaper, more powerful but slower recycle times and lacks versatility. You can use both flashes in either Auto or Manual modes.
 
martinsmith99 said:
A Nikon SB 28 would be my choice then. I like them so much I bought 3. Otherwise a Vivitar 285HV which is cheaper, more powerful but slower recycle times and lacks versatility. You can use both flashes in either Auto or Manual modes.
Click to expand...

i think i will be going with the flash idea, been looking at one of these


flashgun.jpg


YN-465 TTL


Available in both Canon and Nikon versions



Guide Number: 33 (at 35mm focal length， ISO 100 in meters)
Flash Mode TTL, M
Number of Flashes Approx. 100-1500, with fresh AA size alkaline batteries
Recycling Time Approx. 0.1-5 Sec., with fresh AA size alkaline batteries
Bounce Flash Vertical: Up to 90°/ Horizontal: Left 180°, Right 90°
Flash Speed 1/800s - 1/20000s
Color Temperature 5600k
Power Source 4pcs AA-size Battery - alkaline, Lithium, or Rechargeable Ni-MH usable
Power Saving 30Mins to Power off
Dimensions 72 x 135 x 85mm
Net Weight 250g

£52
 
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