Does anyone have any tips on doing gig phoyography

ummm take a camera?? Seriously, what sort of tips are you looking for? Position? Lens? Focal points? Apertures? Shutter speeds? Access??

A hint would be helpful to give you help.

Rich
 
With ever changing lighting would it be better to have your camera set on av or tv
 
Ear Plugs

No I'm not joking, if your not going for the music then ear plugs are a must.
 
Av, if heavy backlighting then consider spot metering. Keep an eye on shutter speed and vary iso accordingly. Be creative, look for cool comps. Good luck, enjoy it.
 
Watch your red channel. Most gig lighting is appalling and it's very easy to blow your reds. If anything underxpose so you keep the reds and pull it back in post. Accept that what in normal conditions might be a crap shot will be a keeper for gigs.

Use the fastest lenses you can and try to anticipate where your subjects will be moving to. In some situations pre-focussing works wells.

Accept that you'll have to take a lot of pictures for a few keepers.

Try lots of different angles.
 
whiteflyer said:
Ear Plugs

No I'm not joking, if your not going for the music then ear plugs are a must.
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do not underestimate how important ear plugs are. the last gig i photographed i didn't wear any and even though i didn't have a single beer my head was banging the next day and ears buzzing for about 3 days :bang:

i use a 50mm f1.7 and set the camera to manual mode using either on-body flash or bounced flashgun, spot metering on the face of whoever is in a particular shot. bump the iso to get the shutterspeed you want but watch the dof when using wide apertures. i prefer to focus manually because the af assist lamp on my camera fires far too often and i don't want to be like a strobe light spoiling in for everyone else lol.

i get pretty close up at the kind of gigs i go to and find the 50mm can be a bit long and a 30/35mm would be more usefull but it's about making the most of what's available. what kit have you got access to?
 
lexie said:
i use a 50mm f1.7 and set the camera to manual mode using either on-body flash or bounced flashgun, spot metering on the face of whoever is in a particular shot. .....
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NEVER EVER EVER use flash, full stop, period...........
;)
 
Get to the venue early. Hang around, shoot and visit as much as you can during set up/sound check. Bring more that a couple sets of ear plugs. i use the rubber-flanged type. if you come across the musicians, introduce yourself and ask if there is a place where youd be able to send in a few shots from the evening. the more friendly accessible and approachable you, the better access you may get. and lastly, get your gear in order. fumbling for a battery or a media card during the show will cause you missed shots and aggravation. o,and at least be a bit familiar with the bands music and crowd. and don't forget to look around not just at the leader, but at the whole scene. happy shooting
 
Small gigs of big gigs? Entirely different worlds.

Learn to focus manually

Ear plugs, get them or get deaf. You'll often find yourself very close to PA speakers at smaller gigs. You'll loose your hearing quicker than a drummer, I'm not joking.

Never ever ever ever ever ever ever use flash! though very small gigs with crappy lighting, maybe... it just kills the atmosphere for the paying punters and ****es off bands. Though plenty do it, I won't.

You need fast glass. 2.8 is a minimum, get faster primes over zooms if you can afford it.

Don't sign the copyright robbing contracts to shoot the gigs, ever. Have the balls to walk away.

Get insurance, often does a drunk punter see a nice camera and grab it. Or you get a whole load of beer over your gear, yay, love that one.

Learn to use manual mode properly, use partial/spot metering. Thanks to digital, you'll know what you're doing in no time here.

Learn to focus manually

If you're in a pit, be nice to the other photographers, don't hog a single place for the entire gig, share the love. Plenty don't, don't let another photographer ruin a shot and get in your way.

If you're not in the pit and in the crowd, prepare for cracked ribs. I'm not joking, I've seen it more than once. Only really something to be wary of at metal gigs though. Though Justin Bieber fans are a bit mental...

... Learn to focus manually...

Gig security can be a pain in the back side, but do not get too arsey with them. If it seems like they won't budge, just be nice and do as they say. If you shoot regularly you'll seem the same people time and time again, and they will remember you and make your life hell if they don't like you.

Mostly, enjoy shooting. Music photography is one heck of a challenge, no better way to sharpen your skills.

Can't believe I've put this much effort into a 4 word question...

Oh and hey, guess what? learn to focus manually!
 
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Rich_Ellis said:
NEVER EVER EVER use flash, full stop, period...........
;)
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my cameras low light performance is ****-poor, even using noise reduction software it's crap.

the sorts of gigs i go to are in small rock venues with me shooting from just a few feet in front of the band. so with my 50mm wide open @ f1.7 my depth of field is tiny, using flash with a smaller aperture is the only way i can get usable shutter speeds. although my camera has in-built stability it doesn't stop motion blur of a singer or guitarist bouncing around a stage.

i'd love to be able to go without using flash, but i do what i need to do to get the results with my combination of equipment and 'ahem' skill lol
 
Think Adam M has summed it up I too have recently managed to get accreditaion for some gigs and GOD it really is a great place to tune your skills.
The earplugs thing is a must!!! First gig in the pit and the base was rattling my fillings out !!!!
Fast Glass defo most part depending where abouts you are pit etc I use 50mm f1.7 and drop ISO to 100 gives me fairly quick SSs and no noise. (Manual focus is not such a big thing for me continuous does the job fine) And Majority of the time i will use spot metering. You Can get away with smaller apertures if big venue and lighting is good. Be nice to your fellow photographers and the staff and most of all have fun!!

Images on this page and the next all taken with 50mm and cropped accordingly
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tonyrossetti/page2/
 
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inaneredstripe said:
i only use flash in the darkest of dark pub gigs where even 3200 ISO wont get me a shutter of less than 1/30th.
like last saturdays gig.Two bulbs lit the entire stage, and silly string lights behind the performers.
Bugger.
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is that 3200 on the 30d listed below your name? i've been looking at a move to canon and the 30d is on my hit list. the cmos sensor and lower mp count should give me less noise than my current 14mp on a ccd sensor.
 
Check out the Sony A580 and its noise levels. Same sensor as the D7000 uses and half the price :)
 
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