Gig photography

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Tricky01

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A firends band are taking part in a gig for all the small UK record label that were affected by the Rioters that burnt down the Sony distribution centre. If you didn't know, one of the main distributers affected handles a lot of little UK record labels; basically all back copies and new runs of these bands works were burnt and few had insurance.

One of the labels affected (Xtra Mile Recordings) are doing a gig night with many of their acts playing tomorrow night:
http://www.ticketmaster.co.uk/F-the-Fire-Acts-On-Xtra-Mile-Recordings-tickets/artist/5015847

I asked him if i could bring along a camera and he's got me a 'tog pass. So; what's the criac?!

1) Will I likely have somewhere to put a camera bag?
2) Should I keep everything with me?
3) Should I take the 70-200 2.8 or stick to fast primes at telephoto end?
4) Should I take flash (will I be able to use it?)

I was thinking of taking the 16-35cz, the 85 1.4cz and the 70-200 - is that too much? will the 2.8 be too slow?


I'm all a bit flustered by it really...
 
1) Varies but usually safe to assume not. If there is somewhere it probably won't be particularly secure and needless to say no one is going to take responsibility if your stuff gets nicked. Best to bring a bag you can get easy access to while you carry it like a small shoulder bag.

2) Yes. Its just easier.

3) Personally I much prefer fast primes for gigs. Again it will depend rather on the venue, as a rule of thumb small venues generally equal poor lighting, so the faster the gear you have with the better (and anyway a 70-200 in a small place is total overkill). Worth googling the name of the venue to see if you can get an interior shots to give you an idea of how big it is.

4) Depends on the bands. Bigger acts love to impose the three songs no flash rule on photographers, i.e you have three songs in the pit to get all the shots you need and there's no flash allowed. If in doubt bring a flash and ask your contact there to find out for you. Even if flash is ok try to use it sparingly.
 
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Tricky01 said:
A firends band are taking part in a gig for all the small UK record label that were affected by the Rioters that burnt down the Sony distribution centre. If you didn't know, one of the main distributers affected handles a lot of little UK record labels; basically all back copies and new runs of these bands works were burnt and few had insurance.

One of the labels affected (Xtra Mile Recordings) are doing a gig night with many of their acts playing tomorrow night:
http://www.ticketmaster.co.uk/F-the-Fire-Acts-On-Xtra-Mile-Recordings-tickets/artist/5015847

I asked him if i could bring along a camera and he's got me a 'tog pass. So; what's the criac?!

1) Will I likely have somewhere to put a camera bag?
2) Should I keep everything with me?
3) Should I take the 70-200 2.8 or stick to fast primes at telephoto end?
4) Should I take flash (will I be able to use it?)

I was thinking of taking the 16-35cz, the 85 1.4cz and the 70-200 - is that too much? will the 2.8 be too slow?


I'm all a bit flustered by it really...
Click to expand...

1) No
2) Yes
3) Depends on: How far from the stage will you be, how deep is the stage. As Disphotic says, try to find out. If you can, visit the venue before hand. Something like a 24-70 usually works for me. Fast is good, but don't be scared to whack up your ISO to stratospheric levels for a few shots. Grainy can look great for band shots. Primes are best if you can move around easily, but some pits can be restrictive and crowded, so you can be stuck in one place. Then zooms work better. If you can take two bodies, one with a prime (choice will depend on above), oner with a zoom, do it. Try not to change lenses during the gig. It's dark, other togs may bump you at the wrong moment, and if they have a smoke machine running, the smoke is basically a cloud of oil. You do not want this on your sensor. You really don't.
4) Yes, but at low output. Can give some decent effects if the lighting desk are in love with red/blue combos - which a lot of them seem to be. Full-on flash kills atmosphere deader than a Cliff Richard concert.

Shoot as many shots as you can using as many settings as you can think of, in RAW.
 
I often seem to end up near the speaker stacks; take earplugs!
There's a guide to gig photography somewhere on TP; but I couldn't find it with a quick search. Hopefully someone else will post a link.
 
Cheers everyone. Was significantly smaller than I was expecting (don't know why they have a "no tog" policy and need your name on the door; should be glad of publicity!)

Anyway, after much considering I took the 16-35, 85 1.4 and 135 1.8, two A900's and used the double sided spider holster to hold em. Worked a charm! 16-35 was a bit too wide but didn't know how up close and personal I'd be so important to take it.

If anyone's interested in the results;

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tricky83/sets/72157627934218302/

Thanks again for the tips.
 
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