Gig shooting - seeking advice please

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Hello there,

I have been asked by a friend to do some shots for one of his gigs in London and I agreed as it would be some good experience for me and a nice little favour for him.

However, I haven't shot at gigs before and am concerned I could muck it up!

Basically, I have recently purchased a Nikon D40 and have only the kit lens (come payday I will be buying a zoom) and was wondering how I shoudl go about it.

I think I will be OK with positioning, framing etc, just slightly concerned with the lighting. I have been to the venue before and it really is dark in there so what would suggest I do to get pictures in terms of lighting? Should I use my flash? (my inital thought is a no), what are the general settings advised for gig shots? Obviously if I have a slow shutter speed I am going to get camera shake.

Apologies if I come across as a novice - it's because I am!

Any tips, examples would be much appreciated, I am ever so slightly panicking.
 
I would if possible by a faster prime lens to do this (especially if you were planning on buying something anyway). The 50mm f1.8 is the entry level one, but will not AF on a d40, so if you have the funds it might be worth investing in its bigger brother or learning how to focus manually (an invaluable skill I have yet to master).

You will most likely have to bump the iso to 800 or 1600 even at f1.8, but try to not to under expose as this will worsen any noise. I shoot them manually as I have issues with auto metering, the best way to do this is to let the meter get you ball park right then do a test exposure and check it then correct and try again until your happy then leave that set up all night.

Generally I don't much like flash (espesh on camera) but it can give a nice effect if used off camera, and sometimes you just need it because its too dark
 
As David said, flash might be necessary if the band ont use any lighting but it does tend to kill the live atmosphere. If the band are using lights then you might be ok - take a meter reading from someones face on stage and set the exposure manually based on that. You can always tweak it if the pictures are not looking healthy.

If you have enough light then go with an apature of f8. That will give you better depth of focus and also helps to issolate the musician from the background a little. But that is then going to mean a high ISO.

With your lens you are probably going to need a shutter speed of 60th - possibly more if you're nervous and a bit shakey! It sounds like flash might be the only option if the venue is really dark.
 
Ok thanks for the info!

I have been practicing manual focus and I feel I have gotten quite good at it - so maybe purchasing that lens you mentioned might be a good idea.

I understand that I have to turn the ISO up - but as you said - it will increase the noise and I am worried I will lose a lot of sharpness to any of the images. Is a way to sort this out in post? Or settings on the camera?

I have been looking at other amatuer pics at gigs and I am surprised how sharp and well lit the images are...maybe my kit is just not good enough!
 
Personally I think a flash is distracting and will make gig shots look too unnatural with all of the fancy coloured lighting and smoke. Your camera has an ISO function, which you will find very handy in this situation. I have shot many gigs before, but only big bands and from standing in the crowd almost at full focal length. Set your camera to shutter priority and set it to approximately 125 or slightly faster. At this shutter speed you should achieve sharp shots, particularly at short focal lengths assuming you will be fairly close. If your shots are still under exposed at this setting then increase the ISO, but try not to exceed ISO 400 as noise seems far more visible in a darker setting.

I use a Sony DSC-H50 (15x optical) for gig shots and always use the above method/settings, even at full focal length with an aperture of approximately f/5, bearing in mind this camera also has a steady shot function. Here is a shot I have taken at near full focal length: Click Here - Scroll down and you will also see what settings I have used :)

What lens will you be using?
 
Thanks Voodoochild - your pic is cool - I like it.

The lens is just the kit lens (18-55mm - not preferable really). I do agree with what you mentioned with the ISO though, I really don't want them to be full of noise. I have practiced a fair bit at home in darker settings but will defintely take into consideration your advice. I am just hoping it is not as dark as the last time I went there!
 
18-55mm will be fine if you are standing at the front of the stage area. I assume there will be some stage lighting? Surely its not completely dark? I always use a shutter of 1/125 or slightly higher in dark conditions, so like I said before, keep it in shutter priority and I very much doubt your ISO will even need to exceed 400. ISO 200 usually suits me fine and I have shot in some very dark conditions.

Another tip would be to shoot in RAW because you can recover lots of lost detail in the darkness and the ISO noise will be less pronounced because the image wont be compressed.

Good luck!
 
if you can bounce flash off a wall or card then that helps.

I saw a togger at a local gig, decent kit, just put his camera under the nose of performers a few times and flash away...I thought it was extremely rude.

a 50mm 1.8 will be your friend if you're on a budget.

finding a manual setting is handy, as has been mentioned.
because musicians move in and out of the light and a bit spot behind them will fool the camera, the same with strobes.
shoot in RAW too so that you can mess about with the image afterwards more easily.
 
Ok cool I will take all these tips on board - cheers guys.

I must admit though, I have yet to shoot in RAW yet - just Jpeg. I have been looking at the other discussions involving these formats and it appears obvious that RAW is better for post production, however, can I just plug my camera into my comp and get the images into photoshop just I do with like Jpegs? Sorry if this seems a silly question but a friend once said to me that RAW is complicated!!?
 
I would recommend if it is a small venue that you take some flash lights with you. If you have access to two speed lights then take two. I find at small venues the lighting can be very dull or even none existent. I struggled along for a while with just one flash and bounced it of the walls then when I got another speed light I found putting it out in the audience to simulate at spot light worked really well. Here is an example of using two speed lights as described above. I must say that if there is plenty of light for you not to need to us flash then use the available light. Be careful using manual settings though if the lights are changing quickly as your exposure could be way off. Good luck!!
http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=125289
http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=93224
 
I take back what I said about using a flash. Wow! Nice work.

On the subject of RAW, yes it takes longer but the results are far better. And your friend must be wrong because I find RAW is a piece of cake. If you buy the May edition of Digital Photo at your newsagents or supermarket you will find a brilliant tutorial on how to use RAW.
 
voodoochild said:
I take back what I said about using a flash. Wow! Nice work.

On the subject of RAW, yes it takes longer but the results are far better. And your friend must be wrong because I find RAW is a piece of cake. If you buy the May edition of Digital Photo at your newsagents or supermarket you will find a brilliant tutorial on how to use RAW.
Click to expand...

Noted - will purchase this tonight me thinks.

And Kieron those pictures are wicked, some great results.
 
Firstly, if you are using a basic kit lens (std zoom) you should be able to safely handhold it a 1/40, just set camera to manual, open the lens right up and set the shutter speed.
Dont be afraid of noise. It wont make a picture unsharp, use it to your advantage, turn the iso right up and enjoy the glory of the grain.
LIKE THIS

Or, if there is a bit of light (normally the dreaded red) use the manual method above and fire away
LIKE THIS

If you want to, or are allowed to use flash, meter for the subject, then turn the power of the flash right down, just to allow enough light out to make the subject pop, but still allowing the ambient light to rule.
LIKE THIS

You got digital, use it to your advantage, shoot, check, change, get happy.
Dean:)
 
kieron that shot is lush, has a real stage lighting feel to it. I advise against using flash like that because getting realistic shots takes a lot of skill I wish some of mine came out like that
 
I personally feel you can get away with using flash alot more, if the pictures are black and white, as there are no coloured lights to bleach out. Theres nothing wrong with flash, just be careful with it. Having said that, i try not to use it when possible.
Nice set Kieron, great detail.
Dean:)
 
Getting away with flash at a gig is one thing. what you need to remember is at any pro gig you won't be allowed to use flash (although they will have plenty of lighting). But even at a non professional show the band might not appreciate it - I know I didn't when I used to play in a semi pro band.
 
Absolutely correct Andy, 99% of pro gigs, flash is a no no, so its good to get practice in sans flash. I make a habit of asking the bands before hand if they mind me flashing:naughty: during their performance, i normally ask when im getting them to sign a model release.
Also you must remember you dont get the luxury of shooting all night, Normally only the first 3 songs are allowed, then youre carried of by pit crew:lol:
Dean:)
 
Well let's face it - if you can't get at least a few decent shots in the first three songs you shouldn't be there :)
 
Amen to that:)
 
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