Rock concerts

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Name
Daryl
Edit My Images
Yes
Hello
I am new to this forum, but I am after any advise I can get. I have been photographing live rock concerts for a few years now. Last year I took bought a Nikon D5000 along with a 55-200mm 4.5 lens. This gave pretty good results but not good enough, and when on full zoom with max apature with the ISO pushed the results were OK but I want better.
I have just hired a Nikon 70-200mm 2.8 lens. I have been told this should give me the results I am looking for.

Does anybody have any tips of how I should use this lens, what ISO etc to use. I will be shooting at a festival over the weekend, most of the shows are in daylight but the main bands are on at night. As you can imagine there is a lot of movement and a lot of changing lights, bright, strobed or still.

I cannot use flash (festival rules) but then again I dont like using flash. Any tips advise will be gratefully accepted.
 
ISO 1600 f/2.8, aperture priority to start with and adjust up/down as needed.

If you feel brave shoot in manual, but to be honest Ive never had an issue an concerts shoting in A.
 
Different strokes for different folks. I want the fastest shutter I can get whilst maintaing a good exposure, so Aperture priority for me.
If you shoot in S and the light drops and you run out aperture to bail you out, you'll have an underexposed image.

You could use S in conjunction with auto ISO, but I prefer to know what ISO and aperture Im using.
 
Some people ive spoken to have tried to talk me into using auto ISO (not sure if the D5000 has this option), others I know use shutter priority exclusively, but me personally, I always shoot in Aperture priority, spot meter on the performers face, continuous servo AF, at between 1600 and 3200 ISO whichever will give me a quick enough shutter speed. I dont have VR on my Sigma 70-200 f2.8 but luckily can bump up the ISO on the D700 :cool: I also use a Nikon 24-70 f2.8 and a Nikon 50 F1.8 depending how close I am to the stage.

Unfortunately, good quality fast glass is a must for this type of photography IMHO.
 
The D5000 does have this option and I would use it if possible as 1600 ISO aint great and would be my absolute maximum. I'm not sure what shutter speed would be needed for musicians though so there may be no choice.:thinking:
 
Watch the lighting as well. You'll often find it strobes so time your shooting. Red lighting is very dark but looks good at times.. Other times you'll find musicians stepping in and out of light paths. Last one I shot I used a 50mm f1.4 lens close to the stage, or a 70-200 f2.8 from slightly further back, however I've also used a 10mm ultra wide really close to the stage for something different.
 
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