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Band shooting and flash advices
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Well, as I said, I’m back and of course I’m here bother you with my questions ;)
Yesterday evening I was in a pub, trying to shoot some pics of a band…. total disaster!
I tryed with my Canon EF-S 17-85mm f4-5.6, ISO 1000 but also at max aperture I had to use a shutter speed soooooooo slow that the gys were blurred. Then I tried with my 50mm f2.5…. a little better, but of course, with a zoom lens I would have had more fredom.
I was with a friend of mine, a “real photographer”, and, although he had a pro camera and lens (he’s a Nikon user, so I don’t remember exactly which ones… a D3 probably) he had to use flash because he said the light were not good at all (it was quite dark, actually, and none of the usual lights used during concerts).And now the questions:
1 Since I guess that to bring a trypod in a situation like that (I mean during a concert) is not the better solution, I think that a flashgun is in order. But which one??? I don’t know anything about flash guns, so any suggestions would be more than welcome. I’d like to buy a good one for my Canon (40d), of course not a top-of-the-range-massively-expensive one but not even a crappy-cheap one!
2 However I guess that, during bands and concert, not always it’s in need a flashgun… If there are enough lights, maybe the fancy colored ones normally used during this kind of events, I guess it’s possible to shoot without flash. But, which are the right settings??? I mean, rock band members rarely stay still :) so, what about shutter speed, aperture etc…. Advices and personal experiences sharing, again, more than welcome!!!!!!!!!!! :D :D :D :D :D
thanks
a.I don’t know much about photography, having just started myself, but there was an article by Ed Godden detailing how to shoot bandsand gigs in the February edition of Digital Camera magazine. He used an SB900 at very reduced power (1/32) for some shots, but not all. He recommends using stage lighting for a better effect, but keeping White Balance at auto if there are changing stage lights. Also says to use Spot Metering to avoid burnt out images. Unfortunately, not too much info about shutter speeds or apertures, but I know he used f2.8 for one shot, but said he could shoot higher for depth of field. Lenses were Nikon 16-85 and 70-200.
This was for an Alice Cooper show, though, I’d imagine a good few stage lights going.
Don’t know if this helps, but hope it does!
thanks Chairman (sorry I miss your “real name” I’ve been away from the forum for a while…), really appreciate your info!
a.
Hi Alessia, I also have a 40d & it is a really nice camera, but being a crop sensor & with limited iso capability, it’s not ideal for indoor low light shots.. better glass always helps – depends what you have in your arsenal. 70-200 f/2.8 could work but pricey (still may need that external flash). Are you shooting in RAW? – if so you have some room to play with exposures post processing. The 2 flashes I looked at were the Speedlite 430EX & 580EX (with the 2nd being the more powerful). Good luck :wink:
FiacreYou should be aiming for a shutter speed which is really no slower than 1/125th to 1/60th of a second.
In low light situations this will require a combination of the following –
Large Aperture e.g F2.8, F1.8, F1.4, F1.2 (Lens dependant) – Open the ‘eye’ of the lens as wide as possible to allow more light in.
High ISO e.g. 400, 800, 1200, 1600 etc – Increased ISO speeds up the rate the cameras sensor can gather light.
A finally flash… to produce more light.
Guys, thank you all for the suggestions :)
yes Fiacre, I’m shooting RAW, so I’m going to see what can I adjust with some processing….
NFL, what’s a molehill??????CHeers
a.Hi Alessia,
Great advice re. apertures, shutter and ISO here already. Just adding that I have used a few different flash guns over the past few years. I started out with a modest Vivitar 285 I believe. It taught me a lot about flash and using the manual settings way back in my training. It did the job and did it well. I still have two of those flash guns somewhere and I’d be happy to post to you if you want to play around.
There are two flash guns I use now with my Canon, the 580EX and the Metz. I prefer the Metz by a long shot, though it’s larger, my camera balances easier, flash is on the side, and it gives me a good grip on the camera, I sort of cradle it that way. But it’s not waterproof, so on a rainy day, I prefer to take my canon 580. I think you’ll find if you’re stretching your budget to the speedlight 430 or 580, you’ll pick up a Metz for a similar amount now, they’ve reduced a lot since I purchased mine.
Good luck and happy shopping :D
Michelle, thanks for your answer… can I ask which Metz were you talking about?? as I said, I don’t know anything about flash :oops: :oops: :oops:
Sure Alessia! Don’t worry. I haven’t got it here to hand but I think it’s the METZ 45 CL 4 digital NiMH
Hammerhead Flash. I am not good with remembering model numbers etc :roll: I especially love the E- TTL mode as my brain doesn’t need to do any work with it :wink:http://www.metzflash.co.uk/pages/metz3.htm” onclick=”window.open(this.href);return false;
Check out the website and see the beginners models too?
http://www.metzflash.co.uk/pages/products.htm” onclick=”window.open(this.href);return false;
Alessia, it sounds like you had pretty difficult conditions at this venue, sometimes that’s just the way it is. Not a lot of people use flash at gigs, some places just wont allow it. If you try bringing a tripod, I’d say you’ll be going on your own, lol.
That 50mm lens you have is prob the best bet, do you know how to use the spot meter on your camera? If you meter for the highlights, it’ll give you a higher shutter speed, 1/125 1/60 is ideal shutter speed, but don’t be afraid to go a little lower, say 1/30 or 1/15 you’ll have to get yourself very steady and it’s very likely you’ll pick up some movement, but that’s not always a bad thing, it can really add a lot of atmosphere.
It’s good to underexpose a little too, you’ll avoid blowing the highlights that way, but, again, highlights and hot spots are not always a bad thing, they can really add something sometimes.
My advice would be to use the 50, spot meter, underexpose a little, go to small gigs and get close, mostly bands in smaller venues all love having their pictures taken. You might even get some work out of it.
A flash is a good thing to have, but, I wouldn’t be in a rush to buy one for gigs.
Oh, again, don’t be afraid of high ISO and a bit of noise, it can work quite well sometimes, especially when converting to black & white. And, I’ve also found, the closer you are to the subject, the less noise there will be. Another reason for using the 50 mm lens.
Good luck!
Sinead
OHHHH Sinead….. Thanks very much… your suggestions are precious.. and I’m very happy also because now I had the confirm that I had a right thought when I decided to use the 50 mm….. I’m not so dumb maybe :wink:
I did not think about the spot meter instead… well, next gig! 8)Music Photography is so much fun but is always a constant battle against getting enough light. I’ve only shot a handful of gigs where I was allowed to use a flash but you get used to predicting the contitions and i bet if you shoot the same venue and use the great advice from this thread you’ll be flying!
Just for an example I shot the photos below in the Academy in Dublin which i figured would be great for shooting….nope! :mrgreen:
It pushed my iso right up to almost its limit
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dantakesphotos/sets/72157622168413573/
99% of the photos were taken at isos between 1600-3200 f2.8 and shutter between 100-200.
well, I saw the pictures on flickr (I’ve also added you as contact!)…they are great!
Re. the suggestions above,you’re right… precious! Hope to remember everything next gig!!!!Thank you very much ( I added you aswell)
To be honest I shot a couple of hundred shots that night, just kept clicking away and managed to get about 15-20 or so i was happy with.
Thats my other bit of advice…take a lot of photos of each set up / angle you really like. the amount of times i would have a nice shot but the drummer looked awkward etc.. so if i had taken about 4-6 shots i would have a much better chance of hitting a good one.
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