Nickcanada - I NEED YOUR EXPERTISE!!

[JMWallace]

HEY - I got a great opportunity coming up!

Locally here there is a pretty darn nice zoo called the Toledo Zoo and every year they host a variety of concerts in thier amphatheatre.

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I am a member of the zoo (go figure with a 3 and 5 yr old) and just on a whim a sent a message to the concert management group, LiveNation, asking for photographer access.

Today I recieved an e-mail letting me know that a a pass would be waiting for me to cover...

3 Doors Down with Finger Eleven

HOW FREAKIN' COOL IS THAT!!!

So man, I need some pointers!

I'll be traveling pretty light (compared to wedding standards) since I don't know how protected I'll be.
MK 2n
30D
24-70
50 1.4
580EX
70-200 2.8 IS (just rented...WITH insurance)

My access starts at 7:00 pm so I should have plenty of light. I'll use the 30D for anything that is pushing the low-light envelope since ISO 1600 on it is as good if not better that 800 on the MK 2n.

So you got any tidbits of knowledge you can share????

[anco85]

I'm no where near the skill level of Nick, but I do have a ton of low light concert experience.

The most valuable advice I have ever received in this regard is, don't be afraid to shoot.

Shoot as many shots as you can as it's quite hard to get a proper expression on a musicians face when he's screaming into a mic.

What I usually do, is fire of a burst of shots without looking at them. I then go back and deleted all the bad ones and do it again. I do that until there is no more space on the CF and I pop in a new card and start the process over.

Don't expect a lot of keepers either, especially in low light.

Oh yes, another thing, don't be afraid to get up close and personal.

Hope this helps you a little.

[Nickcanada]

I feel a bit pretentious giving you advice JM, but I'll do my best...

The venue looks pretty good. I don't think you are going to have problems with the lighting. I'm going to go out on a limb and say you will probably get something along the lines of ISO 800 F2.8 1/200. I could be way off though.

I don't want to freak you out but keep in mind the band's promoter/manager can put a stop to your picture taking, or they can impose a 3 song limit or I've even heard of a 30 second rule!! If the show is at a zoo I can't imagine them being a@#holes about it but better to be aware that it's a possibility.

The only thing I would add to the gear list is a set of ear plugs. ;)

As far as shooting goes, I know you will figure the exposure out fine but if you want to avoid the dreaded "nice photo, but too bad you did ______" from the POTN concert photogs, here are a few tips...

- avoid up the nose shots. Like this

http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k320/livelifelivepics/_MG_2322-Edit.jpg
- don't cut the head stock off. Like I did here

http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k320/livelifelivepics/_MG_2327-Edit.jpg


On a tight stage be aware of the stands and monitors, avoid clutter... or use the clutter creatively.

I personally don't to headshots or standard portraits very often when at a show I usually like to incorporate the lights or other performers into the composition, Adding the lights really adds some drama I find....

http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k320/livelifelivepics/Sadie%20Hell/_MG_0599-Editcopy.jpg

It's up the nose I know but I like it. :)

[Nickcanada]

Oh and don't use flash.

and

Keep in mind artists are very repetitive. If you miss an expression you like or a motion that you want to capture, chances are they will do it again so be ready.

[r6isnum1]

Today I recieved an e-mail letting me know that a a pass would be waiting for me to cover...

3 Doors Down with Finger Eleven
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this is awesome man. I'm not to keen on the bands but it would still kickass to shoot "big" bands. I havent gone to a show in a while but I think I just might this weekend..

Good luck with the shoot.

[michaelb]

That's pretty cool JM. Good luck!

[adam75south]

i went to a the used show in austin just a few weeks ago and all i could do was wish i had my bag and access to shoot it. god that would have been so fun.

they were being hardcore camera nazis too. but i was bold enough to bust out the iphone when needed. and my gf had a little sony p&s.

don't mean to jack the thread, but my chick got this shot while i blocked the camera nazis from seeing her. it's bert(lead singer of the used) standing in the balcony(with the striped hoodie) watching the opening bands play. the people up there were too stupid to know he was the guy they actually paid money to go watch. thought it was funny.

[JMWallace]

Thanks nick! That is the kind of info I was looking for!

It should be pretty interesting.

I sent an e-mail to media manager for the band today asking him to get in contact with me or let me know a good time to contact him.

Want to see if I can smooth talk my way into additional access and offer to share the images.

We'll see if I am worthy of a reply.

[Wesan]

JMWallace, it looks like you've gotten into a "loop", as it's called in the computer world. You posted your last post 3 times (aside from a few minor changes between the posts...). lol :D

Good luck with the shooting! :cool:

[JMWallace]

HAHAAHA...i'm posting using the FireFox 3.0 Beta. Looks like a bug.

Corrected.

[namesalex]

yeah i thought that was only me. it loads forever so i have to open it up in a new tab haha

[adam75south]

HAHAAHA...i'm posting using the FireFox 3.0 Beta. Looks like a bug.

Corrected.

me too, seems to crash when i have a lot of tabs loading at the same time. then again, i was pretty good at crashing firefox 2 also....especially apple.com for some reason.

[JMWallace]

Yeah...so far so good though. I just wish it had the "panning hand" option that IE has since I tend to do more with my graphics pad pen than a mouse these days.

[cdifoto]

3.0 RC is available.

[Nickcanada]

Thanks nick! That is the kind of info I was looking for!

It should be pretty interesting.

I sent an e-mail to media manager for the band today asking him to get in contact with me or let me know a good time to contact him.

Want to see if I can smooth talk my way into additional access and offer to share the images.

We'll see if I am worthy of a reply.

That sounds like a very good plan, good luck! < it might sound like I'm being sarcastic but I wasn't. :)

I'm sure you're going to have a great time. It's lots of fun.

[JMWallace]

Ok, just got off the phone with the 3 Doors Down media guy. Sounds like there might be a chance for additional access.

His actual words were, "...if they are up for it, than so am I."

Loosely translated, I'll take that as, "...depends on how much of an ass you make of yourself."

So, we'll have to see.

Also Nick, do you usually shoot this stuff in Av or M and what metering mode?

[Nickcanada]

Ok, just got off the phone with the 3 Doors Down media guy. Sounds like there might be a chance for additional access.

His actual words were, "...if they are up for it, than so am I."

Loosely translated, I'll take that as, "...depends on how much of an ass you make of yourself."

So, we'll have to see.

Also Nick, do you usually shoot this stuff in Av or M and what metering mode?

That is really cool! I've been doing this for a few years now and I'm still shooting bands no one has heard of in smelly clubs! :D

Did you send them a link to an online portfolio?


My settings usually go like this. Manual, matrix metering, AF one shot. I shoot in manual because there are usually lights all over the place and if your sensor sees the light a little more in one shot than another it tries to expose the photo for the light not the main subject and you end up underexposing the photo. Underexposure is probably the biggest mistake I see.

I try to expose so that I'm on the verge of blowing out highlights on the face. It's pretty much impossible to avoid blowing out some part of the photo so just try to expose the face (or whatever is important in the photo) properly. To do that I use the highlight warning thing. I'll push my exposure until I blow out highlights then I dial it back down a bit, so the image looks like this....

http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k320/livelifelivepics/racing-4.jpg

a quick little curves adjustment and it looks more natural...

http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k320/livelifelivepics/racing-5.jpg

Now as long as you don't blow out the highlights you can easily dial down the exposure. The best part about doing it this way is that there is very little noise. These are ISO 3200!

another advantage of shooting in manual mode is that you can move around the subject with your setting locked in and you know you are going to get consistent results...

http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k320/livelifelivepics/racing-3.jpg

Here I wanted more of a profile shot and because I kept my settings the same I know I'm not going to blow out his face.

I spend a good portion of my time looking at where the lights are and where the dark and lighter spots of the stage are. Almost all the time the lighting is not consistent across the stage, so the settings you use for the singer will probably not be the best for the guitarist or bassist.

One other thing I'll touch on is backlighting is becoming very popular and I wouldn't be surprised if they set up some high powered lights behind the performers pointing at the crowd.

http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k320/livelifelivepics/Clock%20Strike%20Music/_MG_0819-Editcopy.jpg

I actually think it's cool and you can do a lot with it but it usually flashes on and off so your timing is going to be important. You can usually predict when they will go nuts with the lights so try to get a feel for how they are directing the lights with the music, and have your camera already set for the flash of light.

play with the exposure for different results....

exposing for the lights..

http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k320/livelifelivepics/Clock%20Strike%20Music/_MG_0880-Editcopy.jpg

exposing for the artist....

http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k320/livelifelivepics/Clock%20Strike%20Music/_MG_0877-Editcopy.jpg

[Nickcanada]

Oh and I shoot in One shot AF partly because that's what I had to do with the XT and 50mm 1.8 and partly because servo isn't good enough on my bodies. You might have better luck with it though in better lighting and with the fancy smancy body! ;)

[Nickcanada]

Okay you've got my concert photography juices going and I can't stop thinking about it! haha....

I was thinking the lighting is probably going to be so good you might get lulled into using fast shutterspeeds exclusively. While that is great for stopping motion make sure you play around a little with some slower shutter speeds to add some energy.... especially when shooting drummers. There really needs to be that motion blur of the drum stick or that blurry hand as it strums the guitar....

SS 1/100
http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k320/livelifelivepics/_MG_0342-Editcopy.jpg

SS 1/100 The drum stick!

http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k320/livelifelivepics/IMG_9763.jpg


My favorite shot probably...
SS 1/15 :D

http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k320/livelifelivepics/IMG_0626-Edit-1.jpg

[michaelb]

Wow, some really great stuff here Nick. Those ISO 3200 shots are incredible; just shows how important it is to expose to the right at high ISO. Nicely done.