Tutorial: How to take great photos in low light concert photography

This is a basic overview of everything I know about concert photography, for big and small venues. I’ll hit the more important pieces with a more in depth post a little later.

For some inspiration check out www.jessbaumung.com

Equipment – cameras and lenses
You don’t need a digital SLR, but there are a lot of limitations that surround a point & shoot. When you crank the light sensitivity of a point and shoot, the photo will become ridiculously grainy – and you need a lot of light coming in the lens. It might look good at web size, and it’s also a great way to start to build your portfolio before going DSLR. I used a 3.2megapx Canon S1 IS for a year or so before deciding to invest in a DSLR – the Canon S5is the much improved equivalent of that camera. They cost about $350 off of amazonand are perfect to learn on before deciding if you want to invest in a DSLR.

Some photos I took off of my Canon S1 IS:

As long as your point & shoot has full manual controls, it’s perfect to learn off of. You’ll learn what combinations of controls work, and when you feel the limitations of a p&s it’s pretty easy to step up to a full DSLR.
Rules for a p&s:
– shoot in venues with a lot of light
– try not to use your flash unless absolutely necessary (unless you’re doing rear curtain time exposures, more on that later)
– use manual mode ISO around 400 or 800 (whatever still looks good) aperture as small of number as you can get, and whatever shutter speed lets enough light in 1/50 as a minimum
– wait for the lights to get as bright as they can, and use the opportunity to snap a few photos.

DSLRs are under $500, and so beyond worth the money. You only need a barebones DSLR+lens to take great photos, it’s more about the glass you put infront of it.
Inexpensive DSLRS:
Nikon D40 DSLR with 18-55mm
Or
Canon Digital Rebel XT DSLR with EF-S 18-55mm
Would probably be your best bet. Don’t worry about the mega pixels, they don’t matter. It’s all about the sensor quality.
Both are great cameras. They come with a lens that will probably work for 80% of your photography purposes. It’s not a great concert lens, but is useful with a flash….but not the onboard camera flash.

The cheapest (and arguably best lens) you can buy for either of the camera above is either the:
Nikon 50mm f/1.8D AF Nikkor
or the
Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Camera Lens

Both are extraordinary in low light photography. If you’re using them you can normally get away without using a flash.
Some of my photos from the Nikon version of this lens:

Currently my favorite lens to shoot with at local and bigger shows is the 85mm 1.8
Nikon version: Nikon 85mm f/1.8D AF Nikkor Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras
Canon version: Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM Telephoto Lens for Canon SLR Cameras
Both are great lenses, and the Nikon is probably my most used lens when it comes to concert photography. They’re a little more expensive than the 50mm though.

Cheapest and easiest way to photo a concert:
– Basic body. (D40, Rebel XT)
– 50mm f1.8 lens.
Easy. Cheap. Awesome photos, just learn how to use your camera.

What I currently shoot with at shows:
– Nikon D50 body (it’s been discontinued, the D40 is a smaller, better version of this camera) or my Nikon D200 if it’s a bigger show.
– Nikkor 85mm f1.8 (I use this the most)
– Nikkor 10.5mm f2.8 fisheye (I use this the second most)
– Nikkor 50mm f1.4
– Nikkor 35mm f2.0
I shoot JPEG because I have the right settings on my camera before the show starts, and won’t need to correct a whole lot afterwards.

Starting out/Getting into the show/PR agents
So it’s hard starting out. You can’t afford to buy tickets to show 3 nights a week(and plus, if it’s a bigger show, they wouldn’t let you in with a DSLR..that’s one good thing about having a P&S. If you can’t get a press pass, you can still see a band you dig, and take lots of good portfolio photos…it’ll just cost you a few bucks.)

How to start getting into shows for photographic purposes(for free):
Pay for a few shows, get a bit of a portfolio together. Even photographing your friends jam sessions works. Just prove you’re worth the guestlist spot. Shoot the band a myspace/facebook/email message explaining the situation. I got lucky off the start, and started photographing for a webzine www.truthexplosion.com. So it was pretty was pretty easy to approach bands.

If you’re local area has a webzine, or just a group of people that put their photos on a site, contact them and see what it takes to photograph for them. If you happen to be involved with your highschool/college newspaper, this is a great time to let them know. (provided you’re able to cover the show for the paper)

If you make some great photos for a band in your area, other bands will see. Your name will start to spread. Just tag your photos with your name (and the bands name) or your website/myspace/flickr/wherever you promote yourself. Bands probably won’t be lining up to offer you money to come out and shoot their set, but when you’re good enough they might offer you a teeshirt or a few drinks – something to make it worth your time and gas money. If you can make them look like rockstars at a local dingy dive-bar, you’re on your way to becoming a pro.

Bigger Shows:
In Toronto these would be most House of Blues/Livenation shows.
If you’re wanting to cover bigger shows, and you have some backing (newspaper, somewhat important webzine, magazine, or just a stellar portfolio) you’ll normally have to go through the bands PR rep(or promotions company) for the headlining band. Things get tricky here. Even if you’re approved, you’ll only be allowed to photograph for the first 3 songs of the set, and you won’t be allowed to use a flash…but you’re not using a flash, right?

There’s always exceptions to the the 3 song, no flash rule, but in Ontario, that’s pretty much the going standard.

I’ll go into more depth here when I have the time, but more or less, locate the PR/promotions email, and say that you’re looking for photo credentials for the _____ show on ______ at ________ and you’ll be covering it for ______. If you have an editor that will take care of all of this for, awesome. Some bigger promo companies, and PR agents will require your editor to contact them. Especially if you don’t have an @YourMediaWebsite.com email address.

Local bands:
For the first while it’s pretty cool to be in the photo pit 3 feet away from Jimmy Eat World…or whoever you’re favorite band might be(you get a little shaky the first time), but for me…it got a little tiring. I started photoing local bands that I became friends with, and now I rarely make it to a larger shows. It’s just way more fun for me to go to a show, and hang out with some friends until they go on stage.

Sure, the lightshow isn’t as cool as a big venue, but you can make your own lightshow. http://www.stobist.com will tell you everything you’ll ever need to know about off camera lighting.

Maybe you’ll feel differently, and get into the bigger bands and stay there. If you live in a big city, this is way more likely. I live in Kitchener Waterloo Ontario (an hour from Toronto) and it’s hard to make it up there a few times a week to photograph a show. Not to mention, not a lot of tours even come to Canada (i.e. I end up in Buffalo)

Off camera lighting:
The simple version of it is: get a sync cable, or an ebay wireless trigger. Hold your flash in your hand – directional lighting is amazingly better than a flash mounted on your camera.
I think the first person I saw using off camera was Brooks Reynolds, and forever since I’ve been hooked.

Camera Settings:
Every venue is different. Shoot in manual mode only – i usually use manual focus, but that’s not necessary, AF is ok. Open up the aperture as wide as it can go (ideally f1.8 or 1.4 – but you can work with other lenses with more light..flash or ambient)
My usual settings:
– 1/150 shutter
– f1.8 aperture
– ISO 800 or 1600 or 400

Enough to freeze motion, but not override and flatten the ambient light.

If you’re shooting in a venue with absolutely no available light…or in ‘available darkness,’ and you need to use a flash. I normally shoot with direct flash from high above the left side of the camera. (Flash in my left hand) Settings are as follows:
– F8
– 1/250 or 1/500 shutter
– ISO 200 or 400.
– Flash at 1/8th power.
If there’s some cool ambient light going on, try something more like 1/150 shutter, f4, and a really low flash setting (1/64 or less)

Watch what’s happening:
The way I see it is, 1 great shot is worth way more than 25 average shots. Don’t just track one person around stage – learn to track them through the viewfinder, and keep your other eye open watching everything else that’s happening. It’s a little disorienting at first, but for local bands, it’s a skill worth developing. (It also lets you know what’s going on around you, and saves you from becoming a blind target to anyone in the pit) After a song or two of their set, you’ll start to figure out all the members movement patterns(ie. who moves and who sleeps) and you can start focuing a little more on them. That said, I do my best to get at least one usable photo of everyone in the band. However, I will track the higher energy members a little more.

Post Processing:
– I S-Curve almost all of my photos (in camera, or in photoshop)
– Get photoshop
– If you’re photo isn’t properly exposed, make it properly exposed.
– Calibrate your monitor.

Black and white conversions:
The best method I’ve found is (in photoshop) Image > Adjustments > Gradient Map – and let it to the pure Black and White gradient.

It’s easy, and rarely requires any revision after converting it. This is the method I usually use for weddings too.

Post Concert:
If it was a local show, email the bands the photos that leave the cutting room floor – probably with your name or website attached. It helps market your photography.

If it’s a bigger show, send a link to the photos to whoever got you the photo pass – or start writing the article you promised. If you email the photos back to the PR department of the band, sometimes they’ll find their way to the bands myspace, or website (with photo cred)

Pick your favorites and add them to your /portfolio, and start booking more photo gigs.

Will you ever make a living off of this type of photography? Probably not. Is it one of the hardest types of photography? Yep.

Conclusions:
With concerts, it’s different every time. Like a wedding, it only happens once – if you miss a moment, it’ll probably never happen again. You have to be quick on the shutter button (and why wouldn’t you? you’re shooting digital) and catch every moment you can. I shoot in 3 shot burst a lot, it’s easy to delete photos after the concert, but impossible to recreate the ones you missed. So snag a camera, and get to it. Even a point and shoot works.

Light has far more of an effect on a great photo than the piece of equipment you use to capture the light.

One last tip:
If you’re photos arn’t as great as you want them to be, you’re probably not close enough.

_______________

Categories:
photography
photographer
concert
music
beginner
tutorial
basics
concert photography
music photography
toronto
kitchener