First time shooting a concert!

[SRPHOTO]

hey! im new to the forum so hello to all! umm well i shot not to long ago at a venue in anaheim california called the Chain Reaction.. its a small place i didnt have all access so i stayed on the floor with the audience.. umm just give me some feedback or how i can change to get better photos! thanks!















Camera: Canon Rebel XSi


Settings:


Aperture: 1.4


Shutter:1/200


ISO:1600


Flash: did not fire

[Bill M.]

Hey SR, shooting concerts/recitals are not the easiest. I really don't have that much experience in shooting them other than my daughter's dance recitals. Stage lighting is a challenge most of the time and I always shoot in RAW so I have the most flexibility to manipulate the images in post-processing. You did a nice job stopping the action and you probably already know to use your fastest lens to do so (were you using a 50mm 1.4 for this shot?) The output seems nice from the XSi for ISO 1600, or did you usesome NR in post-processing? Love the guys expression in the back...was that a reaction to the music??

[SRPHOTO]

i used my 50mm f/1.4 usm lens and i used in camera NR so i think that helped out alot!

[Patrick Lew]

Concerts are tough, you need to have a fast lens--like your 50 1.4--but even then, it's still difficult, as I'm sure you've realized. If you can position yourself where most of the lights fall on the performers, it helps. Most places will not allow flash since they (or the performers) don't want you to blind the performers, but if you can, use it -- get an external flash, the built-in flash will just make you tear your hair out. AV or (preferably) M modes are how you should be shooting, if you're not already.


Depending on the venue, longer lenses like the 85 1.8 or 135 2.0 work better for this kind of stuff. The 50 1.4 does tend to hunt in lowlight situations. The 17-55 2.8 IS or 70-200 2.8 IS work fairly well for these kinds of shoots as well. At the end of the day it all comes down to where you can position yourself in regards to how the light plays off the performers, though.


This photographer does a lot of concert stuff here in NYC - http://www.flickr.com/photos/kathryn/collections/72157606327863281/


I do a lot of nightclub stuff, which isn't all that different but at least I can use my flash.

[Sinh Nhut Nguyen]

I think it's a really nice shot SR, from the small size of the image I can't tell if the image is sharp or not, if it's sharp on the original you've got yourself a very nice image. Oh and I like the expression of the guy in the background.

[ultima16888]

ya lighting condition at concerts are a nightmare...





as for ur image.. I feel like the light on his shirt and face is a bit over exposed? (maybe just a ted bit) I dunno even though it looks edgy like this, but I prefer the more refined edginess .

[SRPHOTO]

thanks for the feedback i personally like how sharp this image came out.. but i also took this picture with not much time to react to the lighting situation.. other band members would get in the way and from what he was playing i doubt i would have gotten another chance to take a picture like that.. but i could tone the overexposures on his shirt definently. thanks!