Concert Photos

JCk

TPF Noob!
Joined
Aug 11, 2006
Messages
3
Reaction score
0
Hi. I am new to both photography and this forum, and would like to ask a few questions.

I design the lighting for concerts, theatre, etc and I need to keep a record of what I do by taking photos. This is not only for my personal benefit, but I would also like to put the photos on my website.

I have a Canon EOS 350D with the lens that came with it (18-55mm) however this lens does not perform well in low light conditions. It works OK with a flash, however I want to capture what the audience sees, and a flash does not allow this.

Could someone please recomend a lens for me that doesn't involve me forking out too much cash??

I have been looking at the Tamron 28-75mm f2.8, any thaughts on this?

Cheers
 
Check out some reviews on amazon and fredmiranda.com
http://www.fredmiranda.com/reviews/showproduct.php?product=246&sort=7&cat=43&page=1
Some people like zoom, some like prime lenses.
It also depends on how much light you have to work with and if you want to shoot at high isos.

Another lens to consider is the Sigma 30mm f/1.4 and of course the Canon 50mm f/1.8. With the coversion factor the 30mm is a 50 and the 50 is an 80. The sigma is also 1 and 2/3 stops faster than the tamron
 
I have the same camera and bought the Canon 50mm 1.8f leans. It's very a very cheap purchase and I get some great concert photos. The big aperture makes for great shots in the low light. One of my photos taken using this was used in an album sleeve of a well known band and you can imagine I was pretty cuffed with that. Here are my live concert pics: http://www.flickr.com/photos/cttm/sets/72157594224415641/

The first few I took in the set are taken with the kit lens and you can see the difference!
 
Fiendish Astronaught:
wow...those are some great photos! i wish i could take some like that!
what iso setting did you use btw? were the 50mm 1.8 & the 18-55mm the only lenses you used?

i have just purchased the Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 lens . am also thinking of purchasing the canon 50mm f/1.8 and maybe a zoom lens - perhaps the Canon 90-300mm???
 
Thanks! I tend to only use the 50mm lens at gigs now - it does mean lots of shots are similar so I would like at some point to expand my kit. Although on the plus side it does force me to be more creative sometimes. I don't like using flash if I can help it as I prefer to use the stage lighting and the 18-55 lens is not good enough in low light. I shoot usually in 800 or 1600 ISO - as it means the fastest shutter speed and in low light (which every gig usually is) that is pretty useful if you want to avoid blur (although sonmetimes blur is great).

The other problem I find is that there are stage lights shining into my lens from behind the person I am trying to shoot. That's why it is useful to set the metering on the camera properly. I'm no expert but I think this is the area of the image the camera uses as a reference for the picture. The Digital Rebel has three metering modes, and I always use Partial Metering which means it meters against the very centre of the image and thusly ignores anything on the edges which in this case will be stage lighting which might otherwise throw your exposure off. I'm told spot metering is the best for this sort of thing but the Digital Rebel doesn't have this as an option. I really need to learn more about metering; maybe searching for or starting a post somewhere is in order...
 
Here is a photo that I took the otherday at a small show. could someone please look at the settings I used and tell me how i might improve? I forgot about isos so I took at only 200.... :p

Click here for the picture

Would appreciate your help...
Cheers
 

Most reactions

Back
Top