Concert Photography

epatsellis · Aug 14, 2008

Quite true Jerry, this time of year there's a ton of festivals around here, all free and most with decent musical entertainment, so the f4 works fine. One other thing I forgot to mention was I still shoot film for a lot of my outdoor work, especially since I'm trying to whittle down the 300 or 400 rolls of 35mm film I still have on ice. The 180 2.8 works quite well on the Fuji S2, I just never take it unless I know I want or need to shoot digital. Something about only shooting 4 or 5 rolls, make you a little more particular as to what you shoot, hence the keeper ratio is quite a bit higher. (I also have the flexibility to push 1 or 2 stops if need be, one of the advantages of processing your own film)

erie

amarine88 · Aug 14, 2008

another question i have that you guys might be able to help me with, all your help so far has been great!

If you aren't a professional how do you normally get your camera into the show? I know most venues say no SLRs but do they actually enforce that? I have been told there isnt anyway into the phto pit without credentials but just want to run that buy some people who may have actually shot at shows before.

tl;dr
How can I get my camera in without credentials and is it possible to get into the press pit?

JerryPH · Aug 15, 2008

epatsellis said:
Quite true Jerry, this time of year there's a ton of festivals around here, all free and most with decent musical entertainment, so the f4 works fine. One other thing I forgot to mention was I still shoot film for a lot of my outdoor work, especially since I'm trying to whittle down the 300 or 400 rolls of 35mm film I still have on ice.

Not to start a debate about digital vs film, but there is also the ability of film's higher dynamic ranges, and hence another small advantage in the exposure range and final results. Digital is good, its all that I shoot now... but it has a little ways to go before it gets to true film specifications.

JerryPH · Aug 15, 2008

amarine88 said:
If you aren't a professional how do you normally get your camera into the show? I know most venues say no SLRs but do they actually enforce that? I have been told there isn't anyway into the photo pit without credentials but just want to run that buy some people who may have actually shot at shows before.

tl;dr
How can I get my camera in without credentials and is it possible to get into the press pit?

The short answer is... you are out of luck. Unless you have a newspaper, magazine (or some high end contact back stage helping you), and have made and been approved via application months in advance, there is zero chance to get into the photo pit area without a press pass.

There is some little good news with this, though... in the photo pit, you are shooting upward a lot and the angles are FAR from optimal, resulting in distorted looking pics. You are closer, though.

Now, this is not always the case. As you have seen, there are many music festivals that are not in true concert venues (auditoriums and/or closed in and controlled areas). This was my good fortune recently, and I just walked in with a backpack full of camera equipment without so much as a 2nd look.

However, for most "traditional" concerts, they will let in the P&S cameras and cell phone cameras and what not, because they KNOW the chances of getting a good shot are slim to none, and not permit the kinds of cameras that can get the shot. They will always tell you that flashes are NOT permitted. That is because a high-end flash can really temporarily blind a performer causing issues with his performance. No one wants that (I had my Nikon SB-800 with me... but I would never dream of using it at the concert!).

I suppose the workaround to this is to find a higher end P&S camera. I have the now discontinued Nikon E8800 and it has given me some impressive night shots (it has built-in VR, ISO up to 400 and a 80X zoom, shutter speeds from 30 seconds to 1/4000th and shoots RAW format, all in a small palm-sized camera, and there are also cameras like the Canon G9 who could come closer... but still not near the quality of a dSLR with a big lens.

Bottom line... if they say no dSLRs and are watching for them, even if you manage to somehow sneak one in, if they spot you, they may escort you out of the premises, camera and all.

RyanLilly · Aug 15, 2008

BTW Nice pics Jerry, As far as shooting in a mosh pit...Good luck!

Actually the mosh pits that I have been in during warped tour were actually very civil. i.e. People would actually help you up rather than stomp your face.
The mosh pits at warped tour in Milwaukee several years ago were the largest I have ever seen, a wide angle from near the back could produce some impressive shots.

The mosh pit scene could be different now I guess, Hell I just looked up the Band list for the tour, and the only Band there I remember listening too is Reel Big Fish and that was like 10 years ago, so good luck an have fun.

epatsellis · Aug 15, 2008

When I shot that, it was a "holy crap, there's the essence of Edgar Winter" kind of moment. All shot handheld, btw. I did use a 1 stop push when I processed these, just to be sure, though Fuji 400 has some serious under exposure latitude. Negs are a trifle thick but better than thin.

My portraits tend to be full frame, or closer, as a rule. (one of those "find your style" things) Seems to be the way I see, as well as shoot.

Here's a few more, shot with either the 135 f2, 180 2.8 or 300 f4, generally at stage front or stage right, prety much leaning/bracing against the stage (I really need to get a 300 2.8 one of these days, I miss mine):

amarine88 · Aug 19, 2008

Hey, so I am starting to go through the 600 pictures I took there and I am liking what I saw. Besides the encounter with security when they forced me and 6 other photographers, most with press passes, into an active mosh pit with our gear (they threatened to beak out cameras themselves if we didnt move in) it was really fun. I haven't had time to start editing but here is one of the photos I really liked before i even touched it.
The Color Fred:

JerryPH · Aug 19, 2008

Kindly resize the pictures to something smaller please. No need for me to have to need to move all around to see the pictures you took. It is also not very friendly for our 56k friends.

General forum etiquette is that a picture should not take up more than 1/4 to 1/2 of an average 17" screen at MOST.