Concert Photography

[ManhattanShutterBug]

Hi. New here so I am sorry if this has been posted. I have been doing photography for 5 years. I run my own studio, and do mainly portrait work. A few months ago a friend of mine who owns a night club asked me if I could volunteer my services for 2 concerts over the next few months. I agreed to volunteer because 1. its a close friend and 2. I have never done concerts before and I thought it would be a great addition to my portfolio. I took along my 16-35 and 70-200. I had my camera bag in the DJ booth as carrying it around the packed club was difficult (is my broher so I knew it was safe) and used my 16-35 on my 50D. I had planned on switching it up to my 70-200 through out the night, but once the main act was on stage we were no longer allowed near the DJ booth or stage so was stuck with one lens all night (my own fault I know). The pictures turned out great but I wished I was able to get some close ups as well.

So for the concert next month my assistant will be coming along. He will be using an XSI and I am debating whether one of us should use the 16-35 and the other use the 70-200, or for me to use both the 16-35 and 70-200 and have him use the 50 (or one of my other lenses but I think the 3 mentioned lenses would be best in low light situations?), as he is still in the early stages of learning (although he has a good understanding of how aperature, shutter speed and ISO work). My only problem with me using 2 lenses is carrying the equiptment around in my camera bag all night gets in the way in a crowded club as well as changing lenses isnt the easist to do. Thanks in advance:blushing:

 

[Village Idiot]

It really depends on the lighting condition, but the 16-35 is going to be the best for low light since you can get away with such a slow hand held shutter speed.

Every concert I've done I've been right up against the stage or in the photo pit and 24-70 is the longest lens I use. Generally I shoot with my 17-40 on a FF camera. If a friend owns the club and it's decent venue, you should have access right up front.

 

[brandibell]

The last concert I did at a nightclub, I found it difficult to get close to the stage. I had a media pass but getting through the crowd was difficult as well I am not very tall so getting photos up close was hard. I ended up finding a good spot on some stairs and used my 70-200 lens. I used my wide angle also for a few shots.

 

[ShutterSpeed]

I got great shots from a 35mm 1.8 in a dark concert environment. Used my sb600 to bounce flash and jumped the ISO up to about 1000 on my d7000.

 

[joealcantar]

Get a belt pouch for your other lens or well vented vest , with a vest folks know you are there for one thing..
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Shoot well, Joe

 

[Kerbouchard]

If your assistant can't carry your gear for you, I would be looking for another assistant...

These types of situations are pretty typical, and if it were me, I would probably just use two camera bodies, one with a wide angle and one with a telephoto and leave the assistant who I can't trust to carry a lens at home. But again, that's just me.

 

[tirediron]

If your assistant can't carry your gear for you, I would be looking for another assistant...

These types of situations are pretty typical, and if it were me, I would probably just use two camera bodies, one with a wide angle and one with a telephoto and leave the assistant who I can't trust to carry a lens at home. But again, that's just me.

^^ That!

 

[Kerbouchard]

If your assistant can't carry your gear for you, I would be looking for another assistant...

These types of situations are pretty typical, and if it were me, I would probably just use two camera bodies, one with a wide angle and one with a telephoto and leave the assistant who I can't trust to carry a lens at home. But again, that's just me.

^^ That!

+1