Going to be shooting a band next weekend...

[Nikon_Dude]

Will be my first time doing so. Just wondering if you guys have any tips/things to keep in mind.

First of all, this is not for money, I have no pressure to produce shots or anything like that. It's my friend/coworker's band, and I'm just gonna bring my camera along for my own learning experience, and if they like the pictures they can keep them for their facebook page or whatever.

It is a pretty small venue, so I'm hoping I will be able to get pretty close to the stage.
Here's what I'm thinking:

I will use my 17-50mm 2.8 lens.
Up the iso. (haven't been to the particular place, but these kinds of places are usually pretty dark).
I am trying to find out if flash is allowed.
If it is, I will use my sb-600 and try to bounce it off the ceiling and/or use the diffuser.

Anything else I should know?

 

[o hey tyler]

Will be my first time doing so. Just wondering if you guys have any tips/things to keep in mind.

First of all, this is not for money, I have no pressure to produce shots or anything like that. It's my friend/coworker's band, and I'm just gonna bring my camera along for my own learning experience, and if they like the pictures they can keep them for their facebook page or whatever.

It is a pretty small venue, so I'm hoping I will be able to get pretty close to the stage.
Here's what I'm thinking:

I will use my 17-50mm 2.8 lens.
Up the iso. (haven't been to the particular place, but these kinds of places are usually pretty dark).
I am trying to find out if flash is allowed.
If it is, I will use my sb-600 and try to bounce it off the ceiling and/or use the diffuser.

Anything else I should know?

If you can get close to the stage, I'd use your 35mm too if you can (if you're planning on MFing anyway), or at least give it a shot (especially if flash isn't allowed). But if flash is allowed, you should be all set. Just keep your ISO within a reasonable range. I'm willing to bet that the D5000 gets unusable around 800-1600, but I don't have experience with one, so maybe a D5000 user can chime in.

Most importantly, see if you can get stage access. That's where some of the best shots are.

 

[Davor]

Well if you use a flash try to see if you can get it off camera, if your shooting it on camera your going to get unwanted shadows. Try to shoot without one to capture that feel of the stage and the colors it puts out, you should be fine with the 35mm 1.8 and about 800 ISO

 

[Nikon_Dude]

Should I be manual focusing instead of trying to rely on auto focus?

I took some test shots at high ISO before just to see what it would look like, but it was so long ago I don't remember what number still looked reasonable. I haven't really had to bump it up in any shooting situations before, I just always used flash. Maybe I'll be able to dig up those shots when I get home if not I'll take some new test shots sometime before the show.

 

[o hey tyler]

Or you could just turn your lights down and figure out for yourself in like 5 minutes lawls. Just do some quick ISO tests.

Does your 35mm AF on your D5000? I didn't think it did, and I don't know Nikon very well. If it's too dark indoors your AF system may just not work very well, in which case I'd suggest you Manual focus. I'd also suggest you stop your 35mm down to f/2.2 or 2.5 too.

 

[Nikon_Dude]

Or you could just turn your lights down and figure out for yourself in like 5 minutes lawls. Just do some quick ISO tests.

That is what I will do once I get home if the other shots are not in my pictures file on my laptop.

Does your 35mm AF on your D5000? I didn't think it did, and I don't know Nikon very well. If it's too dark indoors your AF system may just not work very well, in which case I'd suggest you Manual focus. I'd also suggest you stop your 35mm down to f/2.2 or 2.5 too.

Yes, it does autofocus. I'm assuming you're suggesting using the 35mm at 2.2 or 2.5 because it will be sharper than the 17-50mm shot wide open right?

 

[o hey tyler]

Or you could just turn your lights down and figure out for yourself in like 5 minutes lawls. Just do some quick ISO tests.

That is what I will do once I get home if the other shots are not in my pictures file on my laptop.

Does your 35mm AF on your D5000? I didn't think it did, and I don't know Nikon very well. If it's too dark indoors your AF system may just not work very well, in which case I'd suggest you Manual focus. I'd also suggest you stop your 35mm down to f/2.2 or 2.5 too.

Yes, it does autofocus. I'm assuming you're suggesting using the 35mm at 2.2 or 2.5 because it will be sharper than the 17-50mm shot wide open right?

Well, I've never used the Sigma 17-50, but I'd assume that the 35mm prime would be sharper stopped down to f/2.5 than the Sigma wide open. It will also give you more leeway with aperture if you need to shoot with a fatter aperture.

 

[Davor]

I usually found my self shooting with 2.2 - 2.8 in the concert, sometimes you can get away with 1.8, depending how far from the subject you are.

 

[Nikon_Dude]

Ok thanks guys. I'll bring both, hopefully the 35mm is long enough.

 

[GooniesNeverSayDie11]

Try different metering as well depending on the stage set up. If the band is lit well with lights, spot meter the lit portion of your subject. No need for evaluative unless you want the shadows around the band to factor into the camera meter reading. This will probably help you gain some speed or lower the ISO.

 

[DerekSalem]

Well I'll say you shouldn't use a flash. The entire point of concert photography is catching the bands in the concert lighting. If not, you could just take pictures of them somewhere else. Just use high-aperture, high-iso, and try to get some emotion in the shots. You'll want to stop motion as much as possible. Here's a few I took of the last concert I went to (last week)

 

[DerekSalem]

BTW all of those were taking with my 70-200. I was right up against the stage (like 5ft from the singer and lead guitarist) and I'm glad I used that lens. The 24-105 would have worked for most shots, but most bands move around the stage a lot...I barely had to crop any of my shots because I framed them almost exactly how I wanted them in the first place. Made PP easier and made the ISO1600 or ISO3200 shots no problem. In fact, some were taken at ISO6400...and they show no signs of noise.

 

[Nikon_Dude]

Very nice shots. 70-200mm is next on my list.

 

[SmailiMD]

Well I'll say you shouldn't use a flash. The entire point of concert photography is catching the bands in the concert lighting. If not, you could just take pictures of them somewhere else. Just use high-aperture, high-iso, and try to get some emotion in the shots. You'll want to stop motion as much as possible. Here's a few I took of the last concert I went to (last week)

Very nice shots! I am a beginner, exploring the forum to learn. Keep posting guys!
_____________________________________
Plastic Surgeons LA . Plastic Surgery LA

 

[DerekSalem]

heh a few more from that concert. Disciple, Project86, and Write This Down (third band nobody had heard of) on 02/25 I think. BTW all of the pictures have had *slight* PP but nothing major. No real edits, just slider adjustments (usually very little, almost solely relegated to sharpening or contrast). Only a few were cropped out of the 50 or so that I kept (maybe 65 total shots taken).