help needed for shooting small music venue

tomso

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My friend is in a local band and has a show coming up at one of the venues downtown. Since they don't have any money (see: local band), they've asked me to take some photos while they play. Since I'm not a professional or even that good of a hobbyist, I'm not taking any money for the gig but I would like as many pointers as I can for shooting.

The situation as it stands: The bar is small, dark and the tiny stage only has a few overhead lights. I have a T3i and my lens collection can cover 8mm - 300mm but most are pretty much crap in low light (this is not my usual subject matter). I have a tripod and an old speedlite but I'm not sure they'll allow flash inside as it can get pretty annoying in small, dark bars.

Any help, hints and pointers would be greatly appreciated. I'd really like to do their band justice! I'll be happy to answer any more specific questions about my gear and the location (to the best of my abilities - I've never been to the bar).

Thanks!
 
Without flash and/or fast glass, your only options are to crank up the ISO or rent a camera/lens combo that has better low light performance.

Photos with a lot of image noise are better than images that are blurred beyond recognition. The challenge low light presents is in maintaining sufficient shutter speed to stop motion.
 
Thanks! If I can get away with flash, how should I angle it? I'm guessing direct hits would wash the band members out, not to mention blind them in the process.

How much noise can I get away with? I have Photoshop CS6 but as I usually shoot outdoors, I have never really had to do much post processing noise reduction.
 
You probably wouldn't need to use the flash at full power, but, you don't say if the speedlite you have is eTTL capable or not.

But, using flash adds an additional level of complexity to doing photography. TTL flash modes have trouble with consistency. Manual camera/flash is more consistent, but requires a pretty good understanding of using flash and how flash syncs to the the camera shutter curtains.
The short duration of the flash of light takes over the motion stopping function of shutter speed, and the flash exposure is controlled with the lens aperture. Shutter speed controls the ambient light exposure.
 
Drink lots of beer and by the end of the night your images will be award winning.

You just really need a way to find light that will go with the gig and not be intrusive to the feeling.
 
if you dont have fast lenses leave your camera at home get pissed and enjoy the music, with fast lenses you will have to use iso3200 so with your lenses you will need to be above iso6400
 
I would definitely take a monopod, or, preferrably, a tripod. Your biggest problem with slow lenses will be extended shutter open times...even at higher ISOs. Subject movement is almost guaranteed when shooting slower than 1/100th, which will be impossible without a flash. And as was mentioned, using a flash will tend to wash out some of the colors and lose some of the 'small club' atomosphere of the shoot.

If possible, see if the band could do some 'staged' photos...or, at least, pre-arranged points in their music where they are not moving quickly. Since they are probably looking for something 'presentable', I figure they'd be willing to 'set up' a couple of shots for the shoot.

One last thing, taking pictures in a club environment is like playing poker. You'll do far better sober than a couple of beers later.
 
bratkinson said:
I would definitely take a monopod, or, preferrably, a tripod. Your biggest problem with slow lenses will be extended shutter open times...even at higher ISOs. Subject movement is almost guaranteed when shooting slower than 1/100th, which will be impossible without a flash. And as was mentioned, using a flash will tend to wash out some of the colors and lose some of the 'small club' atomosphere of the shoot.

If possible, see if the band could do some 'staged' photos...or, at least, pre-arranged points in their music where they are not moving quickly. Since they are probably looking for something 'presentable', I figure they'd be willing to 'set up' a couple of shots for the shoot.

One last thing, taking pictures in a club environment is like playing poker. You'll do far better sober than a couple of beers later.

There is no way you should take a mono or tripod to a band shoot
 
You might consider investing in the "nifty fifty". For Canon shooters, this is the EF 50mm f/1.8 II. It has a slow/noisy focusing motor. It feels like cheap plastic (because it is cheap plastic). But the optics are actually pretty good (especially considering the "list" price for this lens is $125. Often you can find it for less than $100. For example, Amazon as well as B&H Photo sell it for $92 (make sure you buy the "USA" version to have a valid Canon warranty.)

Whereas your current lenses might only be able to shoot at, say, f/5.6, this lens can shoot at f/1.8 which is collecting about 10 times as much light (over 3 stops faster!) That'll make a pretty significant difference when you're shooting in a low-light situation and already having to crank the ISO. I wouldn't advise using this lens for fast action shots because the focus motor is too slow, but presumably your band members wont be running at full speed while you try to shoot them.

Find things to lean on to stabilize you and the camera while you shoot. When I shoot in clubs or bars, there are often support columns, railings, etc. that I can lean on or lean the camera against.

You'll generally want to open the aperture as much as you can (just be aware that shooting wide-open also means you'll have a narrow depth-of-field). You'll need a shutter speed fast enough to take shots that don't have motion blur caused by camera movement. Watch the band members for the "moment" when it's best to snap a shot to reduce motion blur. This is a careful balancing act because you don't want to get shots that are boring... you want to catch shots that depict the energy and mood. You just don't want them moving too fast that you can't get a sharp shot. A little motion blur (usually in their hands as they play) may be ok.

Don't worry too much about image noise. While it's true you want to shoot with an ISO which is as low as you can manage to keep the noise levels down, if you go too far then it'll force you to slow the shutter speed more than you should. That'll result in images which are blurry from motion but have low noise. If you boost the ISO a bit then you can speed up the shutter. You'll get a bit of noise, but the shots will be sharp. Given the choice between blur and noise... take the noise.

Put the camera in "spot" metering mode and meter off the performer's faces. If you use the default "evaluative" metering mode then the camera will over-expose most shots (it'll see the overwhelming blackness of the room and try to increase the exposure to compensate... but that means anything that wasn't in blackness (anything properly lit by stage lighting) will appear over-blown. By forcing the camera to meter for the light on their face, you'll get the correct exposure where you need it. The rest of the room will be in blackness... but that's what you want (blacks really should be black... not muddled gray). If you stick with "evaluative" metering then you'll probably find that you have to set the exposure compensation down to somewhere between -1 and -2 to get a good looking exposure.

Good luck!
 
The flash is TTL, an old Promatic FTD 4500AF (got it for free) but as you all can probably tell, I have zero experience with it so far. I don't have an extension cord so I would have to use it on camera.

From what I can tell, the ceiling of the bar is fairly reflective (some kind of glossy material, not sure what it is, here's a link to a photo (not mine) that demonstrates this: http://goodnightraleigh.com/uploaded_images/slims.jpg). It looks like they use stage lights for some acts but not others.

Would bouncing the main flash off the ceiling ruin the shot, and if not, should I use the fill-in reflector with the bounce or no?
 
The flash is TTL, an old Promatic FTD 4500AF (got it for free) but as you all can probably tell, I have zero experience with it so far. I don't have an extension cord so I would have to use it on camera.

From what I can tell, the ceiling of the bar is fairly reflective (some kind of glossy material, not sure what it is, here's a link to a photo (not mine) that demonstrates this: http://goodnightraleigh.com/uploaded_images/slims.jpg). It looks like they use stage lights for some acts but not others.

Would bouncing the main flash off the ceiling ruin the shot, and if not, should I use the fill-in reflector with the bounce or no?

The ceiling really needs to be "white" (or at least something neutral and light such as a neutral gray or silver metallic) in order for bounce to work. If it's painted any other color then the color will tint the light reflecting back and you'll get a wonky color cast on all your shots. When I can't "bounce" but need to get rid of shadows and soften the light, I'll use two flashes... one on camera and the other off camera. You get shadows with defined edges, but there are no "deep" shadows.

We hate "straight on" light because we lose contrast. To have good light you need good shadows. Shadows make it possible to see the 3D contours of a surface. Straight-on light creates a "flat" look. Moving the light to the side gives you some dimension to the image and helps with contrast, but then the shadows can be too strong. Using a side-light and fill light gives you shadows, but at least they're weak shadows so you get the dimensionality without it being too harsh. Lastly... it's nice to have soft diffuse light, but that requires creating a light that originates from a broad area rather than from a pinpoint location. Bouncing does that IF you can bounce. This is why some photographers would use a light modifier... I find a shoot-through umbrella held (by hand) in front of the flash (so you've got an assistant holding the flash with an umbrella in front of it) to be very portable. But let's keep this in perspective... I'm talking about needing a 2nd off-camera flash, a way to trigger it, a light modifier, and an assistant. That's probably not very practical for your situation. When a photographer is being paid thousands to shoot a wedding and the shots MUST be the very best and help fulfill the bride's dream of a fairy-tale wedding (with photos to back it up) THEN you go to that degree of fuss (the photographer is being well-paid to the job right and they shouldn't be skimping on what it takes to do it right.) You're helping a friend and nobody is paying you and it's not like you'd have lots of opportunities to use the gear in the future unless you plan on getting a lot more serious about this hobby.

With the right lens, you will likely find that you don't need a flash at all. I generally never use a flash when I'm shooting a concert. I just use lenses that can all handle at least f/2.8 if not f/2.
 
Tim, thanks for the awesome tips. I'll see if I can't rent some faster glass from my school; otherwise I'll stick to using my "nifty fifty" and/or experimenting with the flash that I do have.

And thank you everyone else for your help as well! I will be much better prepared because of it.
 
if you have to use the flash on-camera, you can try using a flash bounce card. do some google searches on "DIY flash bounce card" and you'll get the idea. i've used white envelopes and rubber bands in a pinch, but i try to carry around a bounce card made from white craft foam (and velcro) which should run you a dollar a sheet at any craft store.
 
A fast prime may help a little bit, but even then, shooting at f/1.8 will give you a very shallow DOF and missed focus on a lot of shots, especially if the band is one that moves around. Ask me how I know...

I shot at the Brass Monkey in Baltimore, which is a complete dive. My friend's band was there and I was doing them a favor. Best thing I did that night was to toss a flash up above the stage with a gel, set the power to an acceptable range so the recycle was fast and it wasn't at it's strongest setting, and then snap away. It did a pretty decent job.

You can buy clamps from any Hardware store for super cheap and with the right equipment, you can have nice clamps that will securely latch onto almost anything and you can mount a flash to them. I cost me about $5.00 to make three and they stay clamped to a strap on the side of my camera bag.
 

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