I need some tips if any of you have any

carlita · Jan 7, 2004

tomorrow night my friend's band is playing at this club downtown and i plan to go to the show. i figure, since i'm going i may as well take the camera along and see if i can get some decent shots of them on stage and such. i'll be able to get fairly close to the stage i'm sure. it's not a very big club or anything and i always find my way up there at some point to hand the bassist a beer anyway. ;-) i'm a good friend like that.

so, it's a fairly dark place but of course the stage will be lit up and i'll have my digital camera plus my SLR there with me... and a tripod of course. i was just wondering how many of you have had decent results in the sort of lighting situation that concerts and clubs typically tend to offer and if you had any tips you think may help me achieve the best results possible.

ultimately i'd like to end up letting the band use some of the photos if they'd like to, but i'm not telling them ahead of time that i'm even going to shoot any. i don't want them to get their hopes up in case all my pictures suck. ;-)

so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. thanks in advance guys.

voodoocat · Jan 7, 2004

I would definately grab some ultra fast film so that you can compensate for the low light. 1600-3200 range. Hopefully you have a nice fast prime lens... like a 50mm 1.8

photoman · Jan 7, 2004

I would use some fast film iso 400 and greater. I would also take a flash for the camera just in case it is too dark for some pictures. If you want some long exposures you might be able to set up a tripod or something. If you have different lenses for your slr you will want to take the fastest one you have for the dark situations.

MDowdey · Jan 7, 2004

im going out on a limb here...

use the digital and not the tripod. open the shutter a while and let the lights on the stage serve as your light. It will probably net you something like that "AP Magazine" look.

md

ksmattfish · Jan 7, 2004

The most important thing is a fast lens. Something f/2 or better. As long as you can get close I'd pick a wide angle lens, as it will help with camera shake at slow shutter speeds. I can't imagine using a tripod for shooting a band in a club, but if you think you can carry it around go for it.

I personally don't like any high speed (800+) color film, so I always shoot ISO 200 film. Combined with a flash, a wide aperture, and slower shutter speeds you can achieve slow-sync effects that I think suit live music photos. But I'll even shoot it without a flash. I just try to hold as still as possible. The pictures won't be sharp, but the colors will be rich, and there won't be a lot of staticy looking grain like with high speed films.

It sounds like a great opportunity to experiment. Good luck.

carlita · Jan 7, 2004

ksmattfish said:
I can't imagine using a tripod for shooting a band in a club, but if you think you can carry it around go for it.

i guess you'd have to see the place yourself maybe... i've been to their shows at this particular location several times and i know i'll be fine using the tripod if i want to. my friend's dad has videotaped and photographed their shows before and always sets his camera up on a tripod for that and has never had any trouble in that area.

hell, i may just choose not to mess with it, but i want to at least have it there just in case.

ksmattfish · Jan 7, 2004

I just like to get real close, and that's where the crowd is always the rowdiest. Video guys can set up way back because they have more powerful zooms. I stopped using my high-dollar AF SLR in favor of an old metal Spotmatic after a few fights broke out right where I was shooting from. I needed something heavy to hit back with, and that plastic camera just wouldn't do.

TwistMyArm · Jan 7, 2004

I'd try some long exposures using the tripod. I think it could result in some trippy photos. The lights and the band jumpin' around could be pretty sweet.

steve817 · Jan 8, 2004

Carli,

If you want to shoot color I have heard good things about Fuji press film. It comes in ISO 400, 800 and 1600.

Dew · Jan 8, 2004

i was gonna say forget about the tripod too ... your exposure time cant possibly be too long for something like this :? ... the external flash might help a little, but for real it probably wont do much

i would make sure your pretty close and keep in mind, their gonna be moving all the time ... i think most of your shots are gonna be based on luck and your tech skills as a photographer ... take lots of film/memory ... and if you can walk away with a few decent shots (which i know you will) you're in the ballpark ....

<pointing finger>you'll be fine, u cant let us down </pointing finger> .. how's that for pressure