Need C&C on MY Concert Photos (& Background)

[Be Someone Photography]

Hello! Madelynn here.

Last Thursday, I was approved for my first photo pass! I was given permission to shoot a band named "Family Force 5" and the opening act- "Born Cages".

To begin, I am somewhat new to photography...still. I started concert photography about a month after getting my first camera (ever), a Canon 60D. I took it to a Breathe Carolina concert and the lead singer ended up re-posting one of my shots on his Instagram page. As of right now, I think I'm doing pretty well having considered the fact that I just got the camera around May/early June.

I did my research on my camera (agreement that I had with my dad) and am still learning new things today, but I think I have down more than the basics for "low-light" photography. Concert photography is now a new passion of mine.

Anyways, I basically jumped right into it. I think that helped me because I learn the fastest by learning from my mistakes. So, I began asking around to contribute to some magazines, but the only one that considered me was a publication based out of Toronto (because of my age (16), not my photos).

SO! They put me on "tryout" and asked me to send them some shows I wanted to shoot. They requested the first show immediately and I was approved the day OF the concert which was super exciting but frustrating at the same time.

I get to the venue and realize that there is NO BARRICADE (a concert photographers worst nightmare from what I have heard). I'm stuck there with no room to move around and then I realize that the lighting isn't so decent for the opening act... I can't get the shots of the drummer that I wanted and I wasn't able to shoot the bassist AT ALL. I was getting ready to put my camera down when it hit me. This whole thing was an obstacle to see if I was good enough; to see if I could go through a terrible situation and make it into something awesome. So that's what I did.

I hope you like the photos! (Sorry for the rambling! Just had to get that out there!)
As you can see, the photos were published, so I'm guessing that's a good thing haha.

Photos: Family Force 5, Born Cages @ House of Blues Houston

 

[wyogirl]

There are too many photos to give you quality C&C but here are some things I noticed. First, they aren't bad, especially for a first go. One thing to keep in mind is framing. In a few of the shots you cut off limbs, the tip of the elbow, etc. These would be better if you framed a little looser. Another thing to consider is your focus point. Always focus on the face, the eyes specifically. In one photo the elbow is in focus and the rest is not. That's my 2 cents... your mileage may vary.

 

[Derrel]

Pretty good all things considered. We have all seen much,much worse concert photos here by people with 10 times your length of experience. I think you've shown good initiative, and plenty of moxxy here! Keep it up!

 

[Be Someone Photography]

There are too many photos to give you quality C&C but here are some things I noticed. First, they aren't bad, especially for a first go. One thing to keep in mind is framing. In a few of the shots you cut off limbs, the tip of the elbow, etc. These would be better if you framed a little looser. Another thing to consider is your focus point. Always focus on the face, the eyes specifically. In one photo the elbow is in focus and the rest is not. That's my 2 cents... your mileage may vary.

Thank you so much. Yeah, I was noticing that... Might do a smaller aperture next time since all of these were shot on 1.8. I totally agree, focusing is something I need to work on! And the framing, next time I'll be in the pit hopefully so I can move around more. I literally couldn't move and the people behind me were getting pissed off since I kept leaning back to try to get everything in frame. It was a fun night... Ha..