Newbie Help - Live Music Photography

[Nemazero]

Hi all,

I've recently pickud up a used Canon EOS 400D with the intention of photographing bands. The problem I have is that venues tend to be very dark and I have to either use a flash (which kills any vibe the venue has and makes it feel like daylight - I am using the built in flash though with no diffusion) or have massive exposure times giving me loads of motion blur (not in a good way). The Maximum ISO my camera can have is 1600 which feels quite grainy & I'm using a Canon EFS 38-76mm lens with a 4.5-5.6 F.

What can I do to start improving my shots (for as little out lay as possible) - Low F. prime lens? Better flash? Any help or pointers would be greatly appreciated.

I've attached some shots of the kind of results I'm aiming for.

Regards

Dan



Ok, the pics were removed so here's links to them:

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150848347251439&set=o.180844031931141&type=3&theater

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151166474360001&set=o.180844031931141&type=3&theater

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150848350801439&set=o.180844031931141&type=3&theater

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150244056455910&set=o.95366090909&type=3&theater

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150893804540035&set=o.77677085858&type=3&theater

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f....122392260012.209977.828100012&type=3&theater

 

[texkam]

I'm using a Canon EFS 38-76mm lens with a 4.5-5.6 F

What can I do to start improving my shots (for as little out lay as possible) - Low F. prime lens?

Yes. 50mm 1.8 for about 100 US dollars.

 

[Herm99]

Couple things that might help, first off, ignore your camera's metering (kind of), especially if you are using evaluative metering; and if you are using evaluative, switch to spot metering, it will meter the face as opposed to the whole scene. Secondly, make sure you only shoot in full manual mode, no flash needed, and if you must use flash, get a dedicated flash, popup flash is terrible and unusable in most situations.

The reason I say ignore the metering is because the camera is metering the scene as a whole (in eval mode) and your subject is typically a face or body, which is always brighter then the background.So the camera might think the scene is way underexposed when in reality the subject is relatively well exposed. So switch to manual mode, use a faster shutter speed, i'd say at least 1/60 sec. Keep the iso in a usable range, what that is for your camera you would know more then I, but I'd stay around 800 or less if possible. And sure a lower f stop will help, but once you start getting into 1.8ish you are talking about a very small DOF and could cause you to easily miss the focus point. 2.8-3.5 should work fine.

Keep making adjustments until you get it right, and again, fully manual is the only way to shoot concerts. Don't be the fly in the window seal, if it's not working, do something different.

 

[LEO_PF]

Unfortunately you will have a really impossible time with the lens you are currently using. It just doesn't let enough light in to do a decent job in an indoor atmosphere like a bar or nightclub. They will also probably frown on a lot of flashes going off (I know the crowd does) and unless you are really close to the stage, the flash does no good anyway because it just doesn't reach the subject. I primarily shoot with the camera set on aperture mode & spot metering.

With the camera on spot metering, meter either the faces or a mid-tone area of the field of view. It really depends on the look you are going for. With it set on aperture mode, you have total control over the depth of field, which I believe make the most interesting photos. Whatever you set the aperture to, be sure to keep an eye on the shutter speed and don't let it drop below 400-600. If it does, then you need to open up the aperture. This is why the 2.8 lenses work so much better than 4.5/5.6.

It Totally depends on the feel you are going for. If you meter on the brightest spot, it can cause a lot of the scene to go too dark. That might be cool for a few shots. Then meter for a mid-tone and you will see the difference.

I agree that a 1.8 or 2.8 lens will help out a lot. I do have one of those inexpensive 50mm lenses and it does a great job for what it does, but I can't get real creative with it. You will have much more fun with something like a 2.8 / 70-200 lens with image stabilizer. This is the one I leave on my camera almost all the time! I can get really creative with the shots. Much better than with a prime lens. But, I have to say, it isn't cheap.

For what it's worth

 

[Nemazero]

Thanks all,

That's a lot to think about. I've ordered a cheap 50mm 1.8 lens from ebay to play with (the 2.8 zoom is going on my Xmas list though). My Camera doesn't have spot metering but the partial metering mode seems pretty close. I'll post some shots up once I've had time to play with my new lens.

Dan