Settings for gigs/clubs?

[stabo]

Hey all. Whats the best settings for doing club venues? i got canon 450D with kit lens and 50mm f1.8, cheers in advance.

 

[Big Mike]

The best settings are the ones that give you the exposure that you want with the lighting that you have.

We can't answer this for you.

 

[Dulouz]

I think if you do a search you will find plenty of threads that can point you in the right direction.

I think I just saw one as recently as a couple of days ago.

 

[RubyMagic]

Manual.

 

[asfixiate]

Stabo
If you are unfamilar with what settings to use I recommend using P mode, with auto white balance, and shooting in the not cooked way. When you're done with the gig go home and look at the image information and see what your camera did. You should study exposure as well.

if you dont know what settings to use than recommending manual is probably the worst thing for you to do. Your camera needs to become an extension of your hand...manual has to become second nature.

start taking your camera out on dates, snuggle with it, master it, and all that jazz.

 

[Village Idiot]

1/250, f/8, ISO 100, FEC +2/3 - +1 2/3, pointed up, and depending on ceiling color and height.

Decipher that and I'll give you a cookie.

 

[asfixiate]

1/250 of a second is your shutter
ISO is your sensitivity to light
Flash Exposure Control between 2/3 and 1 and 2/3

I might have something wrong there but also might not have worded it technical enough...I'm hungry and I want cookie anyways

 

[cargo]

Hey all. Whats the best settings for doing club venues? i got canon 450D with kit lens and 50mm f1.8, cheers in advance.

I would suggest never EVER using auto mode. Ever!!! lol. A good habit early on is using Program mode and then applying the settings in Manual, just to get an used to using manual. If you start out using auto you may as well have a point and shoot camera.

I have been shooting a lot of gigs lately, and you are heading in the right direction with the 50mm. There are two ways you are going to learn though - one, by going to clubs and concerts and shooting them. I learn more from mistakes than my success. And two, do a lot of reading.

A few tips though: ALWAYS shoot in RAW. There is a lot you can do to fix a shot in post production if you have the raw file. From a technical point of view I would set your white balance to 3200, or Tungsten on a Canon. A good thing to bear in mind, early on in your progression, is try to have a shutter speed at least as fast as the length of your lens. The faster the shutter speed, the more you can freeze the action to avoid blur (I hate to see a great shot and then notice the guitarist hand is blurring, or the drummers sticks - unless you are going for that). Don't be afraid to kick the ISO setting up. You can pull a lot back in Camera Raw nefore you open an image in Photoshop.

I would avoid using on camera flash at all costs. If you are in a low light environment, you want it to be apparent that it is a low light environment. You don't want it to look like you are shooting in the middle of the afternoon. You want to reproduce the atmosphere as best you can. Also, on camera flash, even with a diffuser to soften the light, flatten the image, casts nasty shadows, and look generally plop.

Also, if you are shooting a band, listen to the music. When there is a crescendo coming, the drummer, or singer, or guitarist is likely to do something pretty cool, physically. Like, maybe he/she will jump in the air to hit that chord, or the drummer will go absolutely wild. You get the idea.

And then there is the paradox any photographer shooting any gig faces - how to not get in the way, while by necessity having to be smack bang in the way lol. Remember, the audience is paying to see the band/DJ, not the back of your head and the flash going off every five seconds. Try to get interesting angles and with the 50mm (nifty fifty) work on good portraits. Fill the frame with the faces. If you use the kit lens at 18mm you can usually get the whole stage in frame, but it is never going to be as crisp as the fifty.

I guess we all get where we are going in different ways and in different times. For me, shooting my first gig, I came out with hundreds of rubbish shots and I learned more than I would have in a year of shooting on Auto or Program mode. Shooting people, in my opinion, whether at gigs, weddings, families, parties, whatever, is really getting your hands dirty. If you shoot people and try to stick with Manual, while reading around your subject, you are throwing yourself in the deep end. It is a steep learning curve but (and this is only my opinion) a lot more of a thrilling ride. A lot of my friends like shooting landscapes, where they get to use a tripod and a remote trigger and can generally take as long as they want to set up a shot. Me, I like to shoot fast and often. Take a practice shot, take a look, if the settings work shoot of a bunch.

Remember to keep the aperture wide on the fifty mil. And, most importantly, have fun.

I hope this is helpful. I am still learning myself and people here are correct. Nobody can really tell you what settings to have because they will change everytime you move your feet. But I think these few tips may be a good starting point.

PS - the shot I have uploaded was taken with your lens and no flash.

 

[Railphotog]

Did you not notice this is a four year old thread you're replying to?

 

[cargo]

Did you not notice this is a four year old thread you're replying to?

I didn't when I wrote the response, and then I did and tried to delete it. It did tell me it had been deleted. Boy, do I feel foolish lol.

 

[Village Idiot]

Did you not notice this is a four year old thread you're replying to?

I didn't when I wrote the response, and then I did and tried to delete it. It did tell me it had been deleted. Boy, do I feel foolish lol.

I like your post because you felt the appropriate feeling.

 

[imagemaker46]

I wonder if the shoot worked out 4 years ago. I doubt it.

 

[cargo]

Did you not notice this is a four year old thread you're replying to?

I didn't when I wrote the response, and then I did and tried to delete it. It did tell me it had been deleted. Boy, do I feel foolish lol.

I like your post because you felt the appropriate feeling.

Thanks for that. I was just trying to tell him all the things I have picked up lately. As I said though, the best way to learn is to screw right up lol. I shot a gig the other week, on invite, and I used my kit lens and a 70-300mm Tamron, and a speedlight. I ran around taking awful shots and annoying the hell out of everybody with my flash lol. I learned more from that one gig that I can say. A month later I am shooting some pretty accomplished artists at their invite. So, screwing up is not a bad thing

 

[PhotoTish]

Although the original poster did not benefit from your tips, I found them useful so, thanks :thumbup: