Shooting a concert

[BrandonLaw]

Tonight I am going to see REO speedwagon and Styx in concert the venue is called the mass mutual center and I have never been there for a concert. It is typically used for semi pro Hockey and Basketball games. Anyways I was just wondering if anyone has any experience shooting indoor concerts and what settings I might want to use in order to get good pictures with all the lights and stuff.

Thanks in advance for any advice!

 

[The_Traveler]

There is a good chance the venue might limit the shooting.
Check on the ticket and with the venue for limitations on pictures.

A semi-long fast lens (70-200 2.8) would help, bearing in mind that crowds are tough on long lens shooting.

 

[BrandonLaw]

Yeah I actually just looked on their site and saw that for most concerts photography equipment isn't allowed. That's a bummer oh well I guess I will just have to enjoy the concert without taking lots of pictures. Thanks for giving me the idea to check beforehand at least saved me a hassle.

 

[TCampbell]

Often if they do allow cameras, they still restrict any camera with a "removable lens" (that's the most common restriction I find.) I have rarely found venus that limit the lens by size (e.g. lens must not be longer than 6"). Basically they are trying to prevent "professional" cameras and that's how they decide if the camera qualifies as "professional".

I use an advanced point & shoot for places where a DSLR isn't allowed and/or just not practical and tell the camera to underexpose by about 1 stop (due to the overwhelming amount of darkness that a camera will try to brighten, the bright areas tend to be "blown out", but it's the bright areas that you want to nail. Using exposure compensation mode to tell the camera to underexpose by about a stop usually gives a pretty good result. Sometimes I have to tweak it up or down by a bit and, on rare occasion, I've had to underexpose by 2 stops.

 

[bratkinson]

While I haven't been in the Mass Mutual Center since their remodel 5-6 years ago, I can tell you that the lighting is (or at least, was) predominently some kind of mercury vapor lighting. At least, that's what they used for hockey games. They may have since gone to some kind of lower cost to operate lights such as sodium vapor or even LED. For a concert, however, expect spot lights and various colored lighting as well. In short, the white balance will be a real nightmare to deal with...especially if trying to go unnoticed and not use a flash.

Assuming the removable lens rules are being followed (a phone call to the MM Center should provide all the answers), I'd probably go with a 15X point and shoot camera that can shoot in RAW. Shooting in RAW gives the most lattitude during post processing to do whatever color correcting is necessary to 'get it right'. Shooting only in JPG is quite likely to be a problem due to various kinds of mixed lighting.

Off topic...don't park in the multi-level parking structure across the street. It'll take close to an hour to get out of there when it's done as they frequently have only 1 lane open for exit. Nice of them, huh? Walk the extra block north and park in the 'flat' parking lot. You can get out of there quite easily as a result. If you'd rather have free parking at your own risk, Bliss St between Main and East Columbus has an unstaffed lot at that hour. The lots on State St near the courthouse may or may not still be staffed at that hour, I can't say for sure.

 

[BrandonLaw]

Thanks for the feedback! @Bratkinson thanks for all the parking suggestions! I'm going to see if any of my friends have a good point and shoot I can borrow.

 

[creisinger]

Every time I tried to shoot with a camera that was allowed in a concert it turned out like cr@p. Point and shoot camera sensors are still too small to produce decent images in terms of noise and exposure times. Some high end P&S might be able to handle it but I probably wouldn't wanna take such equipment to a rock concert...

It basically comes down to the low light situation giving the camera a hard time. Venue photographers usually only use top gear with extremely fast lenses and full frame sensors to keep the noise under control while still being able to deal with decent exposure times.

Furthermore you would have to be real close to the action. As soon as you zoom in you lose light which makes it even harder.

I'd rather get an extra cup of cold brew in my other free hand and enjoy the show.

Have fun!