The Sound Board of the Music

[bulldurham]

I shoot a lot of band venues for a local event called Backstage Pass. Most of the time the lighting is so crappy as to make most shooting impossible without going to ISO 10K which is typical. Last night, for grins and giggles, I thought I'd see how far I could push me and my camera and shot the sound board guy, lit only by his control board display.

ISO 20,000, f/4, 1/20th Hand Held

 

[pixmedic]

eh...i think i would bin this one.
conceptually its ok, but the way you captured the lighting on his face makes him look super creepy.
from the elbows down this is a nice shot. maybe crop it as a 16x9 or something just showing his forearms and the board.
everything above that is unsalvageable.

IE: cool 16x9 board shot

 

[bulldurham]

It's not a keeper shot, it was only shot to see if I could do it...as I stated, he was lit only by the display lights, which on his face are from a blue display. I do like the crop shot, though...was so intent on trying to get the whole exposure, never gave that a thought.

 

[pixmedic]

i wonder how that shot would look with a bounced flash...not enough to mess with the board lights..maybe 1/32 or even 1/64th power? juuuuust enough to hit his head and shoulders?

i always think with a flash though. never take my camera anywhere without one. i always think i can solve every photographic problem with a flash. i have issues.

 

[bulldurham]

I never shoot flash any more...though I can see where a 1.32 or 1/64 power could be interesting. Most of the venues I shoot do not allow flash. I just need a better piece of glass in the 2.8 range so I can lower the ISO...even though I can mitigate that issue by converting to B&W. Thanks for the input.

 

[paigew]

View attachment 163184

I never shoot flash any more...though I can see where a 1.32 or 1/64 power could be interesting. Most of the venues I shoot do not allow flash. I just need a better piece of glass in the 2.8 range so I can lower the ISO...even though I can mitigate that issue by converting to B&W. Thanks for the input.

A 1.4 lens would be perfect! I love the sigma art 35 [emoji16]


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[tirediron]

That's some serious [unintentional] horror lighting you've got happening there! I think for what it is, it turned out well enough, but I have to agree with Jason, if this were a "real" shot, then a blue-gelled speedlight at very low power from up high would nail it.

 

[bulldurham]

That's exactly why most of the serious work is converted to B&W. At any time on stage they use blue, magenta, red and yellow gels...it's a nightmare to shoot. He's still pretty scary looking but not having the blue keeps it from being overly creepy.

 

[Designer]

I don't see any creepiness, but I do see his concentration, which is exactly what makes this shot successful. I don't mind the different colors of lighting, either, as it adds interest. B&W conversion has lost much, IMO.