Tips for Concert

shelby16 · Mar 18, 2013

I'm going to a concert in a few weeks, and want to be able to take good pictures while I'm there. I have good seats, so being close isn't a problem but I'm worried about lighting. I'll have my Nikon D5100 before then, but I called the venue and I can't bring a "detachable lens" camera, says the man. In my past I've tried to take pictures at concerts with my compact camera, but have never been able to figure out what ISO number to put it on, what about WB, ect. I suffer from my photos "glowing" when the spotlight is on the singer.

Tips? Advice? What settings should I try to stick to with a regular compact camera that isn't too advanced?

Thank you so much! All comments are appreciated.

Shelby

gsgary · Mar 18, 2013

Leave your camera at home and enjoy the concert, i never shoot bands i have paid to see

Steve5D · Mar 18, 2013

I did concert shooting for a lot of years.

My best advice to you is to just go and enjoy the show.

The vast majority of the time, point & shoots just don't get the job done in that environment. So, you'll end up worrying so much about this setting or that setting that you'll not be able to enjoy the show, and you'll come away with only medicore photos.

But, assuming you'll try it anyway:

What point & shoot will you be using? What's it capability with regards to ISO?

imagemaker46 · Mar 18, 2013

It's a tough call when it comes to using a point and shoot, you can still come away with some nice images, they may turn out to be more luck than anything else. Light is all over the place, and even a point and shoot will allow you to stop the action if you have control over the shutter speed and iso. Like the other guys have said, just enjoy the concert. Take your camera along and play a bit, but don't get stressed over getting pictures.

I have a big concert shoot coming up and have my concerns about a few things and I'm shooting for the band that's playing.

shelby16 · Mar 18, 2013

Thank you all so much.

My camera won't let me have any control for shutter speed, but the ISO starts at 80 and goes up to 3200. The camera I have is a Nikon 7x CoolPix. Hope this helps!

hirejn · Mar 18, 2013

The noise will be prohibitive -- image noise, not concert noise. But if you must have the photos, chances are you'll need to set ISO at 1600 and use the lowest aperture possible, and even on the best DSLRs you'll get noise at 1600. On the more expensive cameras, it's more controllable, but don't expect it to be on a consumer cam. If the lighting is decent, you could get some usable shots. It depends on how and where you meter it.

shelby16 · Mar 18, 2013

Thank you! I can't adjust much more than the ISO on my compact camera, but I will try that setting!

I'll still enjoy the concert but something like photojournalist would be something I'd love to do one day, so I really want to practice.

gregtallica · Mar 18, 2013

Here's a great share exactly on what you're doing.

How to Shoot Better Concert Photos With A Point & Shoot Camera

Honestly, my favorite tip is #7.

shelby16 · Mar 18, 2013

gregtallica said:
Here's a great share exactly on what you're doing.

How to Shoot Better Concert Photos With A Point & Shoot Camera

Honestly, my favorite tip is #7.

Thanks so much! I will read over these for sure.

TCampbell · Mar 18, 2013

The biggest problem I see with concert shots is the exposure was trying to meter the "scene". The problem with this is that much of the scene is actually SUPPOSED to be black and the camera tries to bring up the exposure on the blackness (wanting things to have an average "middle gray" value). That causes the highlights to be seriously blown out.

I usually tell the camera to underexpose by about 1-1/3rd stops (that's a guess based on what I usually need to do vs. what the light meter wants me to do.)

The rule about no cameras with removable lenses is fairly common. The only way around it is if you happen to know the artist. One of the shifts I've noticed in the music industry is that (unfortunately) due to all the theft of music, the artists usually don't have big budgets anymore. They rely on social networking to maintain communities of followers and (fortunately) they often actually (a) get to know their fans and (b) really don't mind if the fans bring cameras. I've made enough connections over the years that I can reach out to most of the artists I really enjoy and they're usually willing to make sure I get a photo pass. This wont work for every artist and if it's a big name concert that can fill a stadium... good luck.

Some artists (or their representatives) will give you permission but ask that you only take photos for the first few songs (often just the first 3 songs) and then stop. Often they look the best for the first few songs... some performers really work up a sweat.

They will also usually ask (and if they don't, you should respect this) that you be CONSTANTLY AWARE of whose view you might be blocking. There are lots of other fans there who don't want to watch the concert from behind a pair of arms holding up a camera in front of them.

imagemaker46 · Mar 18, 2013

hirejn said:
The noise will be prohibitive -- image noise, not concert noise. But if you must have the photos, chances are you'll need to set ISO at 1600 and use the lowest aperture possible, and even on the best DSLRs you'll get noise at 1600. On the more expensive cameras, it's more controllable, but don't expect it to be on a consumer cam. If the lighting is decent, you could get some usable shots. It depends on how and where you meter it.

Not all DSLR's will get you noise at 1600iso.