Tips on How to Practice for Band shots?

[Village Idiot]

Well I was at a Jason Mraz concert over the summer with a Sony point and shoot. Not looking for pro quality, but I got some half way decent pictures from 50 rows back. Wondering if I could find myself in the same situation with a DSLR

No, because unless you have photo passes from the venue of the performer's management, you're probably not getting in with that DSLR.

 

[_rebecca_]

It takes persistance. That's probably the only way you'll get in with a DSLR without sneaking one in some how. Plus, there's no way I'd want to be in the middle of the floor at a Drop Kick Murphys show with $5000 worth of camera equipment.

Awww, why not?

I've shot a few shows, always with my Canon 30D and 50mm. Granted, it's not 5000$ worth of equipment, but it's not the cheapest equipment either and to me it's a huge investment. It was well worth it! The best shots come from up close and personal, and in the #$@& as they say

I'm definitely no professional, but my advice to OP is to get a fast prime lens that can handle low light. Then practice, practice, practice. I would avoid flash unless you have one you can control the output of and bounce. Direct flash in the performer's face is a pet peeve of mine. It takes away from the feeling of the live performance because it can completely wipe out all ambient light. Oh yeah, and have fun! I am still in practice, practice, practice stage, but as a fan of music it is incredibly fun practicing

As for getting into venues, I'd start small. Local bands, smaller acts,, different venues. That way you can practice to be ready for larger acts that you may need a press pass or whatnot to shoot. I am pretty much exclusively a fan of smaller, lesser known bands, so I have never had a problem getting into a show with my DSLR.

Some shots I've taken with 50mm and no flash:

1) Genghis Tron at the Starlite. This was the most difficult show to shoot. Their live performance is crazy with an intricate light show to match and I had a lot of trouble keeping up. The 100 or so sweaty metal fans bumping into me and squishing me into the stage didn't help It was damn fun, though, and the shots I did manage to catch are some of my favourites. Don't be afraid of noise!

2. Nomeansno at The Pawn Shop. Easier to shoot as their lighting was pretty static for the most part. I was lucky enough to be on stage for most of the show, and able to move around a lot. Sweaty punk fans were my only obstacle for this shoot.

 

[Village Idiot]

Just fired off emails to Flogging Molly, Norma Jean, and Set You Goals for upcoming shows. We'll see what happens.

 

[TylerF]

thanks to everyone for replying. but i am getting a d40. so stop telling me to not get it.

i will mostly be shooting local/mid-sized bands. i am friends with a lot of people in the music scene (have been part of it for a long time and in many bands) and could if i wanted to set up some kind of off camera flash. i have never seen anyone have trouble at the venues i go to getting in with a dslr. i went to haste the day, story of the year, the devil wears prada, and all that remains (wish i had my camera) and photography was not a problem

 

[redwood]

I recently had to prepare for my first 'live concert' shoot, and I found the following article very useful...

Concert Photography, A Tutorial for photo.net by Steve Mirarchi

 

[Village Idiot]

Just fired off emails to Flogging Molly, Norma Jean, and Set You Goals for upcoming shows. We'll see what happens.

Just got a reply from Norma Jean's management. One photo pass approved for the Recher Theatre. That was easy.

 

[Turbo]

Many bands do not want flashes popping off when they're on stage... I know I don't, stage lights are bad enough. At least ask them before their set if they mind. It's also not fun using flash when the stage is full of fog/smoke.

I use the Noiseware Pro plugin for photoshop, and it makes ISO 1600 somewhat usable with my olympus e300....notorious for horrible color noise. If I can do it with an old 4/3 camera with a sloooow 40-150mm f/4-5.6, your D40 and a fast prime lens will get the job done for sure...

 

[SrBiscuit]

Tip 1: If you have your heart set on Nikon, don't get anything less than a D90.

High ISO is needed to get a fast shutter speed. The higher the ISO, the worse the noise is in the image. Certain sensors and certain cameras suck at High ISO performance. Those are cameras with CCD sensors.

Fast apertures are needed for high shutter speed. f/2.8 and wider will most likely be needed.

yep.

oh and congrats on getting the norma jean pass.

 

[Family-Photo-Man]

To get the real feel of the band, the pyro and lighting guys do their research. The deep shadows provided by stage lighting really set the mood of the shot. But utilizing stage lighting usually requires that you get up close, especially if the pyro guys have gone smokey.

If you have to get up close (physically), I would recommend using a wide angle lens to still keep a large perspective and keep everything crisp.

Here is a nice page on nightclub photography tips that may help.

 

[TylerF]

i will mainly be taking pictures at shows like these. and more times than not, it will be this band. photos arent mine. just giving ppl an idea of what i am looking for. so everyone is saying that the d40 wont be able to get any kind of good pictures at a show?