My first concert shoot

[ZJChaser]

Well I went to go see the band I used to play for tonight and brought the camera. I only had my 10-20 sigma and my 430ex with the 300D so I was experimenting the entire night. Ialso shot completely manual for the first time ever, so that was a good learning experience. Please feel free to let me know what you think and can recommend to help me improve. Also feel free to edit. This is my first photo post but that doesn't mean you have to go easy. These shots aren't just action of the band members but more to capture the entire evening.

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a218/ZJChaser/2007-01-27%20Chaser%20Show/IMG_9098copy.jpg

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a218/ZJChaser/2007-01-27%20Chaser%20Show/IMG_9102copy.jpg

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a218/ZJChaser/2007-01-27%20Chaser%20Show/IMG_9149copy.jpg

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a218/ZJChaser/2007-01-27%20Chaser%20Show/IMG_9162copy.jpg

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a218/ZJChaser/2007-01-27%20Chaser%20Show/IMG_9184copy.jpg

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a218/ZJChaser/2007-01-27%20Chaser%20Show/IMG_9192copy-1.jpg

[taygull]

You've done a nice job of capturing "some" of the essence of the show. The shutter drag technique is well liked by a few bands.

What you will discover as you read through more of the threads and review what some of us "serious" concerts shooters look for is a couple of things.

First the use of flash is pretty much a big no-no. For small local bands it is not that big of a deal. The problem is you loose all sense of the mood with the flash.

With respect to your crowd shots these look more like a couple of pictures of your friends instead of the "crowd" having a great time at the show....does that make sense?


You need to work on more variety, wider angles. This should not have been a problem with the lens you were using. Being that you are not using fast glass I do know you were very limited.

Feel free to see some threads Dwight McCann or I have started in this section. I think you will get a better idea of what "concert" shooters are trying to accomplish.

Welcome to the board, very good first attempt.

[livewire-photography.com]

with that I think the shot of the drummer is really cool for shutter drag, but a lil dark.
But welcome aboard and keep posting.

[Eyelikedurt]

They're mint mate. The percussionist shot is quality. Full manual too, very impressive :D

[René Damkot]

I like the drummer shot.
This gets a bit repetitive (theard thread in a row where I'm saying this ;)) but I'ld crop off a bit off the top and right...
The last shot would have been nice if the shutterspeed were a few stops slower, to get more ambient in the BG.

[ZJChaser]

I know the flash is gnenerally a no-no but with the 10-20 there was no where near enough ambient light to get anything worthwhile in this place. Those aren't crowd shots, they are just groups of friends, I used to play in the band so I knew almost everyone there. I do have crowd shots of the pit and the club but I wasn't terribly happy with any of them. I enjoyed the others just because they were groups of friends gathered for an evening.

These are also uncropped and very minimal PP, just wanted to get an initial feel. I really would like to pick up some faster primes to make this a bit easier.

I did try some wider angles but again with the minimal ambient they just didn't come out well at all. I do have a few other shots that would probably fit better here but it was late and I picked a few out quickly last night.

I appreciate the advice and will work on the things mentioned.

EDIT: looking through the EXIFs I'm now realizing that I might have been drinking too much and completely forgot to turn up the ISO. I might just have een able to use some ambient if i had. oops *feels dumb*

[René Damkot]

EDIT: looking through the EXIFs I'm now realizing that I might have been drinking too much and completely forgot to turn up the ISO. I might just have een able to use some ambient if i had. oops *feels dumb*

Been there, done that ;)

[DwightMcCann]

Been there, done that ;)
Well, now you have discovered the secret to my success ... my venue does not allow alcohol and being a VERY cheap drunk it would be totally disruptive to my shooting! BTW, having tried shutter drag a couple of times and gotten nothing but trash I am a bit more impressed with the occasaional good shots (like the drummer) that I see using the technique ... practice, practice, practice ... but they don't allow me to use flash so I don't get any.

[ZJChaser]

HA, ya these shows are as much a party as they are a show. I am onstage drinking and singing with the band for old time sake during the show and snapping shots. These are all just long time friends, I've spent years on the road and a couple Euro tours with these guys so I fall back into it at the shows, I just can't help it :) I'm actually really suprised how many "decent" shots I got and at how sharp the focusing was in that lighting.

Here is a crop of the drummer shot that I also brigthened a little bit according to recomendation. Also I attached the original image with the same crop so you can compare ths PP to the original. Would appreciate feedack in regards to the PP as well as I tried a different technique for the first time that I just read about, thanks.

[johnstoy]

At least there is some good tread on that cool green sneaker...

The last shot of the drummer has great skin highlights and detail...however the color is too pale, try it again... the potential is certainly there for a real hot shot...

Personally, I won't even dare try the flash and drag at a venue, cause I'd be clueless...and it would take a lot of practice to start getting it right...Maybe I'll chase the deer around my yard and try it on them... the venue is definitely out for flash experimentation...The three amigos with the mikes look pretty good...though they do look a bit like buds, at a bachelors party...

[René Damkot]

My take:
Downloaded the original, cropped (ratio 2:3, a bit at an angle)
Used curves to lighten the shadows.
Converted to sRGB. (So PC users see the image as good as possible on their non color managed browsers ;))

[ZJChaser]

I like it thanks. Brings out the colors while still not washing him out. IT does look like it lost a little sharpness though.
ok so what exactly does sRGB convertion do? I'm a n00b to that stuff.

[René Damkot]

An image with AdobeRGB profile will look good in a color managed environment (such as Photoshop), but 'flat an dull' in a non color managed environment (such as a web browser on PC).
Essential reading... (http://www.colormanagementinfo.com/page1/page4/page4.html)
Also: About browsers and color management: Click (http://www.northlight-images.co.uk/article_pages/web-browser-color-management.html), and one a bit more fun (http://www.color.org/version4html.html).

About the loss of sharpness: Probabely due to compression for the web of an allready compressed jpg...