Croatian bands live photos

[itoru]

this shots were taken by canon powershot a530

bands on the pictures are all part of croatia's underground scene.

PILLOW PACK http://www.myspace.com/pillowpack
#1
http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p93/emofotke/debeli/IMG_0036.jpg

#2
http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p93/emofotke/debeli/IMG_0039.jpg

#3
http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p93/emofotke/debeli/IMG_0063.jpg

FAT PREZIDENT http://www.myspace.com/fatprezident
#4
http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p93/emofotke/debeli/IMG_0081.jpg

#5
http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p93/emofotke/debeli/IMG_0085.jpg

#6
http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p93/emofotke/debeli/IMG_0123.jpg

pictures above are all from the same gig with settings set to manual (vivid colors, aperture 2.6, shutter speed 0.6s on first picture, 1/4 on second, and i think that rest is around 0.4 mostly and ISO set to 200 on all (i think) + built-in flash set to 'in the middle' (i don't know any other way to say).

and two more photos that i don't remeber the settings but they're without the flash.

ANTENAT http://www.myspace.com/antenat
#7
http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p93/emofotke/marof2006/IMG_0285.jpg

SENATA FOX http://www.myspace.com/senatafox
#8
http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p93/emofotke/marof2006/IMG_0131.jpg


now, my question is simple... can this photos get any better depending on my camera (canon powershot a530) and how?

like, if i try setting the aperture on 5.6, would i get better pictures with flash and so on and so on...
any comments are useful!

and yeah, first 6 pictures were my first attempts to make that kind of photos. #7 and #8 are older and not very good.

[itoru]

oh please comment this, i need your feedback as soon as possible cuz i'm going to a gig tomorrow and just wanted to know what am i doing wrong. :)

thank you!

[johnstoy]

A530 is not a camera any of us have... we all, (almost all ) use DSLR's...

Post this thread right away in another forum section...

Small Compact Digitals by Canon (55 Viewing)
A10, A20, IXUS, S20, S30, S40, S110 etc

or
if this is a Powershot than

Canon G-series digital cameras (53 Viewing)
Everything about G1,G2,G3,G5,G6 and whatever may follow. Powershot Pro series belongs also here.


Few people (in comparison to other sections) view here, and even fewer if any at all shoot a A530 for concerts...

ISO is you biggest issue... Can you adjust your ISO to the highest settings? Most of us shoot at least ISO 1000, 1250, 1600, 3200...

If ISO is noisy, we use noise reduction software to take away the grain/noise...

[itoru]

hey thanks! yeah, i know i have cheap camera...
well, if i set ISO to highest setting (800), i get really grainy pictures.
what software can help me to clear the noisy pictures?

[johnstoy]

Most if not all of us also do not use flash...this way, the expensive stage lighting and colors are retained...

Fill flash has great potential, but most likely in a studio, not in a concert venue...

Your photo: # one, shows the back of people... backs of guitars... and the floor... and no heads of the performers...

I shoot looking to capture the open eyes, the face without anything blocking it...entire guitars with the guitar necks and heads showing...

Nothing personal but:
Experimenting is great... but trying to re-invent the wheel is difficult... and pic # 1; looks to me, like trying to re invent the wheel, and hoping someone likes your first attempts at it...

If zig zag motion streaks are part of your plan... great... someone else might have more practice with locking shutters or long exposures... I know that it is an inconsistent and very difficult technique to try and repeat successfully every time...

I would recommend not cutting people or instruments off... do some post processing for framing and composition... Also post process for some color adjustments... all of your pics are red...

Now this is only my opinion.. maybe someone else will comment... but your best bet is to get advice from the smaller camera section by those who own them....

Once you get comfortable with your results...post here again and again... we will help you...but things are slow here sometimes, so don't wait...act...and try the other section....

[René Damkot]

Some of the flashed ones work rather well (I like #2, 4 and 5), but they need a bit of processing and cropping...
Last two are unusable IMO.
You'd need quite a fast lens (f/2.8 or better) and high ISO (at least ISO 800) to avoid motion blur. With a P&S, I'm afraid flash would be the only option...

If you set 'Image editing okay' I could give the images a 'makeover' tomorrow...

[johnstoy]

hey thanks! yeah, i know i have cheap camera...
well, if i set ISO to highest setting (800), i get really grainy pictures.
what software can help me to clear the noisy pictures?

Good question, itoru... I use Noise Ninja, there are other noise reduction software programs, but I don't know much about them...

Search for "Noise Reduction Software" and possibly try to find shareware, or free software... there may be something already on the market...

[johnstoy]

itoru... you're probably close to, out of time... try to keep it a bit more simple... you have several variables... and all are difficult factors to control... use flash and you will have reasonable focus and little hand shake... and you will have recognizable pictures...try a few...

Artistic photos, with the "drag technique" are very experimental and you're going to guess the shutter speed and the framing of the subjects every time... try a few...

Try a few portraits too... of the entire musician like in #4... and try to keep the feet in too... no cutting of body parts...but be very careful with the blinding flash...

Also try close ups from the waist up... but a flash will get you in trouble...cause you'll blind the musician... so for that you need try it without flash...

In otherwords... try several methods...after the show, go over the results at home... pick out the best results that you are after, and repeat that technique...

Also shoot at ISO 800... noise isn't always bad... you might be able to correct the noise later, when you find some Noise Reduction Software... (I bet there is some free ware out there for you)...

Is this helping you or are you looking to resolve other factors?

[itoru]

first of all, thank you on comments and suggestions. i'll try to find some good software and learn to use it. i've heard about noise ninja, maybe one of my friends has it, i'll ask.
now johnstoy, it was kind of hard of shooting those pictures because it was in a really small club and the people were moshing all the time so ther was no chance of me to get a steady shot. therefor, i went to trying to get those motion blur effects on the photos. and since the bands were hardcore-punk, in personal opinion that kind of photos better 'describe' that type of bands. now, in #1 what i really tryed to do is get my camera low and try to catch the band from 'frog view' (i don't know how you call it but we say it's a frog view when you're looking from the ground).
i tryed editing images in photoshop and when i adjusted color and contrast it looked better (not so red) but i posted the original photos here with no editing. Rene Damkot, if you want, you can edit those photos and repost them if you like. i would also appreciate if you do that and then also write what exactly did you do.
i'll try some shooting with ISO800 (that's the highest it goes on my camera)... but then the picture will be brighter, right? and shutter speed don't need to be so long?

[René Damkot]

Did one:
Cropped and rotated a bit
Copied the BG layer and applied USM 15%, radius 150, threshold 0 to 'remove the haze'. Set layer to luminousity blend to keep the colors from oversaturating.
Add a Channel mixer adjustment layer; R=90; G=6; B=4 to remove a bit of red.
Add a masked curves adjustment layer to brighten the face a bit. Another masked curves adjustment layer (with the inverted mask) is used to darken the surroundings a bit.

[johnstoy]

Both pics cropped in Photoshop... Black & White Levels applied by eye... Sharpened by eye... enlarged and trimmed by eye...colors not adjusted at all..

EDIT: FYI; When enlarged, I didn't find any noise issues with your photos... It is the definition of the pictures that eventually breaks up after enlarging... Noise reduction software did nothing advantageous, to help with sharpness or resolution ... I think you can safely increase your ISO from the setting you used, for these photos... I would try a few different ISO settings to determine the point of "substantial loss of quality"...

Tilt change to a close up with 4 x 5 ratio.
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l60/stoy17/POTN%20Modified%2007/Croat_0039.jpg

Tilt change to a close up with 3 x 5 ratio. border parallel to drum cymbal stands...
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l60/stoy17/POTN%20Modified%2007/Croat_0039-1.jpg

[narlus]

.
Add a masked curves adjustment layer to brighten the face a bit. Another masked curves adjustment layer (with the inverted mask) is used to darken the surroundings a bit.

René i've probably asked this before, but how do you do a selectively masked layer and do targeted brightening/darkening?

[René Damkot]

Simple really: Make a curves adjustment layer, add a mask, and use the paintbrush...

[itoru]

interesting! i'll try to learn more stuff in photoshop.
also, i made some pics over the weekend and put them online so if anyone wants to look at them and give some advices, here's the LINK (http://s126.photobucket.com/albums/p93/emofotke/marof310307/). my friend asked me to quickly put them online so i just resized them, there are lot that are just bad. :D