Carrie Underwood | York Fair, PA

[Brandon James]

Well, this was my first concert with my new 30D. (If you exclude Creation Fest which I only took daytime photos). I am not very happy with my photos. I was trying so many different setting on the camera and was geting a bit frustrated. I came out with some 'decent' ones, but am still not overly excited about them. They lack the quality that i see in a lot of concert photos on her. They seem washed out and blurry in spots. But I figure I just need to keep practicing. With that said, here are the only decent ones I got of the show.

http://www.taylorswiftfans.com/carrie/1.png

http://www.taylorswiftfans.com/carrie/2.png

http://www.taylorswiftfans.com/carrie/3.png

http://www.taylorswiftfans.com/carrie/4.png

http://www.taylorswiftfans.com/carrie/5.png

http://www.taylorswiftfans.com/carrie/6.png

And I decided to post how most of my photos came out to see what I could do differently. I am always trying to improve (and I obviously need to). So if anyone has any suggestions on how I can prevent my photos from coming out like this, I would apprecite it. I just resized them and threw them on here because they are nothing special, that is why they are all different sizes and so sloppy, lol. But I shot in AV and TV. ISO 1600 and aperture 1.8. I used my 50mm F1.8 lense.

http://www.taylorswiftfans.com/carrie/bad1.jpg

http://www.taylorswiftfans.com/carrie/bad2.jpg

[jcw122]

It's the lens. That lens is a total POS for low-light, sure it has a large aperture but it is very poor at focusing in low light. The bokeh it produces is also not that amazing.

But, IMO, the "decent" ones are pretty good! I'm sure there were not many though.

[narlus]

it helps to show EXIF data, but it looks like yr main problems were blown highlights and poor focus. the lens is likely the culprit for #1, and i'm guessing that you didn't need to shoot wide open (and probably needed to dial EC down a bit, if shooting Av). did you check yr histogram occasionally to see if you were blowing highlights? it's a good habit to get into, esp for the first few shots.

[Brandon James]

it helps to show EXIF data, but it looks like yr main problems were blown highlights and poor focus. the lens is likely the culprit for #1, and i'm guessing that you didn't need to shoot wide open (and probably needed to dial EC down a bit, if shooting Av). did you check yr histogram occasionally to see if you were blowing highlights? it's a good habit to get into, esp for the first few shots.

I am not that fancy with the camera yet :confused:

[simonSE15]

carrie underwood rules!

#1 & 2 are nice. like Narlus said if they lights are good give yourself more dof and dont shoot wide open. maybe 3.5 or so.

[bacchanal]

It's the lens. That lens is a total POS for low-light, sure it has a large aperture but it is very poor at focusing in low light. The bokeh it produces is also not that amazing.

But, IMO, the "decent" ones are pretty good! I'm sure there were not many though.

You call that low light?

Brandon...you need to get familiar with the histogram and looking for blown highlights, and practice adjusting +/- EC to compensate for dark or bright backgrounds while in Av/Tv modes. It's also a good idea to shoot in RAW or bracket exposures in jpeg...so you have some room for error in situations where the light is quickly changing.

Also, focusing can require a great deal of attention. It helps a lot if you manually select you focus point and do not recompose your shot (you can set focus point selection to the joystick via a custom function). One shot focus is the most reliable on the 30D, though AI Servo is usable.

That said...a good fast USM lens makes the job quite a bit easier.

[Brandon James]

You call that low light?
That said...a good fast USM lens makes the job quite a bit easier.

And how much might that cost?

[narlus]

the USM version of the 50mm is about $330. you also gain 2/3rd of a stop.

[Brandon James]

Would it make a difference for these lighting conditions?

[Brandon James]

Brandon...you need to get familiar with the histogram and looking for blown highlights, and practice adjusting +/- EC to compensate for dark or bright backgrounds while in Av/Tv modes.



Where can I learn more about this? As you all can probably tell, I am still learning...

[CanonXTuser]

Would it make a difference for these lighting conditions?


brandon, it's not the light. you had great light. i wish i could shoot in such light all the time.

have you processed the creation raw shots? i even offerred to process them for you.

I offerred that over a month ago, in plenty of time for you to send and get feedback for your shooting now.

similarly, did you shoot Carrie Underwood in raw?

have you found the software that comes with your 30D that would let you see and process raw?

[CanonXTuser]

here's a quick re-edit of the third photo to take out some of the blown highlights [if I had time I would soften the veins on her left hand]
http://a501.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/83/l_c559bde41ac4722027797649988a1e7c.jpg

the original
http://www.taylorswiftfans.com/carrie/3.png

this is done from a screen shot. if you shot in raw you should be able to do a lot more.

[Brandon James]

I see. I downloaded a program to at least SEE my raw photos, and it does not work. I cannot find the software that came with my Camera. I have everything in the box still, but I don't see any software to indicate anything about RAW images. The carrie photos were shot in JPG.

[DwightMcCann]

First, calm down. We all go through this ... when I converted from Nikon/Fuji to Canon I had a fit! If it was totally a no-brainer everybody would do it and then I couldn't make money doing it. It takes a LOT of experience and learning about the camera. The camera is your tool and you have to understand it thoroughly ... none of this "what are the magic settings?" and expecting everything to suddenly be perfect. Maybe you should go to the FAQ and find my Q&A and read it cover to cover. I made my first $60K with JPEGs so that isn't a "problem" ... although now I shoot concerts RAW. But I also bracket, which is a big PITA for most here so they avoid it and think shooting RAW will get around it ... I do both. Nobody ever suggested this was easy, dude! :-)

[johnstoy]

Brandon, I also shoot RAW and "Bracketed" with my 30D... You should be able to find DPP Digital Photo Professional and Zoom Browser EX software (included)... Both need to be installed.. You can convert from RAW starting in either program... That $70dollar, thrifty fifty, needs to be upgraded...

[jcw122]

You call that low light?



Yes...I'm assuming you have tried concert/show photography? I have tried it, not at a major show or anything but I have tried it at a Paul Green School of Rock venue and it was extremely difficult for me.

[Brandon James]

HAHA, this lense was my upgrade from my kit lense :] But I agree. What does the disk say on it with the software?

[CanonXTuser]

Yes...I'm assuming you have tried concert/show photography? I have tried it, not at a major show or anything but I have tried it at a Paul Green School of Rock venue and it was extremely difficult for me.

I don't know about the other guy, but I've tried it on over 150 bands, over 200 performances at over 30 different venues/places with four different cameras - digital rebel, XT, XTI and 30D and soon 40D.

i hope that's enough to have the credibility to say that sorry, that is not low light to me. I would love to have at least that much light on every shoot.

Look at Brandon's shot's, the main problems regarding light are blown highlights and not darkness. Blown highlights = too much light.

[CanonXTuser]

HAHA, this lense was my upgrade from my kit lense :] But I agree. What does the disk say on it with the software?


it says "Don't lose this software"

[bacchanal]

Yes...I'm assuming you have tried concert/show photography? I have tried it, not at a major show or anything but I have tried it at a Paul Green School of Rock venue and it was extremely difficult for me.

Yes, it's pretty much all I do...well, besides stupid snapshots around town. This show is like daylight compared to the stuff I shoot. The problem at a show like this becomes more the extremely high contrast and colored lighting, the amount of light isn't such an issue. It's not low light (at least, not to me), but that doesn't make it a walk in the park.

[bacchanal]

I think you can download the software here:

http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=DownloadIndexAct

...nevermind, it just has the updates.

[bacchanal]

Where can I learn more about this? As you all can probably tell, I am still learning...

You kind of have to experiment and find your own method that works for you. Personally, I often shoot in static lighting conditions and shoot in M and chimp the histogram to make sure I'm not blowing highlights. Av with +/- EC is very useful for more dynamic lighting condition, such the one you were shooting with. It takes some practice and guesswork to get things right, and RAW and/or exposure bracketing helps a lot too. I typically use Center Weighted Avg metering when using AV, but it is up to your preference. EC is used to compensate for the amount of light in the bg vs. on your subject. Use -EC when you have a dark background (you don't want the camera trying to expose for a pitch black background). Check the histogram to make sure you're exposure is close, and you're not blowing highlights. It is also a very good idea to use the RGB histogram, since it is easy to blow a single color channel. You will have to adjust your EC settings as the ratio of light in the subject/background changes.

Here are a couple good threads to look at:

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=321282

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=324146&highlight=EC

[René Damkot]

#2, 3, 4 and 6 are overexposed. Should be quite recoverable if you shot Raw.
Probabely caused by dark clothing and BG.

Last two are OoF. Nifty fifty isn't the best focussing lens out there. Allthough in this case, I'm guessing you were using AiServo AF, otherwise the camera probabely wouldn't have fired.

#3 and 4 are quite nice actually, if you crop em a bit and correct exposure.

This doesn't look too low light ;)

[narlus]

#2, 3, 4 and 6 are overexposed. Should be quite recoverable if you shot Raw.

i can tell you that i really like the Recovery slider in the new ACR for CS 3. it really works pretty well.

[CanonXTuser]

I think you can download the software here:

http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=DownloadIndexAct

...nevermind, it just has the updates.

I've found my disk.

It has both windows and mac software.

For windows, the software is the following:


zoom browser.
Digital photo professional.
EOS utility.
Photo stitch.
PPP and WIA drivers


btw, brandon, you've spent over a grand in camera gear yet you are still using paint shop pro 7, current version is 10. Your discussing spending another couple a hundred on a lens when what you need to do is update your software/processing. Even if you shoot in jpg, you need to have a good program to help you fix problems. Shotting raw makes it much easier to fix though. Fix your processing chain.

[ironbelle]

Did Steven Tyler(Aerosmith) perform before her and forgot to take his scarf from around the mike stand? LOL. You got some good grabs, there are a couple of images I liked. I can't wait to shoot my first concert. I'll be up all night studying POTN images and tips and critiques. LOL

[CanonXTuser]

#2, 3, 4 and 6 are overexposed. Should be quite recoverable if you shot Raw.
Probabely caused by dark clothing and BG.

Last two are OoF. Nifty fifty isn't the best focussing lens out there. Allthough in this case, I'm guessing you were using AiServo AF, otherwise the camera probabely wouldn't have fired.

#3 and 4 are quite nice actually, if you crop em a bit and correct exposure.

This doesn't look too low light ;)

Yeah, in his worst ones, they are out of focus so would not matter if recovered the blown highlights.

On the others, the focus is still a little soft. His camera never got perfect focus.

I'm wondering if he shot with spot metering as well as AI servo or one shot.

[burntpixel]

I've noticed in this thread no one has covered your ISO setting of 1600. You will get a lot more noise with a setting this high. I am no expert but have found this to be the case with my Rebel. Just my $.02

Shot #3 is one my favorites. As told by many here on P.O.T.N keep shooting.

regards,

[René Damkot]

IMO it's very, very rare to be able to shoot below ISO 1600 in a typical (smaller) club.
ISO 800 might be possible in bigger venues...

Occasionally, I still wonder how I made do with ISO 800 film.

[johnstoy]

I always shoot at ISO 1250 or 1600 and even 3200... Rarely any noise problems, with my 30D...

[DwightMcCann]

IMO it's very, very rare to be able to shoot below ISO 1600 in a typical (smaller) club.
ISO 800 might be possible in bigger venues...

Occasionally, I still wonder how I made do with ISO 800 film.

I have the best concert lighting in the world and I shoot ISO 1000 and bracket -1, 0, +1 RAW. I could get away with less for many shots but sometimes I want to reach a place not so well lighted or the movement is fast. I shot at 1250 for a long time but RAW seems to have more noise so I've backed down a bit.

[woman4life]

It's the lens. That lens is a total POS for low-light, sure it has a large aperture but it is very poor at focusing in low light. The bokeh it produces is also not that amazing.

But, IMO, the "decent" ones are pretty good! I'm sure there were not many though.

I have it and it focuses ok in low light, but it if you even bump it, you can easily start having problems. It's not very durable.

I really want some lenses with image stabilization now, though. A good wide angle zoom with image stabilization. LOL Now, if money were no option.

I agree that a couple of the shots are good. I need tons of help with post processing myself.

I think this was touched on, but not stated. If you take a few shots and look at them blown highlights will flash. That is an indicator you might want to change the exposure a bit.l

[mtd]

Hey Brandon, I'm headed out there Friday night to see Daughtry. How were they with bringing in photographic equipment? I don't see anything on the York Fair website about restrictions, etc.

[ThomasOwenM]

btw, brandon, you've spent over a grand in camera gear yet you are still using paint shop pro 7, current version is 10.

Actually Paint Shop Pro 11 is the current version -- and it's worth every penny. Great program.

[Gamut]

I think you have some pretty nice shots here. Some aren't great, but most look really good.

[Brandon James]

Thanks ^^

And sorry for the late post on this. Daughtry's show was awesome. They didn't even check bags at the Carrie or Daughtry show, so I hope you got in alright. I am interested in seeing pics if you have any :)

[CanonXTuser]

Actually Paint Shop Pro 11 is the current version -- and it's worth every penny. Great program.

so Brandon's four versions behind. seriously needs to upgrade his processing chain.

[mtd]

Thanks ^^

And sorry for the late post on this. Daughtry's show was awesome. They didn't even check bags at the Carrie or Daughtry show, so I hope you got in alright. I am interested in seeing pics if you have any :)

I ended up skipping the camera and just enjoyed the show. I saw it was supposed to rain and I didn't want to have my camera out in that. I'm glad I did skip it this time because it was pretty wet. Last time I was at a concert there though was Michael W. Smith several years ago when one of the hurricanes blew up the east coast. Friday's show was calm compared to the rain and wind at Smitty's show.

[shkspr]

nothing wrong with the nifty 50. i shot this WIDE open, yes, f1.8.

very little post-proc. only downer is iso 800... still, a nice shot.

peter noone of hermans hermits

[Brandon James]

I ended up skipping the camera and just enjoyed the show. I saw it was supposed to rain and I didn't want to have my camera out in that. I'm glad I did skip it this time because it was pretty wet. Last time I was at a concert there though was Michael W. Smith several years ago when one of the hurricanes blew up the east coast. Friday's show was calm compared to the rain and wind at Smitty's show.

Daughtry put on a great show. And I am going to see Michael this winter with Bethany Dillon [I am going to marry that girl] and Sanctus Real. Pretty excited.

[medicdude]

man i love that woman. and the pics arent bad, keep it up!