Shooting a Local Band (430 EX)

[rmodys]

I'm going to shoot my friend's rock band this coming Saturday and I'm looking for some advice. I'm shooting with a 40D and either a Sigma 10-20MM, or an 18-55MM with a 430EX.

I was thinking of parameters something like this: Manual mode with ISO 640 or 500 (I'd go higher but tons of grain really bothers me), f/3.5, and 1/25. I'm thinking that, with the 430 bounced off of the relatively low ceiling of the small club, these should be pretty attainable.

What do you guys think? Any tips would be awesome, I've never done any of this before. I'm more used to landscapes and transportation. I've also been reading around in the photo sharing section as recommended in the FAQ and just wanted to see if I could get some specific results for my equipment.

Thanks

[Paul J McCain]

I'm not sure how much light there will be in the club, but I wouldn't think that 1/25 f/3.5 could cut it at ISO 640. Maybe I'm just thinking of a different setting.

Get some in-action shots as well as the classic posed stills. Be imaginative and creative. Maybe take a look at some images of bands online and grab ideas. Since your friend is in it, and it's not a "pro" paid gig, they'll probably be patient with you, so use it to your advantage in trying things. Good luck! :)

[bacchanal]

My assumption is that the flash will be producing the majority of the exposure. If that's the case, then you don't really need a fast exposure or high iso. The main reasons I tend to raise my ISO are to reduce the amount of flash power used which increases battery life and doesn't blind people. Imho, ISO 1250 is a really nice balance between noise performance and speed.

You can really open up the shutter as long as you need to, but this will depend on the amount of ambient light. You want to let in enough ambient light so the exposure isn't totally dominated by the flash, but you also don't want so much ambient light that your image is just a bunch of blur. Speaking of ambient light, I like to use a tungsten CTO gel on my flash to balance the flash color with typical indoor ambient lighting. You can get ROSCO gel samplers from BHphoto for the whopping sum of $.01 (+ shipping)!

If the ligthing is really bad, be sure you're in one shot mode so you can take advantage of the AF assist beam (which doesn't work in AI Servo). Also, stopping down the lens (or shooting wide) will increase your dof and take some of the burden off of your AF system.

Remember that bouncing flash is only going to work if you have a light colored ceiling (or walls). When bouncing, I like to use the bounce card on my 580ex to throw just a little bit of light forward (an index card and rubber band work just as well). You really don't need more than just a half an inch or so of bounce card to throw some light forward and create catchlights (if you're into that sort of thing).

[blackshadow]

To be honest I expect the results you will get with your equipment will be disappointing unless you know how to use your flash really well.

If you are serious about trying to get some good results I suggest you get your hands on some faster glass - the cheapest entry for this would be the 50mm f1.8. Other options if you have the money are 17-55 f2.8 IS, 85mm f1.8, Sigma 30mm f1.4, Canon 50mm f1.4 or the Canon 70-200 f2.8L IS.

Assuming you get the 50 f1.8 I recommend you up your ISO to 1600 and shoot in M mode without flash. Shoot RAW and adjust white balance and tweak exposure in post processing.

Good luck with it.

[rmodys]

I'm not really too interested in band photography, this is more of me helping out some friends and experimenting than trying to take serious professional pictures. So with that in mind, I don't think I'll be investing in a new lense anytime soon.
My assumption is that the flash will be producing the majority of the exposure. If that's the case, then you don't really need a fast exposure or high iso. The main reasons I tend to raise my ISO are to reduce the amount of flash power used which increases battery life and doesn't blind people. Imho, ISO 1250 is a really nice balance between noise performance and speed.

You can really open up the shutter as long as you need to, but this will depend on the amount of ambient light. You want to let in enough ambient light so the exposure isn't totally dominated by the flash, but you also don't want so much ambient light that your image is just a bunch of blur. Speaking of ambient light, I like to use a tungsten CTO gel on my flash to balance the flash color with typical indoor ambient lighting. You can get ROSCO gel samplers from BHphoto for the whopping sum of $.01 (+ shipping)!

If the ligthing is really bad, be sure you're in one shot mode so you can take advantage of the AF assist beam (which doesn't work in AI Servo). Also, stopping down the lens (or shooting wide) will increase your dof and take some of the burden off of your AF system.

Remember that bouncing flash is only going to work if you have a light colored ceiling (or walls). When bouncing, I like to use the bounce card on my 580ex to throw just a little bit of light forward (an index card and rubber band work just as well). You really don't need more than just a half an inch or so of bounce card to throw some light forward and create catchlights (if you're into that sort of thing).
I'll keep that in mind about the focus help, thanks!

Okay, so say it's a black ceiling (I have no clue what it's going to be like, just that the lighting will most likely suck). What could I do, if anything, with the flash? How would I go about the index card thing?

[bacchanal]

I'm not really too interested in band photography, this is more of me helping out some friends and experimenting than trying to take serious professional pictures. So with that in mind, I don't think I'll be investing in a new lense anytime soon.

I'll keep that in mind about the focus help, thanks!

Okay, so say it's a black ceiling (I have no clue what it's going to be like, just that the lighting will most likely suck). What could I do, if anything, with the flash? How would I go about the index card thing?

Basically, if it's black...don't try to bounce your flash off of it...your light will go nowhere. Your best option may be to simply use direct flash (and maybe drag the shutter for effect...aka, use a long shutter speed w/ flash). Another trick is to wear a light colored shirt (white or grey) and bounce the flash off of yourself. This works reasonably well, but it pretty much requires an off camera shoe cord, and it takes a little practice (you probably don't want that low angle flash look for all your shots).

The idea with the bounce card is that you bounce light off the ceiling (assuming it isn't black), but you also throw some light forward. See http://www.abetterbouncecard.com/ for the basic concept. NOTE: an index card + rubber band will do just fine.

Check out the nightclub thread for plenty of talk/examples on using flash in a dark club:
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=415099&highlight=nightclub

[ChrisRabior]

If you're fortunate enough to have a venue that will work with you, have a talk to the lighting/sound person. I can't even begin to describe how many times I've shot in the dark in a venue that was being lazy with their lighting capabilities. A vast majority of the time, the 'sound booth' will triple as the DJ area, sound board area, and lighting control area. Go make friends with the guy up there, explain you'd like one or two songs with the lights juiced up, and you might get lucky.

There are a few venues that are happy to do this for me, and it can make a multi-stop difference. f/2.8, 1/200, ISO 1600 as opposed to f/2.8, 1/80, ISO3200. Being that you're limited between 3.5 and 5.6, you'll need every bit of light you can manage.

[Bobster]

http://www.pbase.com/bob_hall/image/92906322.jpg
ISO800 2.8 1/50
i used off camera flash to give a little in fill so as not to take away the venue lighting, the lighting is really poor at this venue anyway and because of the style of the band a little flash didn't do too much damage..

[johnstoy]

Hey Bobster... Nice shot... Congrats.

[rmodys]

If you're fortunate enough to have a venue that will work with you, have a talk to the lighting/sound person. I can't even begin to describe how many times I've shot in the dark in a venue that was being lazy with their lighting capabilities. A vast majority of the time, the 'sound booth' will triple as the DJ area, sound board area, and lighting control area. Go make friends with the guy up there, explain you'd like one or two songs with the lights juiced up, and you might get lucky.

There are a few venues that are happy to do this for me, and it can make a multi-stop difference. f/2.8, 1/200, ISO 1600 as opposed to f/2.8, 1/80, ISO3200. Being that you're limited between 3.5 and 5.6, you'll need every bit of light you can manage.
It's a junky little rock club (at best) so the lighting is truly god-awful. Haha, that's not even an option here.


But I'll keep everything you guys said in mind, thanks. I'll post my results if they aren't too terrible.