First Attempt

[Ryssa8]

I am new to this site and shooting bands. I have been using my camera for about a year now and still have so much to learn. My husband is in a local band (Embrace the Dream) and I have been practice shooting them. Its been ticky with low lighting and lots of movment. This was my first show that I shot and was pretty pleased. I got stuck on low lighting with movement. I am using a Canon XTI, ISO was 800 & 1600, f/4.5 (that is the lowest I can go) and my exposure ranges from 1/15 to 1/40. I need to get a new lense, but am not sure what will work best. Any tips would be greatly appreciated! let me know what you think - thnx!

I have loved looking through this forum, I can learn a lot from this!



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[johnstoy]

Nice color selections...

I'd recommend using primes such as the Canon 50mm f/1.4, or the Canon 85mm f/1.8... They are fast focusing and sharp, and they crop well... Cost is about $400. You just have to use your feet to zoom in or out...

Zoom lenses start at only f2.8 and without IS (Image Stabilization) are borderline slow for low light photos. Expect to spend about $1000 to $1800 for the 17-55 f/2.8 IS, or the Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 IS...

[Ryssa8]

thank you for the lens ideas - I will take a look at them.

[The Moose]

50mm f/1.8 is less than $100 in the US, I believe. Stop it down to f/2.2-2.5 and you'll get some great shots at gigs.

[johnstoy]

While the 50mm f/1.8 is priced right for average photos all around, but not for low light (professional) shows... It is very slow focusing in low light... I purchased one, used it once at a show and immediately bought the 50mm f/1.4... The f/1.4 is much better in low light... The fact is that you will need to be shooting at f/1.4 much of the time.

[Ryssa8]

I am so happy with the suggestions - thank you! With a new lens - could I have my ISO at 400? One thing I didn't like was the grainy look to the photos. Some gain looks good and gives the photo an artisitic feel, but I would really like to get a crisp shot.

[johnstoy]

Oooh Ryssa8... ISO 400 will be very difficult to use, even at F/1.4... Be prepared to use about an ISO of at least 800, just in case, ISO 400 is yielding too slow of a shutter speed... You'll want to shoot (with the 50mm lens) no slower than at 1/80th of a second... therefore, if the lighting is sufficient, than reduce the ISO to what you wish...

[DwightMcCann]

I would suggest you take a crack at reading the Concert FAQ (see my signature for link) as it has a huge amount of good information from many sources.

[Ryssa8]

I can't thank you all enough! I am so gald I have found this site :-) They have another show this weekend, but I won't have a new lens by then :-( I was didn't think I could use ISO 400, but i was hoping. Thanks for the new site - it is helpful!

[FootAJ]

For a first shoot, it looks pretty good! I just started shooting concerts a little over a month ago, and it's a LOT of fun! My biggest issue, personally, was capturing movement. You want ambient light but you also don't want blur. The best advice I got was to crank the ISO and use a fast shutter speed. I have a D200 (noise machine!), and while the noise is annoying, it's better to have a noisy photo than a poorly-exposed/messy photo!

The only way to get better is to get shooting. The first time I shot, I got some great images, but a lot of "meh" ones that I end up not liking, even after editing them. I took the knowledge from that show into the next, and came out with MANY more usable images. You just need to keep reading and keep shooting. The forum has a lot of useful info and a lot of helpful people, so be sure to use it!

Oh, and welcome :)