Shooting a concert on Friday

[k.c.lady]

Hello all, I am going to a concert and shooting in hopes for getting a job with a friend. So i want to make sure I do a great job!

It's going to be dark or have colored lighting.

Am I going to need an external flash for this?

I have a 40d.

do you have any tips for a newbie? I do mainly high action sports such as MMA,so I am nervous.

[skifurthur]

I use a 40D as one of my bodies and it can handle concert shooting well. ISO 1250 and higher and fast glass f2.8 or lower. Flash usually, unless used for minor fill, overwhelms the look of the stage lighting and washes out the performers. I would consider not using a flash at all.

[René Damkot]

Fast glass, high ISO, tungsten WB, no flash.

[Moooney]

i'm going to be shooting my first concert on thursday, too. it is going to be in a dive bar, pretty much, so not sure about the lighting. i do know that i am going to have to stand on a chair to get decent shots, so i'm worried about keeping the camera steady.

should i just lock my xsi at 1600, or might i get away with 800 @ 1.8? what shutterspeeds am i going to expect? it is a dive bar, but they do have stage lighting for the show, probably multicolored. should i leave the 85mm at home, and just crop the 35mm in an attempt to get sharper shots? any advice would be appreciated. thanks!

[Adama]

I'd honestly rent out an L-series 1.2 lens. As far as I know the middle-grade primes have an issue of being soft wide open, and the 85 1.2 for instance is sharp at it's native aperture. I've always considered the 85 1.2 the be-all end-all concert lens on a full frame, but it might be too tight on a crop camera.

50 1.2 might be the best compromise. Under no circumstances use a flash. Not only is this likely not allowed but it'll spoil the ambient lighting, which is a key part of concert photography. Flash is always a last resort for situations like these.

[blackshadow]

Have you read the FAQs?

Your questions and much more are answered there.

[Nouks]

I'd say take both the 35mm and the 85mm and shoot at ISO 1600. You almost certainly should get away with that.

[Moooney]

i stuck with the 85mm seemed like a decent focal length for the bar.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v89/Mooney/IMG_5537.jpg

[Madgwick]

i stuck with the 85mm seemed like a decent focal length for the bar.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v89/Mooney/IMG_5537.jpg

WOW I love this pic, the 85mm is a great lens for getting nice feeling shots but I find it to be to zoomed for a packed audience trying to capture full body shots. I would eventually add a sigma 30mm f/1.4 or canon 30mm f/2 to get a bit of a wider angle and still have a insanely sharp/fast lens.