When you’re severely light starved

[ThomasOwenM]

Let’s face it: Band photography is almost always low light. We who do this challenging form of photograph choose our gear based on what does well in low light. You can forget any camera whose sensor is too noisy at high ISO, and you can forget variable aperture lenses.

I chose the 20D and all my lenses based on low light performance. However, there are some situations where I’ve found myself light starved even with this low light gear. At a recent shoot, I had the 20D maxed at ISO 3200 and the aperture set at f/1.8 in aperture priority mode and found myself getting shutter speeds of only 1/80, 1/60, 1/40 and even lower. Getting those action-stopping shutter speeds of 1/500 and above was simply out of the question. For most shots, I consider 1/80 a bare minimum. Sometimes if the artist is staying somewhat still, I can get a good shot at slower speeds, or if I’m using deliberate blur for an action effect (most common with drummer shots).

We’re talking severe light shortage here, so severe that using a fast constant aperture f/2.8 zoom lens is out of the question. I own one of those and it stayed in my bag. F/2.8 was simply too narrow to let enough light in. All shots were somewhere between f/1.4 and f/2.2 if I was lucky. And the lighting was uneven on the stage. As I panned a performer moving about, I would notice the available shutter speed varying between as low as 1/10 and as high as 1/100. So I would aim and wait for opportunities to shoot fast enough. At some points I exposure compensated down somewhat with plans to readjust the exposure later in Photoshop. That’s an act of desperation to be sure. I’ve found I have the least amount of noise if I get the exposure right to begin with. I do have noise reduction software (NoiseNinja being my favorite), but you have to be careful with that so that you don’t make the image too soft.

I also requested more light from the lighting technician whom I had previously created rapport with. He said he was already giving me everything he had.

Some of my lenses will go as wide as f/1.4, but I don’t like shooting that wide. It’s much harder to get a sharp image. However, sometimes I can manage to, especially on the Sigma 30 mm f/1.4. On the Canon 50 mm f/1.4, I don’t have as good of luck. (And my Sigma 50 mm f/1.4 is not available since it’s off being calibrated.) Another thing I tried was setting the camera on manual with the shutter speed at 1/100 or 1/80, the ISO at 3200, and the aperture at f/1.8. Then as I panned with a performer, I could see via the exposure meter if I had enough light. And like before, I could go ahead and allow a little underexposure to be adjusted later. Obviously, I’m shooting in RAW. (I don’t shoot exclusively in RAW; sometimes I use jpeg.)

And, of course, my absolute last resort is to flash with my 430 EX. When I did, I left the ISO high, scaled the flash way back, and used a diffuser. I would aim the flash straight up sometimes or over the performer’s head other times. I would set the flash exposure compensation to – 2 to -3. The idea was to supplement the light as little as needed, letting the available light do most of the work. Shots like that seemed to look more natural than shots with a lower ISO and a stronger flash.

The only thing I haven’t tried yet is off-camera flash, or strobes as they’re also known. That’s an intriguing idea, but I haven’t gotten the money together yet.

Have I tried everything? Are there other ways of dealing with severe shortage of light that I haven’t thought of? I guess when I upgrade, I could get a 50D that can do ISO 6400. I remember someone said you can force a 20D to do ISO 6400. How? Is that what I’ve been doing – slightly underexposing and then fixing it later in Photoshop?

Here are some samples from the shoot and the exif info.

On this one I was lucky that the performer was in some of the better lighting available:
http://www.rockonnebraska.com/albums/saddlecreek4-26-09/0001-jeswinter/jeswinter_7.jpg
Shooting Mode Aperture-Priority AE
Tv( Shutter Speed ) 1/80
Av( Aperture Value ) 2.0
Metering Mode Evaluative Metering
Exposure Compensation 0
ISO Speed 3200
Lens Canon 85 mm f/1.8
Image Quality RAW
Flash Off

Here's one where I resorted to a scaled-back flash:
http://www.rockonnebraska.com/albums/saddlecreek4-26-09/0001-jeswinter/jeswinter_5.jpg
Shooting Mode Aperture-Priority AE
Tv( Shutter Speed ) 1/100
Av( Aperture Value ) 1.8
Metering Mode Evaluative Metering
Exposure Compensation 0
ISO Speed 3200
Lens Canon 85 mm f/1.8
Image Quality RAW
Flash On

I would have preferred a faster shutter speed on this one, but decided the motion blur might work. It was mainly in his hands.
http://www.rockonnebraska.com/albums/saddlecreek4-26-09/0005-FilterKings/filterkings_6.jpg
Shooting Mode Aperture-Priority AE
Tv( Shutter Speed ) 1/50
Av( Aperture Value ) 1.8
Metering Mode Evaluative Metering
Exposure Compensation 0
ISO Speed 3200
Lens Sigma 30.0 mm f/1.4
Image Quality Fine (Jpeg)
Flash Off

I like the action I got from this shot, but I was really wishing I could get a clearer image. It was originally underexposed before I adjusted it in Photoshop, which brought out a lot of noise, which I reduced. I usually shoot drummers in jpeg so that I can get the maximum burst performance.
http://www.rockonnebraska.com/albums/saddlecreek4-26-09/0005-FilterKings/filterkings_3.jpg

Shooting Mode Shutter-Priority AE
Tv( Shutter Speed ) 1/60
Av( Aperture Value ) 1.8
Metering Mode Evaluative Metering
Exposure Compensation -1
ISO Speed 3200
Lens Canon 85 mm f/1.8
Image Quality Fine (jpeg)
Flash Off

I was able to get a clearer drummer shot, though I don't like the action as much:
http://www.rockonnebraska.com/albums/saddlecreek4-26-09/0005-FilterKings/filterkings_4.jpg

Shooting Mode Shutter-Priority AE
Tv( Shutter Speed ) 1/50
Av( Aperture Value ) 1.8
Metering Mode Evaluative Metering
Exposure Compensation 0
ISO Speed 3200
Lens Canon 85 mm f/1.8
Image Quality Fine (jpeg)
Flash Off

I'm interested in how others have dealt with severely light-challenged environments.

You can see the full shoot here:
http://www.rockonnebraska.com/albums/saddlecreek4-26-09/index.html

[narlus]

sometimes there's just not much you can do...

i shot The Kills last night, and i didn't bring a flash w/ me...the lighting was very spotty, and the performers moved around a lot. even w/ the 5D2 at ISO 6400 and a f/1.4 lens, i had to pretty much resort to arty/motion blur shots for the bulk of it, as i had no other choice.

[mono55]

I feel your pain. Back in February I shot Florida band, A Day To Remember in a small club in Glasgow. Things seemed fine while the crew were setting up for the headliners, then the lights went out, the band came on, and four measely coloured lights came on at the rear of the stage. I almost had heart failure. The spots out front didn't get turned on again until halfway through the second song.

That first image of yours is really, really nice though.

[René Damkot]

#1 and 3 are very good for the circumstances you described...

IMO a 20D at ISO 3200 and then underexposed one stop / recovered in DPP (or ACR) is very much a last resort... Then again, if that's what it takes to get the job done...

Good job.

[guitarman2977]

Sounds like you're doing all the right things. You might also try setting the camera to spot metering and meter for the performer's face. It will probably be too dark so you'll need to boost exposure a bit later and you'll likely lose detail in the shadows, but I don't think that's entirely a bad thing. A lot of times the background on a stage can be a distraction and I think dark shadows sometimes can make images look better. One other way to sometimes reduce noise when you're boosting exposure is to adjust the tone curve and raise only the channels you need, i.e. the lights and mids and leave the rest of the image darker.

[masterwillems]

The last band shoot I did was from 4 Death Metal bands and these guy's don't like to much light on the stage.
I normally shoot with my tamron at F5.6 with an 1/50 shutterspeed and a ISO of 400 max.

http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewPicture&friendID=396423441&albumId=1523476 Here are the pictures that i shot, some with my onboard flash, some with my external flash, but most of them without flash.

It was a good experience for me and made me appreciate my onboard flash more then ever.
(Ofcourse i shoot always in .RAW.)

[René Damkot]

I normally shoot with my tamron at F5.6 with an 1/50 shutterspeed and a ISO of 400 max.

You might want to get a faster lens if you're that afraid to use high ISO.

Get that ISO up! It'll probably be the fastest way to improve your images...

[ThomasOwenM]

You might want to get a faster lens if you're that afraid to use high ISO.

Get that ISO up! It'll probably be the fastest way to improve your images...

I agree with René. Band performance photography is, with rare exceptions, high ISO photography. And f/5.6 is way too narrow for most light situations. You need lenses that can go really wide and still be sharp. Open that aperture up.

[masterwillems]

You might want to get a faster lens if you're that afraid to use high ISO.

Get that ISO up! It'll probably be the fastest way to improve your images...

Believe me, i want ALLOT:p but a new lens is not in the budget right now, ofcourse i save money for it, but it takes time.

[ThomasOwenM]

Believe me, i want ALLOT:p but a new lens is not in the budget right now, ofcourse i save money for it, but it takes time.

I see you've got a nifty fifty. That one will do f/1.8. It sometimes hunts to focus in low light, but when you can get it to focus, it can do very sharp wide aperture shots. It was my only lens for over a year. Here are some of mine from when I owned it:

Cass Brostad
http://www.tommeinenphotography.com/samples/5150s_01.jpg

Tyson Leslie of Pomeroy
http://www.tommeinenphotography.com/samples/pomeroy_04.jpg

David Fairbanks of Pomeroy
http://www.tommeinenphotography.com/samples/pomeroy_01.jpg

[johnstoy]

Geez Thomas, maybe you've found you niche... These shots are real nice... The composition and lighting is interesting and well done.

PS: I just got the 50D, and it crops/enlarges better than the 30D... the noise control features work well too... Since each RAW image file is much larger than the 30D's, you'll need much, much larger (get the fastest ones too) Flash memory cards.

[masterwillems]

I see you've got a nifty fifty. That one will do f/1.8. It sometimes hunts to focus in low light, but when you can get it to focus, it can do very sharp wide aperture shots.

I tried to use it but since I do only small stage photography I was not able to fully use it the way I liked (bandmembers that are 2 or 3 feet away is to close.)

[René Damkot]

Believe me, i want ALLOT:p but a new lens is not in the budget right now, ofcourse i save money for it, but it takes time.

Where in the Netherlands are you located?

[ThomasOwenM]

I tried to use it but since I do only small stage photography I was not able to fully use it the way I liked (bandmembers that are 2 or 3 feet away is to close.)

I ran into that some since I do small stages also. Even when you're up close, you can often get nice close ups with the nifty fifty. And if you have mobility, try lots of different angles. You can often frame shots well with that lens.

My recommendation for when you are too close then is to get the Sigma 30 mm f/1.4. It's a great lens and is affordable. It focuses a lot better in low light than the nifty fifty and has wonderful bokeh. It's not perfect. Sometimes people get copies of that lens that either front or back focus, in which case you send it in for calibration. I had the good fortune of getting one that focuses perfectly right out of the box.

[fenderstrat]

Thomas, you have some fine images there. You are right about it being challenging but if it was easy everyone would do it! It's what makes it fun.

I've recently began taking photo's of some local bands too. I have a VERY modest set-up (I would love to get my hands on some of your lenses - wow)! I shoot with an EOS 1000D (I think it's a Rebel in the US) and the stock 18-55 lens. Here are some recent photo's using this setup, no flash used (excuse the low resolution, I've copied them over from my Myspace site):

[ThomasOwenM]

Hey, fenderstrat, you've got a good start there. That first shot is psychedelic and artsy and the second one is well framed.

With any luck you'll be able to get your hands on some of the lenses I use. They're affordable. None of them are L series. I'd definitely like to get some Ls at some point, but it will take some time since they ain't cheap. Every lens I own is less than $500.

If your camera body is a Rebel XT, I recommend upgrading to something that can do ISO 3200. These days you can get used 20Ds and 30Ds really affordable since both the 40D and 50D have been out a while now. I'm going to upgrade to a 40 or 50D when I can, but I'm not complaining about my 20D. It's a great camera that can get terrific image quality with the right lens and photographer.