How many shots do you take during a gig?

[BJWOK]

Thought this would be a interesting poll as I personally take about 70-80 shots during a gig, but some other photog here are taking above 160 per gig?

Just to clarify before posting, for the sake of this poll we are are considering a gig to be first three songs of a performance (as those are the conditions most of us shoot under).

Also, some of you may be shooting in jpg (why I don't know? :) ) but again for the sake of this poll we are not really concerned with your preference, but how many times you click that shutter!

go nuts!

[arnie12]

I am shooting about 80-100 an hour. So it really depends on the amount of time I have available.

[DDCSD]

I am shooting about 80-100 an hour. So it really depends on the amount of time I have available.

80-100 an hour for a concert? So you take less than 10 shots per act?




It really depends on the lighting for me. In good boring lighting, I'll take less shots. In terrible lighting, I'll either take a ton of shots to try and get a fair number of keepers, or I'll get a few keepers and call it a night.

I'd say 100-150 on average though. I'm starting to slim that down a bit and go for more impact shots as I gain confidence.

[johnstoy]

Indoors, low light, with constantly changing colors, I shoot *bracketed,* in sets of three... So my #'s will be higher than those who do not shoot *bracketed.*

I also shoot the entire show from the opening act to the very last song...

Therefore, I'm way over your highest #'s...

[Kidmat]

Therefore, I'm way over your highest #'s...
First and last choices should be "less than 50" and "over 500" or something.
And yeh, Ive only shot two gigs so far, with an average amount of 150 pictures or something during the act, and an additionnal 50 of random people/friends/venues before and after the show.
To quote Arnie, I think it depends on the time I spend listening to them. If I stayed twice longer, Id have probably shot 300 pictures, etc etc.

[kay188]

My most recent event, I got well over 400 pictures that were "usable".

Total was over 500. Narrowed it down to 400 or so.

The 2 people performing were famous. So I had to snap away. :D

[narlus]

by 'usable' what does that mean? sticking 400 photos in a gallery is a surefire recipe for boring people, who make it past image #10 most likely.

i do take a lot of shots (tough to say, but on average w/ two cameras going in a 3 song limit it could be anywhere from 200-300, and if i can shoot the whole show it'll definitely be more), but tend to typically only post ~10-15 of a particular band in a gallery...

[kay188]

By usable I mean sharp, in focus, not blurred up, no blinking.

This event was about 2 hours. So 200 pics an hour?

I was worried about my 4GB card filling in my XTi too. I only filled up 1/2 of it shooting at ISO 400, and 800. I was surprised.

[Jim G]

My smallest is 5... and of that I had two keepers, one of which is in my portfolio. I knew straight away what I wanted and once I had it I didn't feel the need to keep on shooting as the performance was almost static.

For a 2-day festival I shot an easy 16GB but that covers non-stop bands from 10am until 3am both days across 5-6 stages.

Usually for 3 songs... hugely depends on the band. For world-class bands I wouldn't be surprised if I came away with over a hundred shots as I tend to double up on shots more for the sake of motion blur and expressions.

Also, it depends on how long the songs are! Shooting someone like Opeth who have 8+ minute songs.... much more time for shooting at your own pace compared to some punk band's 1:30 first song.. :S

[BJWOK]

hmmm, some interesting results so far! the idea of shooting bracketed is a good one!

would like to change the poll options to include less that 50, more than 500 but can't edit the poll, only my post! (someone help me?)

[DDCSD]

Call a mod with the little report button underneath your IMAGE EDITING OK tag.

[narlus]

My smallest is 5... and of that I had two keepers, one of which is in my portfolio. I knew straight away what I wanted and once I had it I didn't feel the need to keep on shooting as the performance was almost static.

i looked through all of yr portfolio shots and they were all landscapes...no concert shots at all.

[flexnes]

As others have said... It really depends on the lighting and how interesting the performers are. I'm usually somewhere between 200 and 400 for the first three songs.

From these, I pick the best 20-30 pics for use.

[Jim G]

i looked through all of yr portfolio shots and they were all landscapes...no concert shots at all.

Try the live music gallery. The website is still under construction and the "portfolio" section leads to a landscapes gallery, I'm afraid.

http://www.creativelies.com for the old website.

[The Moose]

Definitely 500+. I shot 4 bands a few weeks ago, about 45 minutes long each and I ended up with about 700 shots, finished with 250. The lighting was near non-existant so I think I did well to end up with 250!

[René Damkot]

the idea of shooting bracketed is a good one!
IMHO, learning how to meter is a better one :mrgreen:

Murphys Law of Bracketing: The best image will have the worst exposure.

[johnstoy]

IMHO, learning how to meter is a better one :mrgreen:

Murphys Law of Bracketing: The best image will have the worst exposure.

We debate this each year...

For me it's situational... I don't always use bracketing, especially not during good outdoor lighting...

But at my local venue shows, I do use bracketing... Since I also shoot in RAW, I'm able to recover nearly all photos.

Dwight, also prefers bracketing... and thus the occasional debates.

Note: If there was some consistency in the stage lighting... accurate metering would make a difference... but when the lights are constantly in motion, bracketing works for me.

[Metalphotographer]

I shoot as many as I can in a 3 song limit situation using two bodies. I usually end up with 300-500 exposures. With full sets I can shoot 1000+ but if I get the feeling of repetition (running out of angles, static performers/lighting and so on) I shoot a lot less and spend more time hanging with friends/enjoying the music.