Contemporary Music Event Shoot

[blackzarg]

My friend has asked me to take pictures at an event he is hosting in some small performance venues in San Francisco (one is the Old First Church). I'll be taking photos pre/post concert as well. I've never done an event before (my friend knows that, he just wants pictures that look better than something from a P&S), and I have some concerns...

Lens Choice:
Do you think the Canon 55-250 will be capable enough to get some close-ups of the performance, without flash? I will most likely bring a tripod to assist with shooting as well. I'll also be using the Tamron 17-50 or the Nifty-Fifty for shots of people pre/post concert. I should be able to use my YN-465 as bounce flash. I do have an umbrella setup but I don't think that will be necessary.

Shutter Sound:
I'm also contemplating swapping my T3i for a 60D (would be about $20 more after selling the T3i and kit lens) - would the shutter sound be obnoxious during a live performance? It's modern classical music, which is mostly going to be atonal or very angsty sounding, but I'm sure there will be quiet moments as well.

Thanks a lot!

[boogada]

Originally Posted by blackzarg

Lens Choice:
Do you think the Canon 55-250 will be capable enough to get some close-ups of the performance, without flash? I will most likely bring a tripod to assist with shooting as well. I'll also be using the Tamron 17-50 or the Nifty-Fifty for shots of people pre/post concert. I should be able to use my YN-465 as bounce flash. I do have an umbrella setup but I don't think that will be necessary.

I don't think the 55-250 will be fast enough for close ups without flash. With flash it should be okay. See if you can bounce the flash well and you should be good.
Tripod and umbrellas - I don't see this happen during a concert. A tripod is only limiting your freedom to move, and you probably need fast shutter speeds anyways to avoid motion blur. And if you use flash, you can use a shutter fast enough that you don't need stabilization at all.

Originally Posted by blackzarg

Shutter Sound:
I'm also contemplating swapping my T3i for a 60D (would be about $20 more after selling the T3i and kit lens) - would the shutter sound be obnoxious during a live performance? It's modern classical music, which is mostly going to be atonal or very angsty sounding, but I'm sure there will be quiet moments as well.

Its hard to judge how loud your camera will be compared to the room sound. I don't think the different camera model will have a significant effect on this. There are some options to make it less loud, but maybe your best choice would be to find the right moment so that the click does not disturb. It might also help to change position so you don't disturb the same persons near you all the time.

[RichSoansPhotos]

It depends on the lighting conditions to whether the 55-250 is "fast" enough. I have seen photographers using kit lenses and get good photos published. Though I would have the 50mm 1.8 if your budget is not good