7th Avenue--2nd time shooting.

Did some shots last night for a friends band. here are what i thnk are the pick of the bunch. lighting was very harsh as there was alot of red light about so tried to shoot inbetween the flashes of red.

set up used was my 5D with 70-200 2.8 non IS lens, i think the iso for the majority of shots was between 1600 and 3200.

1.

There does seem to be some clutter in the shots but they are a 7 piece band, have alot of gear and the size of the venue does not allow for them to be spread out. so can't help sometimes getting the odd mic stand or speaker/light stand in the way.

If anyone can apply anymore PP then feel free to do so.

Please somebody say something.

Concerts are hard to shoot. You did pretty good. Although some shots have the distracting light.

What would you have us say? They are all a bit soft. The group and lighting seems a bit lackluster. They are a bit cluttered. The problem may be that they aren't great but they aren't bad enough in ways where we can suggest improvement or that you have the power to change perhaps. But, OK, here goes:

#1 Doesn't do anything ... a girl with her head down in a darkish place with someone's shoulder on the left.
#2 Soft, should have some cropped off the top so his head isn't right in the middle.
#3 Awkward crop putting dead space behind him rather than in front.
#4 Dynamic range is drab and guitar head sticking up is awkward.
#5 Soft and same problems as #4.
#6 Interesting color effect but VERY soft and the guy's elbow on the right is bad.
#7 Same as #6 without the color.
#8 Dark, soft, head sticking out of shoulder, busy and cluttered.

So, I don't mean to be harsh, but you seemed desperate for feedback. The general level of quality here is pretty high and professional so snapshots just don't get a lot of interest ... not in any way to suggest that you shouldn't post them but most here have spent years perfecting their technique and are very serious about their work.

Thank you for your words Dwight.

i understand that there are people on here who have been at this game for years and have mastered there style of shooting etc. but is there not a saying that "we all have to start somewhere"

I understand that there is alot to learn in this game, i thought i might have bumped up the iso too high but then again i have seen really good shots with high iso. i cannot seem to keep the sharpness once the pics have been resized for the forum. like you say they all seem to be soft.

Any pointers on how next time i can get them sharper?

In my defence the stage area was very small and the band could not spread out hence the cluttered look.

everything kind of looks just out of focus... or is that me?

tj289 wrote in post #3398140
Thank you for your words Dwight.

i understand that there are people on here who have been at this game for years and have mastered there style of shooting etc. but is there not a saying that "we all have to start somewhere"

I understand that there is alot to learn in this game, i thought i might have bumped up the iso too high but then again i have seen really good shots with high iso. i cannot seem to keep the sharpness once the pics have been resized for the forum. like you say they all seem to be soft.

Any pointers on how next time i can get them sharper?

In my defence the stage area was very small and the band could not spread out hence the cluttered look.

Well, it's not about 'fault' so no defence is necessary. And yes, we all start somewhere. Have you read the FAQ at the top of the list of threads? Some say you can't bump the ISO too high ... they mean it is better to get a noisey sharp image than a blurry noiseless one ... and then they suggestion some kind of noise reduction software.

So, read the FAQ, keep posting and we'll see how you come along.

tj289 wrote in post #3398140
Any pointers on how next time i can get them sharper?

Give Manyk SRS a try.