Get your free concert photography guide at shp.photo/concerts What's your favorite concert? Mine was Steve Vai at UW-Whitewater back when I was in college. Such an amazing experience, and I got to meet the legend!
That's badass! I went to a lot of concerts in Philly as a teen but we were so messed up... hard to remember a lot of things except jumping the turnstiles of the PATCO high-speed train to avoid the fares, partying in the parking lots with the masses, electric strawberries & miracle burritos before the shows... 😀 and then trying to find a way home when you're 12-14 yrs old and live in Jersey. 😅 Outta control!
Love the video. 👍🏼 The very essential stuff, short and clear, specially if you come from using an analog camera for many years like I did. / I stopped taking certain kind of photos for quite a while trying to find my way with all the buttons and features of my digital camera. My best concerts (for me quite difficult to shoot sometimes due to the dark light and my previous gear that has improoved by now), are ‘Glen Hansard’ concerts. Loved every minute of every concert that I have been to. With - or without camera....
I'm amazed to see this video posted today! My husband is in a band. A couple weeks ago, I took photos of them with my Nikon D3400 for the first time. I was kinda disappointed. After spending days editing them to the best of my ability, I started looking for info last night on how to shoot a band. You must be psychic!!
I stumbled across your video just hours before shooting a concert video trying to figure out the best settings to use. I did the manual mode settings but that didn’t work because I was constantly adjusting my exposure compensation dial. Well I did the shutter priority mode, spot metering and white balance to daylight setting and man I worked perfectly. Awesome advice. 🤙🏼😊
1:15 seconds in and I've learned more about my camera than I've known this whole time (just a hobby). so far this is a fantastic video ! You do a very great at painting a simply image in the mind in just few words, so it's very easy to understand TOTALLY LIKING AND ALREADY SUBSCRIBED!
TY. I am preparing to photograph Ringo & His All Star Band. I am a sports photographer and this video certainly helped. Thanks. Makes perfect sense. My favorite concert I have ever been to is probably Jethro Tull back in the 70's but have seen so many. 2nd to Tull you ask? Steeel Wheels Tour Rolling Stones 1989 Shea Stadium, Queens NY
@@HotMochaCake You are wrong, wrong. Raw gives you Raw data and you can tweak to your delight. Also if you don't do a white balance on your first shot and set that in your camera, it'll be off but it can be tweaked later in LR or PS to what you want.
With mirrorless camras, "continuous focus" uses the the battery continuously and if shooting a Sony A 6ooo series camera, expect battery depletion at about the same rate as if shooting video. This video is very helpful for me SH, shooting small venue concerts is one of my dearest pleasures. Best concert, Hotel California, Eagles, Hyde Park London, wow!
EAGLES!!! That’s awesome, and thank you! Yeah. The battery life on mirrorless is still a big issue and one of the best arguments for going with a dslr over a mirrorless.
Great video! I just did an event last week for fun. This is good info for my next one. Biggest miss was white balance, although it doesn't look bad. Flash setting for the next one!👍🏽
Thank you!!!! If it’s an event versus a concert, with a more constant light source, that might be a good candidate for using a custom white balance, which is pretty quick and easy to do. Just get a grey/white card, and go to your custom WB setting, take a picture of the card, and boom. Perfect colors.
Thank you for an informative video. It fills in gaps in my knowledge and confirms a couple of things I stumbled into that seemed to work for me; such as setting white balance to a fixed Kelvin temperature. I recently shot the performance of an all woman Taiko Drum group where the stage lighting varied during the performance but the color changes was not too wild. There were fog effects that caused muting of colors and obscuring elements on stage. Because I shot RAW with a fixed color temperature I was able perform a minor batch color correction in post using the white in the costumes and drum heads as a guide. I also took a photo of the drums on stage with the house lights up so I had a reference photo to refer back to. Taking a reference photo or two (if you can) also allows you to estimate what your depth of field is going to be so you can evaluate the aperture setting(s) you might want to use. Because the performers where in fixed positions during the piece being played I took advantage of changing shutter speed to either blur or fix the motion of the drum sticks and hands depending on the effect I wanted. This meant I had to adjust exposure accordingly; and auto ISO is great for this; leave the aperture fixed and only think about shutter speed. The best part of this performance was observing the intensity of expression being shown by each member of the group as they played. This was what I wanted to capture. For anyone photographing performances, either on stage or on a street corner, I hope we all take time to observe the performance an not just get lost in taking pictures. I love these informative videos. Please keep them coming.
The info on what preset WB settings was very handy. I know I tried the flash WB once (without flash) and remember being surprised it worked well. Will definitely try using it on my camera at the next show I shoot.
Wow! Thank you for this video! I've just started concert photography and I've struggled a bit. I lucked out my first gig and pictures were usable. Second was a flop because I didn't have a good enough zoom for that venue. Did my 3rd in a night club last week and everything was under exposed and off, I had AWB on 🤦, and I couldn't get my subjects in focus even though the settings were set to my previous successful gig. I have 2 more gigs end of this month and I have a feeling I'll be much happier with my photos this time around. Thank you so much!
queen in boston 2018 front row but said no to camera. the luminners 2022, david shaw solo. sound on sound festival was fantastic. jerry jam best small festival. good video.
I’m watching this after my third concert gig sweating cause I’ve been shooting at 1/125, auto wb & single shot focus 😂 I guess it’s never too late to better yourself
came across your video. I am a concert photographer and find yours is right on and shoot very much as you explain but, I had to learn as I kept doing it. Burst mode is what I do use always but don't power my way thru the whole show that way. I sit back and study the musician's movements and anticipate. Then hone in when I can catch some good shoots I will burst 5 to 7 shots or so and move on. you can still grab just one shot with burst mode but I like to catch a few at least. I am known for my action photos. try to keep my iso down because of noise but, then I do post-process all the pics I do plan on using. Thanks for confirming my approach
Same here! Saw them in Portland, ME, and sat right beside them on stage singing out loud all night till we had no voices. Is that why you chose your screen name 𝘾𝙤𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙨𝙚, after the song?
Thank you, this was the expert advise I needed. I've looked at dozens of vids about shooting in mixed light/concerts, no one had the solution for white balance. But you say set White Balance at 5200k/Flash and perfect! I'm dealing with awful LED lights in dimly-lit bars shooting performances. Color correction was just awful. Putting the WB at 5200k was perfect, I was even able to apply a LUT to my SLOG-3 video and it didn't look like crap. The real test though, will be when I go to a place with predominantly Red LED floodlights. ugh. Thanks again. And yes of course spot metering, let the blacks be black. Focus, with Sony A7S III autofocus in low light is easy. If it doesn't see the eye for focus, I touch the screen and force it to focus.
Great training and info. There’s one more item to check before photographing your concert: make sure you are allowed to bring your camera system into the venue. For instance, I wanted to photograph the former “Prairie Home Companion.” The Fitzgerald theater said it was OK to photo with my cell phone ☹ but not my DSLR. Likewise, although not a concert, I was not allowed to use my DSLR at a UW hockey game because my 200mm lens “was a safety hazard.” UW has a lot of rules posted on its websites. Some places are very afraid that you are shooting for profit/commercial if you are toting a “professional-grade” camera. Some for-profit organizations like professional sports leagues have very strict rules about cameras as well. May I recommend that the photographer check the venue’s web site or dig deeply into the event/band’s promotional materials. You will not get any good photos is your rig is sitting in the venue’s security office. On the bright side, I've able to shoot some great shots at outdoor folk festivals in Wisconsin and here in West Virginia. The musicians seem to enjoy it too! Respectfully, Dave M, out there & shooing those damn photos.
That is an excellent recommendation. I considered talking about that aspect of things in this video, but decided to just focus on the technique of getting the photos. Thank you for sharing Dave!
Great video, as always. I always learn a thing or two from your videos, thank you. “Best” concert? That’s a tough one. I have been going to (and shooting shows) for almost 40 years. I will give the nod to Queen & Thin Litzy. I put a Nikon FM2 down my pants and shot a roll of tungsten slide film.
Hey there, Thanks for a great well presented tutorial. Much appreciated - best concert especially for lighting was Pink Floyd 1987 with the inflateable pig. If you were deaf & couldn't hear the lighting show itsself was worth the ticket. Cheers
Great video! Great training! I've learned so much more about my Nikon D5300... I thought there was something wrong with it. But now I know it was just user error/lack of knowledge. Thanks so much. Looking forward to learning more through your videos and guides! I'm shooting my first "concert"... this weekend. Actually, my son who is a live sound engineer in Nashville, but also does some lighting at Miranda Lambert's - I'll be shooting him at work and will hopefully capture some great shots that he wants for his portfolio and resume.
Thabk you for suggestions! I have tried shooting the concerts lately. The vidoe is really answered my questions. The video is probably the one that I have been looking for several months now.
Great video! Looking forward to putting some of this into action. In the following scenario, what do you usually do? You walk into the venue that you are going to be shooting at at and you only have the industry standard of first 3 tunes. You want to make sure you have your settings in order so you can get max crisp shots. What steps do you go through? Do you start with the opening act perhaps? Do you reset your camera settings so you aren't using any previous settings? Thanks in advance!
Erykah Badu at Love Supreme is the best non-metal concerts. Otherwise Metallica in Bilbao... Napalm Death in Bilbao... Slayer and Lamb of God in Brixton... Cannibal Corpse in Irún... Iron Maiden in Wembley Arena when I was 15...
Excellent! Your explanations are very clear and straight to the point. I'm still struggling with AF settings: I tried several settings but in the end, a lot of shots are not tack sharp when I look closer at the eyes. Maybe my shutter speed is too slow (I use between 1/250 and 1/320). It may also come from the noise: I limit my D500 at iso 5000, still some shots are very noisy...
Thank you for much for your videos---quick , informative & easy to understand. They are so helpful. I am new to photography and am awaiting my m50 w/ kit 15 -45 lens.. I am looking for guidance on what would be a good all around lens ( not crazy expensive, LOL) to take pics & video of my band- as well as personal use. Any advice you could give me would be very appreciated .
Hey, great video and information 🤘🏻📷 I’ve learned so much from it. So, I’m still an amateur but i really want become a professional concert photographer one day. What camera do you recommend for this kind of photography? Right now I’m using Nikon D3100 with 50mm 1,8 lens but i know it isn’t good enough it’s old and I’m not satisfied with the photos. Thank you and i hope I’ll get a reply 😀
Best concert I ever shoot was Iron Maiden Legacy of the beast 2018 , I have a profissional nikon dslr , but I shoot with sony rx100 miii for , camera settings was: S-500 /f stops to the lowest / auto iso limited to 3200 / white balance 5200k / metering mode I starded with spot but I ended with full because the spot was giving strange images.
Just found your video. Very helpful. Planning to try some of your suggestions tomorrow. - What do you think about using auto exposure bracketing for a concert? Would that be a mistake?
Hey, great video! I recently did some concert photography where I wanted to capture the scale of the venue and audience while also the performer. Exposing for the performer under the lights meant a super dark audience that I struggled to bring up in post, exposing for the audience totally blew out the stage. I tried some HDR style photos of taking different exposures to then combine in post, but found this a) very tricky in a fast moving concert, b) very time consuming and fiddly in post! Any tips on how to get around this?
I never understood people that do concert photography for a job but they wont mention or use manual focusing. Anyway back to your issue, it depends on the lens you are using and more precisely the apparture you have at your disposal. Trying to expose using ISO or shutter speed will add up or decrease the overall light but if your lens cannot capture the detail in the crowd and increase the contrast and the shadow details of the crowd you won't be able to do much. Set the ISO you want and feel comfortable for post editting and choose the shutter speed you feel you need (1/250th for a still and static image 1/60th for a steady image woth blurred crowd) and then you play with apparture, usually if the stage light are at high volume you will need f11 or even higher, most likely you will need a prime lens for that. If you have only zoom lenses and you are limited with your apparture you need to go on the sides and try to be on a 70-90° facing the light that lights the crowd.
Q. I'm getting into concert photography, what gear would you suggest to someone who doesn't have alot of dough and is just starting out? Just the basics..
Another awesome and informative video. My question is, do these places let you bring in a dslr for photos?. or do you have to get permission or something. Also, is there any particular type of lens you would recommend for concerts.
Some do and some do not. Best policy is to check with the venue, and also look for facebook groups or message boards where photographers local to the venue might hang out so you can see what they have to say about venue policies.
These days the bigger concert halls, Madison Square Gardens, Brooklyn's Barclay Center do not allow cameras. You have to get a pass. If you are with a camera club you can apply through the club. Quite often they do not recognize general press pass. Shoot small lounges and bars my friends, I been given free drinks at some of the smaller venues. A fast 35mm even a 24mm can be suitable. I would love to bring my 70-200mm f/2.8 but it is sort of "in your face."
@Tye, I’m sorry! I completely forgot to answer your lens question!! The fast primes are GREAT. Another great option is a 70-200mm f2.8 zoom. You lose a little over the fast primes with the f2.8, but the reach is worth it.
Excellent tutorial. I've been shooting concerts periodically for 2 years and still struggling with color and focus. This puts all that into a practical plan. I do much in post process to correct casts and shadows, but I think i've been too low on ISO. Many times I get an exposure of 1/60 or 1/125th and the focus is soft. I now know I need a faster shutter speed and will leave it in shutter priority. I use back button focus which is always set to continuous focus with spot metering. You have to remember to keep your finger on the focus button while shooting. These performers are always moving. Thanks, i'm subscribing to see your other tutorials..
I've been to hundreds of concerts so it's hard to pick one but I'd narrow it down to Roger Waters, Black Sabbath, Pantera, and believe it or not... ICP...and maybe GWAR. Those concerts aren't just concerts. They're like a totally complete immersion in another world.
Wouldn’t Manual Mode wide open, and set desired shutter speed, and Auto ISO work? I do a lot of wildlife and I use b/c of varying light conditions when tracking moving subjects.
Hahaha, great video, I find my APSC camera struggles in low light situations. I saw Steve Vai when he toured with David Lee Roth in the late 80s/ early 90s. Wow, I was memorized after his performance. Best gig, too many to mention. There is this little aussie band called the Press Club. Now they rock.
Can you or do you sell your concert photos? I've personally boughten tickets and taken very high quality photos from the pit of major artists and can't really find a direct answer anywhere.
Great content! Thank you!! Off topic - Just a suggestion, perhaps consider your "presentation voice" from some of the communication gurus here (like Vinh) on RUclips, to increase the impact of all the hard work you are putting into the videos.
![ARGENTINA vs. CHILE [3-0] | RESUMEN | ELIMINATORIAS SUDAMERICANAS | FECHA 7](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/De3AWmXzhuA/mqdefault.jpg)
Get your free concert photography guide at shp.photo/concerts
What's your favorite concert? Mine was Steve Vai at UW-Whitewater back when I was in college. Such an amazing experience, and I got to meet the legend!
That's badass! I went to a lot of concerts in Philly as a teen but we were so messed up... hard to remember a lot of things except jumping the turnstiles of the PATCO high-speed train to avoid the fares, partying in the parking lots with the masses, electric strawberries & miracle burritos before the shows... 😀 and then trying to find a way home when you're 12-14 yrs old and live in Jersey. 😅 Outta control!
That sounds like an epic blast!!!! Ah. The days of our wild youth.
Steve Vai is a guitar God, well, demon if you've seen the movie Crossroads
Great Video.
Love the video. 👍🏼 The very essential stuff, short and clear, specially if you come from using an analog camera for many years like I did. / I stopped taking certain kind of photos for quite a while trying to find my way with all the buttons and features of my digital camera.
My best concerts (for me quite difficult to shoot sometimes due to the dark light and my previous gear that has improoved by now), are ‘Glen Hansard’ concerts. Loved every minute of every concert that I have been to. With - or without camera....
You know a "How To" Photography video is good when you are a somewhat experienced photographer and you take notes! Well done.
Same, a lot of good stuff in here
The tip about using flash wb is genius! Been shooting concerts for years but never thought about that.
Why not shoot Raw and set it just before the concert starts?
King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard in New Orleans was the best I've ever been to!!! So good I didn't take photos I just stood in awe!
0:29 Focus Mode
2:53 Drive Mode
4:22 White Balance
7:16 Metering mode
8:08 Shooting mode
I'm amazed to see this video posted today! My husband is in a band. A couple weeks ago, I took photos of them with my Nikon D3400 for the first time. I was kinda disappointed. After spending days editing them to the best of my ability, I started looking for info last night on how to shoot a band. You must be psychic!!
Awesome!!! I'm so happy I can help!!!!!
same w me but at a harry styles concert. definitely using these tips for when i see shawn mendes
I stumbled across your video just hours before shooting a concert video trying to figure out the best settings to use. I did the manual mode settings but that didn’t work because I was constantly adjusting my exposure compensation dial. Well I did the shutter priority mode, spot metering and white balance to daylight setting and man I worked perfectly. Awesome advice. 🤙🏼😊
First time i hear about using the flash white balance setting, but your explanation makes sense, I'll try it.
1:15 seconds in and I've learned more about my camera than I've known this whole time (just a hobby). so far this is a fantastic video ! You do a very great at painting a simply image in the mind in just few words, so it's very easy to understand TOTALLY LIKING AND ALREADY SUBSCRIBED!
TY. I am preparing to photograph Ringo & His All Star Band. I am a sports photographer and this video certainly helped. Thanks. Makes perfect sense. My favorite concert I have ever been to is probably Jethro Tull back in the 70's but have seen so many. 2nd to Tull you ask? Steeel Wheels Tour Rolling Stones 1989 Shea Stadium, Queens NY
Wow, thanks so much. The WB setting is worth watching the whole video - thank you so much.
Another important tip, IMHO, shoot RAW so you can have more post-tweaking options to help overcome any exposure peculiarities.
Always shoot raw
You tweaking if you’re not shooting RAW
@@HotMochaCake You are wrong, wrong. Raw gives you Raw data and you can tweak to your delight. Also if you don't do a white balance on your first shot and set that in your camera, it'll be off but it can be tweaked later in LR or PS to what you want.
With mirrorless camras, "continuous focus" uses the the battery continuously and if shooting a Sony A 6ooo series camera, expect battery depletion at about the same rate as if shooting video. This video is very helpful for me SH, shooting small venue concerts is one of my dearest pleasures. Best concert, Hotel California, Eagles, Hyde Park London, wow!
EAGLES!!! That’s awesome, and thank you!
Yeah. The battery life on mirrorless is still a big issue and one of the best arguments for going with a dslr over a mirrorless.
Thank you for the tips it was greatly appreciated....best concert with all the Lazar lights would be lover boy back in the 80's
That flash white balance fact just blew my mind
Best concert ever... my first one... 1977, Rush. Also, a close 2nd or tie - The Who.
This is exactly what I needed. Thank you fam. Instant sub ❤
Great video! I just did an event last week for fun. This is good info for my next one. Biggest miss was white balance, although it doesn't look bad. Flash setting for the next one!👍🏽
Thank you!!!! If it’s an event versus a concert, with a more constant light source, that might be a good candidate for using a custom white balance, which is pretty quick and easy to do. Just get a grey/white card, and go to your custom WB setting, take a picture of the card, and boom. Perfect colors.
Thank you for an informative video.
It fills in gaps in my knowledge and confirms a couple of things I stumbled into that seemed to work for me; such as setting white balance to a fixed Kelvin temperature. I recently shot the performance of an all woman Taiko Drum group where the stage lighting varied during the performance but the color changes was not too wild. There were fog effects that caused muting of colors and obscuring elements on stage. Because I shot RAW with a fixed color temperature I was able perform a minor batch color correction in post using the white in the costumes and drum heads as a guide. I also took a photo of the drums on stage with the house lights up so I had a reference photo to refer back to. Taking a reference photo or two (if you can) also allows you to estimate what your depth of field is going to be so you can evaluate the aperture setting(s) you might want to use.
Because the performers where in fixed positions during the piece being played I took advantage of changing shutter speed to either blur or fix the motion of the drum sticks and hands depending on the effect I wanted. This meant I had to adjust exposure accordingly; and auto ISO is great for this; leave the aperture fixed and only think about shutter speed.
The best part of this performance was observing the intensity of expression being shown by each member of the group as they played. This was what I wanted to capture. For anyone photographing performances, either on stage or on a street corner, I hope we all take time to observe the performance an not just get lost in taking pictures.
I love these informative videos. Please keep them coming.
P.S. Fleetwood Mac!
Thank you!!!! And those are some excellent techniques you were using. Thank you for sharing!!!!
The info on what preset WB settings was very handy. I know I tried the flash WB once (without flash) and remember being surprised it worked well. Will definitely try using it on my camera at the next show I shoot.
Peter Frampton in Miami around 1976-77 and Ella Fitzgerald at the Kennedy Center around 1985-86.
Thanks for the great tips on WB.
Oh dang!!! Ella Fitzgerald must have been amazing.
@@spyrosheniadis it was amazing
Wow! Thank you for this video! I've just started concert photography and I've struggled a bit. I lucked out my first gig and pictures were usable. Second was a flop because I didn't have a good enough zoom for that venue. Did my 3rd in a night club last week and everything was under exposed and off, I had AWB on 🤦, and I couldn't get my subjects in focus even though the settings were set to my previous successful gig. I have 2 more gigs end of this month and I have a feeling I'll be much happier with my photos this time around. Thank you so much!
Great tips! Thank you!
Great tips! Today is my first official concert gig.
Glad to know I dont need to carry much equipment.
queen in boston 2018 front row but said no to camera. the luminners 2022, david shaw solo. sound on sound festival was fantastic. jerry jam best small festival. good video.
I’m watching this after my third concert gig sweating cause I’ve been shooting at 1/125, auto wb & single shot focus 😂 I guess it’s never too late to better yourself
came across your video. I am a concert photographer and find yours is right on and shoot very much as you explain but, I had to learn as I kept doing it. Burst mode is what I do use always but don't power my way thru the whole show that way. I sit back and study the musician's movements and anticipate. Then hone in when I can catch some good shoots I will burst 5 to 7 shots or so and move on. you can still grab just one shot with burst mode but I like to catch a few at least. I am known for my action photos. try to keep my iso down because of noise but, then I do post-process all the pics I do plan on using. Thanks for confirming my approach
This video is superb man. You're a hell of a teacher! 🤘 Best concert I went too..... Audioslave!
🤘🤘YES!!! 🤘🤘
Same here! Saw them in Portland, ME, and sat right beside them on stage singing out loud all night till we had no voices. Is that why you chose your screen name 𝘾𝙤𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙨𝙚, after the song?
@Cyber Doc That's awesome! I had a seat like that for the Steve Vai show.
@@CyberDocUSA awesome! I saw them tour their first album at the Hard Rock in sin City. I'll never forget it!
💪 Dope
Good tips-thanks. Best concert was a toss-up between Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen, and Jethro Tull. All were different and each was great.
Excellent help! I struggled with these exact issues
Glad I can help!!!
Thanks! Utilized these last night and they came out great!
Thank you, this was the expert advise I needed. I've looked at dozens of vids about shooting in mixed light/concerts, no one had the solution for white balance. But you say set White Balance at 5200k/Flash and perfect! I'm dealing with awful LED lights in dimly-lit bars shooting performances. Color correction was just awful. Putting the WB at 5200k was perfect, I was even able to apply a LUT to my SLOG-3 video and it didn't look like crap. The real test though, will be when I go to a place with predominantly Red LED floodlights. ugh. Thanks again. And yes of course spot metering, let the blacks be black. Focus, with Sony A7S III autofocus in low light is easy. If it doesn't see the eye for focus, I touch the screen and force it to focus.
Great training and info. There’s one more item to check before photographing your concert: make sure you are allowed to bring your camera system into the venue. For instance, I wanted to photograph the former “Prairie Home Companion.” The Fitzgerald theater said it was OK to photo with my cell phone ☹ but not my DSLR. Likewise, although not a concert, I was not allowed to use my DSLR at a UW hockey game because my 200mm lens “was a safety hazard.” UW has a lot of rules posted on its websites. Some places are very afraid that you are shooting for profit/commercial if you are toting a “professional-grade” camera. Some for-profit organizations like professional sports leagues have very strict rules about cameras as well. May I recommend that the photographer check the venue’s web site or dig deeply into the event/band’s promotional materials. You will not get any good photos is your rig is sitting in the venue’s security office. On the bright side, I've able to shoot some great shots at outdoor folk festivals in Wisconsin and here in West Virginia. The musicians seem to enjoy it too! Respectfully, Dave M, out there & shooing those damn photos.
That is an excellent recommendation. I considered talking about that aspect of things in this video, but decided to just focus on the technique of getting the photos. Thank you for sharing Dave!
you need to get a photo pass in 99% of the venues to shoot with professional cameras
Great video, as always. I always learn a thing or two from your videos, thank you. “Best” concert? That’s a tough one. I have been going to (and shooting shows) for almost 40 years. I will give the nod to Queen & Thin Litzy. I put a Nikon FM2 down my pants and shot a roll of tungsten slide film.
😂😂 that’s one way to get a camera in!! That sounds like an incredible show. Queen was just amazing.
This is the best photography related video I’ve ever seen on RUclips! Excellent work!
The flash mode as white balance was a great tip!!
this just gave me such a clear idea of how I can improve my settings for future concerts!!
Hey there, Thanks for a great well presented tutorial. Much appreciated - best concert especially for lighting was Pink Floyd 1987 with the inflateable pig. If you were deaf & couldn't hear the lighting show itsself was worth the ticket. Cheers
Awesome content!! Super helpful. Thank you.
Best concert: Hands down Cher in 2003, 13th row
I'd start at iso 2000, 1/160 th of a second, spotmetering and 1 stop of underexposure And then see what aperture you get and then move further
Good video. Great info for beginning concert photographers. I personally like to use a focus trap to catch sharp images.
Thanks Jason! I was thinking of you when I made the video. :)
Amazing educational material ..
Thank you!!! Glad you enjoyed it! 😊😊
Great video! Great training! I've learned so much more about my Nikon D5300... I thought there was something wrong with it. But now I know it was just user error/lack of knowledge. Thanks so much. Looking forward to learning more through your videos and guides! I'm shooting my first "concert"... this weekend. Actually, my son who is a live sound engineer in Nashville, but also does some lighting at Miranda Lambert's - I'll be shooting him at work and will hopefully capture some great shots that he wants for his portfolio and resume.
Great video
Tks Spyros. a great help for stills.. Can you point me in the direction for similar for video?
Thabk you for suggestions! I have tried shooting the concerts lately. The vidoe is really answered my questions. The video is probably the one that I have been looking for several months now.
Back button focus. An awesome technique for controlling focus actuation. I loathe the half press shutter button focus.
Great video. My best concert was Leonard Cohen ❤️ Blessed to witness the magic many times, and to talk with him many times too.
Oh my, that sounds wonderful. Cohen is fantastic. Beautiful music.
Thank you so much for this video you pretty much cover everything I've scratched my head about when it comes to low light/concert photography.
Great video! Looking forward to putting some of this into action. In the following scenario, what do you usually do? You walk into the venue that you are going to be shooting at at and you only have the industry standard of first 3 tunes. You want to make sure you have your settings in order so you can get max crisp shots. What steps do you go through? Do you start with the opening act perhaps? Do you reset your camera settings so you aren't using any previous settings?
Thanks in advance!
i am new to concert photography but i would like to know the appropriate lens to capture the best images
Great video the flash mode was my missing info thx for that👍
Thank you 👏👏👏 very straightforward
Many thanks for those settings Spyros! Great tips that I will use as soon as this COVID-19 confinement will allow for some action.
Interesting video idea, love that lens shelf.
Great video, thanks. I use manual mode, auto ISO and auto WB. I don't think I ll use S mode but I ll try WB-flash mode this weekend.
thank you for cheat sheet, learnt a lot, as I'm just starting my first photography GiG coming up
Erykah Badu at Love Supreme is the best non-metal concerts. Otherwise Metallica in Bilbao... Napalm Death in Bilbao... Slayer and Lamb of God in Brixton... Cannibal Corpse in Irún... Iron Maiden in Wembley Arena when I was 15...
Awesome video thank you very much!
Excellent! Your explanations are very clear and straight to the point. I'm still struggling with AF settings: I tried several settings but in the end, a lot of shots are not tack sharp when I look closer at the eyes. Maybe my shutter speed is too slow (I use between 1/250 and 1/320). It may also come from the noise: I limit my D500 at iso 5000, still some shots are very noisy...
Thank you for much for your videos---quick , informative & easy to understand. They are so helpful.
I am new to photography and am awaiting my m50 w/ kit 15 -45 lens..
I am looking for guidance on what would be a good all around lens ( not crazy expensive, LOL) to take pics & video of my band- as well as personal use.
Any advice you could give me would be very appreciated .
VERY informative, thank you
thank you for this. this just helped me so much.
Hey, great video and information 🤘🏻📷
I’ve learned so much from it.
So, I’m still an amateur but i really want become a professional concert photographer one day.
What camera do you recommend for this kind of photography? Right now I’m using Nikon D3100 with 50mm 1,8 lens but i know it isn’t good enough it’s old and I’m not satisfied with the photos.
Thank you and i hope I’ll get a reply 😀
Best concert I ever shoot was Iron Maiden Legacy of the beast 2018 , I have a profissional nikon dslr , but I shoot with sony rx100 miii for , camera settings was: S-500 /f stops to the lowest / auto iso limited to 3200 / white balance 5200k / metering mode I starded with spot but I ended with full because the spot was giving strange images.
Nice video, E W F my best,No cameras allowed at concerts I've been too, not even Cruising, so I'll have to wait until I can practice those settings.
Smaller local shows are a great option for practicing!
Nice video packed with info.
Thank you!
Thanks!
Very very useful ! Thank you so much
Tough choice. I saw Styx in '78, and Loretta Lynn in 1981 in Hawai'i!
Dang! Legends! I bet both shows were amazing!!!
Excellents tips 😉
Thank you!!!
Just found your video. Very helpful. Planning to try some of your suggestions tomorrow. - What do you think about using auto exposure bracketing for a concert? Would that be a mistake?
Hey, great video! I recently did some concert photography where I wanted to capture the scale of the venue and audience while also the performer. Exposing for the performer under the lights meant a super dark audience that I struggled to bring up in post, exposing for the audience totally blew out the stage. I tried some HDR style photos of taking different exposures to then combine in post, but found this a) very tricky in a fast moving concert, b) very time consuming and fiddly in post! Any tips on how to get around this?
I never understood people that do concert photography for a job but they wont mention or use manual focusing.
Anyway back to your issue, it depends on the lens you are using and more precisely the apparture you have at your disposal. Trying to expose using ISO or shutter speed will add up or decrease the overall light but if your lens cannot capture the detail in the crowd and increase the contrast and the shadow details of the crowd you won't be able to do much. Set the ISO you want and feel comfortable for post editting and choose the shutter speed you feel you need (1/250th for a still and static image 1/60th for a steady image woth blurred crowd) and then you play with apparture, usually if the stage light are at high volume you will need f11 or even higher, most likely you will need a prime lens for that. If you have only zoom lenses and you are limited with your apparture you need to go on the sides and try to be on a 70-90° facing the light that lights the crowd.
0:29 Cries in panasonic
Q. I'm getting into concert photography, what gear would you suggest to someone who doesn't have alot of dough and is just starting out? Just the basics..
Good tips
Great video ❤
Is it frowned upon to use flash in these settings? Say when capturing the chaos/motion of a mosh pit?
Another awesome and informative video. My question is, do these places let you bring in a dslr for photos?. or do you have to get permission or something. Also, is there any particular type of lens you would recommend for concerts.
Some do and some do not. Best policy is to check with the venue, and also look for facebook groups or message boards where photographers local to the venue might hang out so you can see what they have to say about venue policies.
These days the bigger concert halls, Madison Square Gardens, Brooklyn's Barclay Center do not allow cameras. You have to get a pass. If you are with a camera club you can apply through the club. Quite often they do not recognize general press pass. Shoot small lounges and bars my friends, I been given free drinks at some of the smaller venues. A fast 35mm even a 24mm can be suitable. I would love to bring my 70-200mm f/2.8 but it is sort of "in your face."
@@RickMentore well the only couple of lenses i have that are fast(for the most part) are a 50mm 1.8 or 85mm 1.8 and a 100mm 2.8 macro.
@@tyeeggleston6159 Yea, the 50mm is cool, so is the 85mm with a bit bit more reach. And again, I am talking small club and lounges.
@Tye, I’m sorry! I completely forgot to answer your lens question!!
The fast primes are GREAT. Another great option is a 70-200mm f2.8 zoom. You lose a little over the fast primes with the f2.8, but the reach is worth it.
When should you advise to use auto ISO?
Good question!! I can’t believe I forgot to mention auto iso in the video. You can absolutely use auto iso shooting concerts.
What camera do you recommend for outdoor day festivals
Toss up between Hendrix, Zeppelin, and Sly and the Family Stone. All of them back in the day.
Best concert I’ve ever went to was Thirty seconds to Mars in Stockholm in 2018!
i can't seem to download the guide the link you gave has one image but nothing downloadable
Excellent tutorial. I've been shooting concerts periodically for 2 years and still struggling with color and focus. This puts all that into a practical plan. I do much in post process to correct casts and shadows, but I think i've been too low on ISO. Many times I get an exposure of 1/60 or 1/125th and the focus is soft. I now know I need a faster shutter speed and will leave it in shutter priority. I use back button focus which is always set to continuous focus with spot metering. You have to remember to keep your finger on the focus button while shooting. These performers are always moving. Thanks, i'm subscribing to see your other tutorials..
Ozzy/Anthrax Front row and back stage
I've been to hundreds of concerts so it's hard to pick one but I'd narrow it down to Roger Waters, Black Sabbath, Pantera, and believe it or not... ICP...and maybe GWAR. Those concerts aren't just concerts. They're like a totally complete immersion in another world.
1) Bruce Springsteen, 1984 Vancouver, BC; 2) Procol Harem, 1969 Detroit, MI; 3) The Who, 1967 Flint, MI; 4) Jimi Hendrix, 1968 Detroit, MI
NICE! Those are some seriously excellent concerts. I'm a little jealous! 🙂
Spyros Heniadis Thanks. I was fortunate to be living in Detroit during a sweet spot in rock ‘n roll history. 1964-1969.
Wouldn’t Manual Mode wide open, and set desired shutter speed, and Auto ISO work?
I do a lot of wildlife and I use b/c of varying light conditions when tracking moving subjects.
Queen Toronto 1979
Hahaha, great video, I find my APSC camera struggles in low light situations. I saw Steve Vai when he toured with David Lee Roth in the late 80s/ early 90s. Wow, I was memorized after his performance. Best gig, too many to mention. There is this little aussie band called the Press Club. Now they rock.
Right! Vai is really amazing. What's the low light struggle? Noise, or focus, or something else?
Spyros Heniadis it is the noise from the high iso. I have to push it up to 6400 where it struggles.
What about Auto ISO?
greetings I am doing a paranormal circus . I tried to go to your concert cheat sheet but it doesnt have a prompt to clic on
i love that nikon now makes every youtuber have an autofocus disclaimer.
Can you or do you sell your concert photos? I've personally boughten tickets and taken very high quality photos from the pit of major artists and can't really find a direct answer anywhere.
Are these jpeg settings? Because if you shoot RAW you can change you white balance in post.
The cheat sheet is not available anymore. Does anyone have a working link or a copy?
Great content! Thank you!!
Off topic - Just a suggestion, perhaps consider your "presentation voice" from some of the communication gurus here (like Vinh) on RUclips, to increase the impact of all the hard work you are putting into the videos.
How much of this applies to phone cameras? I'm going to a concert but only have my smartphone to bring
Not much. There is a huge difference between dslr/mirrorless cameras and phones in both quality, and changeable options.
@@christjan08 😩
Thanks for letting me know.