How do you take good pictures at an indoor rock concert (pics wanted)
#1
DVD Talk Hero
Thread Starter
How do you take good pictures at an indoor rock concert (pics wanted)
Whenever i take them, it is too dark to see anything, but a friend showed me some pictures taken at George Mason University (i think) and got really good pictures of no doubt. Also, try to state the venue and the band if known.
#4
DVD Talk Hero
Thread Starter
thanks, i have a olympus aps camera. Can i see some pics of some of your pictures and the techniques that you used. Also, do you have to be in a certin row to get them to come out good.
#11
Senior Member
Speaking as someone who only uses a crappy point-and-shoot(35mm) where the settings can't be adjusted much:
Minimum film speed is 800. 1600 may be even better with a point-and-shoot, depending on your tolerance for the grain visible. In my experience, on slower film the photos don't come out at all unless you use a flash.
Which brings us to....Turn your off the flash! It only reaches about 15 feet in front of you. If you're that close to the stage, it will annoy the performers (not to mention others in the crowd) and wash out the stage lighting. If there are heads in front of you in the frame, they will be much more brightly lit than your main subject. And if photography isn't allowed at the show, the flash will also be a beacon signal to your location for some burly security guard who wants to confiscate your film and/or camera.
And without a flash, you probably won't get very good shots unless you are close to the stage. If you're a distance away from the stage, most of your shots will all look the same anyway unless you're taking photos for the lighting or background video screens.
Point-and-shoots will likely have problems metering the light properly - usually they average the light over the whole frame or they have a spot meter that's too large to be really useful. You have to hold the camera very still because the aperture will probably be open longer than when you normally take photos. That's tough to do near the front of the stage unless you can steady yourself on the front rail.
Try to take pictures when your subject is standing still and the stage lighting is bright. Using the zoom lens may give you a better composition, but it also will lessen the amount of light reaching the film. You probably will have to do some trial and error with your camera to figure out its idiosyncrasies.
You might have a better time at the show if you leave the camera at home so that you're not always thinking about taking pictures. Even if you do manage to get close to the stage, a lot of your shots won't come out anyway. I only got a few per roll that I was happy with. But I am pretty happy with some of the ones I did get.
Minimum film speed is 800. 1600 may be even better with a point-and-shoot, depending on your tolerance for the grain visible. In my experience, on slower film the photos don't come out at all unless you use a flash.
Which brings us to....Turn your off the flash! It only reaches about 15 feet in front of you. If you're that close to the stage, it will annoy the performers (not to mention others in the crowd) and wash out the stage lighting. If there are heads in front of you in the frame, they will be much more brightly lit than your main subject. And if photography isn't allowed at the show, the flash will also be a beacon signal to your location for some burly security guard who wants to confiscate your film and/or camera.
And without a flash, you probably won't get very good shots unless you are close to the stage. If you're a distance away from the stage, most of your shots will all look the same anyway unless you're taking photos for the lighting or background video screens.
Point-and-shoots will likely have problems metering the light properly - usually they average the light over the whole frame or they have a spot meter that's too large to be really useful. You have to hold the camera very still because the aperture will probably be open longer than when you normally take photos. That's tough to do near the front of the stage unless you can steady yourself on the front rail.
Try to take pictures when your subject is standing still and the stage lighting is bright. Using the zoom lens may give you a better composition, but it also will lessen the amount of light reaching the film. You probably will have to do some trial and error with your camera to figure out its idiosyncrasies.
You might have a better time at the show if you leave the camera at home so that you're not always thinking about taking pictures. Even if you do manage to get close to the stage, a lot of your shots won't come out anyway. I only got a few per roll that I was happy with. But I am pretty happy with some of the ones I did get.
#12
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Some interesting information here but this is scarcely on-topic for the Music Forum i.e. although one might find the practical experience of concert-goers here to be useful this isn't really about the music itself....
.... I've locked this one and moved a copy over to Other so interested parties can continue sharing.
Benedict
.... I've locked this one and moved a copy over to Other so interested parties can continue sharing.
Benedict
Last edited by benedict; 05-04-02 at 06:33 AM.