[Sprags]

My friends friend Jason Ricci & New Blood is going to be in town and he is hoping I can take some photos of them at the bar/club they will playing at this coming Thursday night.

I'm kinda new to photography and am hoping someone can give me suggestions as far as settings to use on my K10D as far as shutter speed, aperature and ISO. I was hoping to be able to use just the FA 31mm lens so I'm not lugging around a bunch of equipment.

I'm not sure about what type of lighting they have so I know I'm probably not helping too much in that aspect but the one thing I would like to avoid is using the flash if I can.

Thank you....

[m8o]

Not necessarily "how-to" but ideas of what to go for/mimic by a member with mad skillz here:

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/post-your-photos/4959-first-try-band-photo-shoot.html
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/post-your-photos/9002-few-live-band-shots.html
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/post-your-photos/10595-few-b-w-action-portraits.html

This is the "how-to" he went by for the slow-curtain sync in the live shots:
Concert Photography, A Tutorial for photo.net by Steve Mirarchi

[MikeH]

I've found that I like longer focal lengths for live music. I've used my DA70 the most, followed by a Super Takumar 50/1.4. I recently bought a Super Takumar 105/2.8 that I'm itching to use.

I usually shoot ISO 1600 to maximize my shutter speed, ensuring to not underexpose.

The Weakerthans:



Do Make Say Think:

[rutster]

Hey Sprags..

I've been shooting live music for a good 10 years now. Now, you won't hear me calling myself a pro or anything, but i think i've found a style. I've found live music / bar photography with out using flash is one of the hardest things to shoot. But, when you do get that one shot to turn out.. it's all worth it.

Here's some examples of my work:
Rutster.com Live Digital Photography

Some tips I can offer you.

Take alot of pictures, the more you take the better. Not every picture will turn out, heck not even half of them will (at least for me). with all the changing lights and movement you can only hope to catch them without blur.

Fast glass, the faster the better. The more light you can get to your sensor the better.

It helps to know people. (or meet people) if you know the sound/light guy. ask him if he can bump up the front light on the stage or remove some colored filters to get more light. If you don't know the sound/light guy.. introduce yourself, tell him what your doing and ask him if he could help you out. It never hurts to ask.

Stay out of the way. (this is more of a personal tip for me) People came/paid to watch a concert, not you taking pictures of the band. Just because you have a camera doesn't mean you deserve to be in the front row. (at least to the fans it doesn't) If you need to step in front of someone, excuse your self, say you'll be there for just an second and move on.

now for the settings part.
this is what i catch myself using, and might not work for you or your show, but will be a starting point.

ISO: depending on the light (if it looks bright try 200 or 400, if not push 800. but, i wouldn't go over that unless you like the noise from the higher ISOs) Your main goal is to get to a shutter speed you can live with.

Aperture: I normally stay wide open. If you have a 2.8 lens start there. If the depth of field is too shallow for you, close it up a little. keep in mind, your main goal is shutter speed.

shutter speed: as fast as you can get. which in the dark isn't that fast. I've been known to shoot 1/15, 1/20, 1/30 sec shutter speeds. But, i'm comfortable hand holding that slow of a shutter. I also typically underexpose just a little and bring out the light in post processing.


Last thing.. Just have fun.
Attached is one I just took Friday (it was a 1/10sec, 800 ISO)
Attachment 8582

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Last edited by rutster; 04-18-2014 at 01:49 PM.

[Sprags]

Thanks for the advice ...

I've never been to the club the band is playing in but I think its on the smaller side. More like a bar as a opposed to an auditorium.

I know when I was waaay younger I used to go to places like the Metro and and the Aragon Brawl Room in Chicago but since I gave up drinking I pretty much avoid places like that unless its for an event.

I thought that since the place is more like a bar a wider angle lens would be a better choice since I think most of the shots will be from 10 to 20 feet away from the stage.

Can someone suggest what mode I should be shooting in? I know I know...I should probably try a whole bunch of settings but I figured if someone could get me in the ballpark that would help.

[rutster]

I shoot full manual mode.
I've also been known to hit 200mm on my zoom, but i like standing back out of the way and using my lens to get close.

Here's where I'd start.
Mode: Manual
ISO: 400
White Balance: Auto
Aperture: Wide open (smallest number you can get)
Shutter: fastest you can get without underexposing.

note: if shutter speed is too slow, bump ISO to 800

you can also play with manual white balance. find something white on the stage click on the adjust and focus on that white object. (sometimes the colored can lights freak out the sensor)

[MikeH]

I took some more live music photos on Friday using my S-M-C Takumar 50mm f/1.4 and Super-Takumar 105 f/2.8. I loved shooting with those lenses, even though it was manual focus, stop down metering. Got some excellent results.







All ISO 1600, K10D with the two lenses mentioned above.

GO M42!

[Sprags]

As it turned out the city had its worst snowstorm of the season the night the band was in town and I missed it.

I wasn't about to take the chance of being on the roads when there are a bunch of people that can't drive out there also.

I'm from Chicago and we know how to drive in snow. Here in Cincinnati people can't drive if it drizzles. Sometimes they even have Sun Delays.

Anyways...i'll keep all the advice you've offered for a future date...

Thanks