Comments on: Eight Tips for Getting Great Images at Rock Concerts

By: André Weigel

André Weigel — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 13:32:49 +0000

Use the manual mode and also forget the Auto-ISO function...
Godspeed !

By: Joseph Linaschke

Joseph Linaschke — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 22:20:45 +0000

Norby – yeah auto ISO helps if you have it (of course not all cameras do)

Robert – I consider shooting RAW a basic tenement of modern digital photography, and not really an "option". So yes, definitely shoot RAW!

Denver – profits are a lot less than they used to be, but there is money to be made for sure

Alex - rules were meant to be broken All I can say is that this is what I did, and it worked. Check the galleries if you doubt! (links in the post above)

John – wide open is good but if you're close to your subject, you risk missing focus. Remember things move FAST and at f/1.2 or 1.4 your depth of field is VERY shallow, and you risk out of focus photos. Just be careful!

Marc – very glad to hear that!

By: Marc

Marc — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 15:51:12 +0000

Great tips!! I was able to use these at a Maroon5 shoot, and it worked fabulous (compared to my previous concert shoots).

By: John

John — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 17:59:31 +0000

nothing beats shooting these kinds of events with primes + wide open f1.2-f1.4. just makes everything look fantastic.

By: alex

alex — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 17:17:15 +0000

these 'rules' goes against everything I ever heard about music photography.
The'pros' always tell you:
Set iso at minimum 800 and adjust when needed,
go Manual mode, low aperture, adjust shutter as needed.
It all comes down to what works for you for a certain venue.

By: Denver Engagement Photographer

Denver Engagement Photographer — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 17:11:38 +0000

I really need to get into concert photography, I think there's great potential for profits there, and I'm sure it could be fun too even if it is work.

By: Robert

Robert — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 11:04:09 +0000

"Should shoot RAW" be in there? That will help with WB worries and give you some latitude with pulling back overexposed highlights.

By: Norby

Norby — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 02:15:34 +0000

Good tip on the auto-ISO - that's one area where I've always been feeling like I was just struggling a couple seconds behind everything that was happening. One thing I've been trying out (when only shooting with one body) is blipping between two custom settings - one for high ISO and one for low ISO. Still haven't gotten the hang of it though, so I'll give auto-ISO a try next.

-/\/

By: Joseph Linaschke

Joseph Linaschke — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 17:45:47 +0000

Doug,

I left the white balance on auto, believe it or not. And I almost never had to change it in post!

-Joseph

By: Doug Pruden

Doug Pruden — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 16:59:38 +0000

In many ways it is not dissimilar to shooting an indoor sporting event, but with a lot more variation in the lighting and exposure. What did you set your white balance to?