It’s time to help CC again. This time he’s on his way to take pictures at a podsafe music concert in Nashville. Also, don’t forget to check out my Twitter page!
Links for this episode:
- My Twitter page
- Podsafe Music Live - Nashville
About
Tips from the Top Floor, produced by photographer Chris Marquardt, is a free audio and video show about all things photography. Short and sweet with non-techy tips that you can put to use immediately. Covers everything from image composition to post processing. No matter if you use a digital point-and-shoot or an expensive digital SLR. Tips for the beginner as well as the professional photographer.Email: info@tipsfromthetopfloor.com
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Hey Chris, I shot a lot of concert photography this past summer and I posted a quick little tutorial on my blog. http://www.digitalexplorer.typepad.com
You hit a lot of my points in my blog, but just thought I’d pimp out my blog tutorial as well
Cheers! Another great show.
I have a 350D (a step down from CC’s 400D) and I’ve shot concert photography a few times. It is indeed hard, but heres some tips:
Manual focus. Your camera/lens will probably be angry in the low light which would make it difficult for it to focus, so use the focusing ring instead.
Use the 50mm 1.8 like CC has…it’s not the best one that you can use but it is certainly the cheapest.
Get in the front row - out of the mosh pit
I woulden’t go FULLY manual like Chris advised, unless you are really really comfortable with it. I would switch back and forth between Aperture and Shutter priority modes.
Use a beanbag
a tip for playing the videos on mobile devices:
- i havn’t tested chris’ videos yet (not at home at the moment) but the “TCPMP” is able to play a lot of formats - including mpeg4 (but i’m not sure which variations of that)
If someone likes to try - take a look at: http://picard.exceed.hu/tcpmp/test/
Good luck
Hi Chris!
Take a look at the Adobe website. Go to the shop and you will see there is an Upgrade section on the buy product page. Any version (Win/Mac) of PhotoShop is qualified for an update to the latest version (Win/Mac). There are some legal statements about upgrading on the Adobe website but it is for sure simpler to give them a call and ask.
On http://preview.tinyurl.com/ytprbb (adobe.com) is a “not sure what to buy” link that states updates start at 130 EUR. Unfortunately I did not find any update for less than 250 EUR … might be that the 130 EUR are for same version platform upgrades. You will have to call them.
By the way: As far as I could figure out upgrading from a cheap eBay PS 3 to the latest version is completely legal and about 700EUR cheaper than the regular version. (Could you verify that too, when you call them?)
Chris,
Also, there is a product called Parallels that lets you run a version of Windows on your Mac, that will allow you to still use your Windows software, also you can use bootcamp, but for both of them you will need an extra copy of Windows.
I must add, it was about time the you switch to the Mac platform. : )
Thanks for another great show,
Luis
Hi Chris,
I would recommend to wait until CS3 is available before you make a paid upgrade.
CS2 won’t run natively on a Mac with intel CPU - it will run on an intel Mac, but much slower and it will need very much RAM.
You can cross grade from CS2-PC to CS3-Mac, when it comes out. You’ll have to call Adobe, but you can do it.
Hey CC, manual is great, I shoot in full manual mode about 90% of the time, then switch to Aperture Priority as needed.
For concerts, meter for and expose for the face, and you will be very close, otherwise the changing lights and colors will throw you off a lot. Get the faces right and everything else is secondary.
Aperture priority will lock the DOF, but leave the exposure floating all over the place.
Shutter priority will lock the speed at which you take each shot, but will let the DOF float all over the place.
Manual gives you the most control and quicker adjustments that don’t float around on you. It is my best friend in most situations.
Remember too that with shallow DOF (f/1.8, f/2, f2.8) your focus needs to be spot on, especially as you get closer to the subject.
Happy shooting indeed!
I agree with Landon with regard to the aperture priority to give you best overall alternative. Watch out for the focussing - easy to get carried away by the music.
Also shoot at the highest ISO setting you can get away with. Although there will be a lot of light close up - if you’re far away the light quality will fluctuate.
Here are a few tips that touch on some of the other great suggestions here:
-Shoot 800 to 1600 ISO (I’d do a quick test at your home first to see where the “breaking point” is). Also, don’t underexpose at very high ISOs.
-Shoot wide open or one stop closed down. A 50mm 2.8 lens (Canon makes a nice one that’s affordable) is a great choice because it is compact, inexpensive and sharp. Wide angle zooms are also great when shooting bands.
-If the lighting is pretty consistent, set the camera to Aperture priority, then find a good shutter speed and aperture and then switch to Manual exposure and set that exposure.
-I really like Auto Exposure Bracketing, but it eats up memory cards. If you shoot RAW, I would choose 1.5 stop increments. If you shoot JPG, I would choose 1 stop increments. This will take three consecutive photos. Combine it with burst mode for a quick 3 shot series at 3 different exposures (even in Manual mode).
-Try to keep still and if the floor is shaking, stay as steady as possible!
All the best,
Andrew Darlow
Editor
The Imaging Buffet
http://www.imagingbuffet.com
Posting this on behalf of Andrew Darlow (www.theimagingbuffet.com), he had an issue with posting here:
-Shoot wide open or one stop closed down. A 50mm 2.8 lens (Canon makes a nice one that’s affordable) is a great choice because it is compact, inexpensive and sharp. Wide angle zooms are also great when shooting bands.
-If the lighting is pretty consistent, set the camera to Aperture priority, then find a good shutter speed and aperture and then switch to Manual exposure and set that exposure.
-I really like Auto Exposure Bracketing, but it eats up memory cards. If you shoot RAW, I would choose 1.5 stop increments. If you shoot JPG, I would choose 1 stop increments. This will take three consecutive photos. Combine it with burst mode for a quick 3 shot series at 3 different exposures (even in Manual mode).
-Try to keep still and if the floor is shaking, stay as steady as possible!
-Use noise reduction software-some is built into Photoshop and Adobe Camera RAW. Noise Ninja (http://www.picturecode.com/) and Noiseware are both highly regarded standalone products and I’ve had good success with Noiseware (http://www.noiseware.com). I often convert to LAB space and blur the A and B channels with Gaussian blur between 3-5 pixels, which reduces color noise.