7 Tips For Stunning Concert Photography
You always wanted to know the tricks of the best concert photographers? In this blog post I will share my 7 best tips on how you can improve your photography skills to become a better concert photographer.
1. Pure aperture madness!
The best way to start as a concert photographer is to get a lens with a big aperture (small aperture number e.g. f1.4, f1.8, f2.8). One no-brainer is the 50mm f1.8 lens (available for all brands) which is lightweight, unobtrusive, and cheap. The aperture of 1.8 will give you the ability to shoot in low light conditions and is just perfect for concert photogprahy.
2. Freeze the action!
Have you ever been on a concert where the artist was hyperactive jumping from one side of the stage to the other? To freeze these movements we have to use a fast shutter speed. In general, I set my shutter speed at 1/200sec. I just want to remind you about the rule of thumb: 1/focal length is the shutter speed you need to overcome camera shake (and therefore blurry images).
3. Film speed in the digital era?
ISO or film speed refers to the sensitivity of an analog film. Today the term is used for the sensitivity of your digital sensor. The higher the ISO setting the less light is needed for a proper exposure, but the more noise you will encounter in your pictures. Depending on the ability of your camera a good starting point is an ISO setting of 1600.
4. RAW is the new jpeg!
This one is essential: always shoot RAW! I am 99% of the time a RAW shooting professional photographer. The reason? You have way more freedom in postproduction like changing the white balance, reducing noise, changing the exposure, etc. Especially in the field of concert photogpraphy we are dealing with low light and ugly colors like red and blue spot lights on the artist. Drawback: the files are big and you have to postprocess them. For even more information about why you should shoot RAW have a look at P/B’s post on 7 reasons to shoot RAW.
5. Automatic or manual?
When I started as concert photographer, I used the aperture priority mode (Av). In this mode you set the aperture and your camera will automatically set your shutter speed for the right exposure. In the beginning it can be somewhat overwhelming. Standing in front of the stage for the first time is a great experience, but too many thoughts may be going on in your head. Do I have the right settings? Is the audience mad at me because I am standing in front of them? What is the artist thinking of me run aorund in front of him with my camera the whole time. So I would suggest to start out in Av mode and once you feel more comfortable with the situation, change to manual mode which will give you even more freedom to set your exposure.
6. Do I have to live in the Matrix?
Normally I am always part of the Matrix (metering). In this mode the camera measures the whole frame to get the right exposure, which works in normal circumstances just fine. In our situation where unpredictable light is spilling on stage everywhere it´s a pain. For example, in back lit situations on stage you might get a silhouette of the artist (which can be sometimes artsy, but should not be the norm). Therefore I am using spot-metering, where the camera takes it´s metering from a small spot (placed in the middle of your viewfinder). So you can meter for the artists face and you get the proper exposure exactly where you want it to be.
7. Click! Click! Click!
The last setting of my choice is the multiple shot mode. Our situation in font of the stage is really challenging for our cameras. A low light situation and fast movements are not the easiest things to deal with, and therefore we need to take a lot of pictures during a concert. Using the multiple shot mode allows you to take 3-4 frames in a short time period which increases the possibility of getting a good shot.
With these settings in mind you should be able to get pretty good results from your camera. These tips cover the main points for all kinds of low light stage photography and can be achieved by an affordable DSLR and a fast lens (e.g. 1.8).
About the Author
Matthias Hombauer is a professional music and portrait photographer from Vienna, Austria. Connect with him at blog.matthiashombauer.com.
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35 Comments on "7 Tips For Stunning Concert Photography"
If you have any questions, please post here. Would be also interesting which experiences you have with concert photography.
hi , I am assigned to take an event photography on stage. stage is 5 ft high where do I position myself now.. ? I have Nikon 3200 slr with 18-105 zoom lense.. pls assist..
Hi Tanner! I would definitely go with more cards and maybe reduce your amount of pics. I don´t know your shooting style or hoe many pics you have to deliver, but for me it makes no sense to shoot 3000 pics and then i have to trash 2900. So either way, more cards or less photos.
Very interesting, thank you very much ! Now I’ve just got to find a good concert and put all of this in practice ! 😉
Thanks Yann, good luck with it
Hi,
Its really good to see these type of photography tips and very useful to
learner.
Hi Yann!
Thank you and have fun practicing!
greetings
Matthias
thanks Abhishek
Hi Matthias!
Do you use an external flash when you shoot concerts?
Hi Mitzi!
It´s normally not allowed to use flash at the concert. Therefore you need fast lenses
Very informative and asserted tips. I just would like to add that you must have the attitude and seek the angle at all times. Be willing to do whatever it takes to get the shot.
Thanks Hector!
hi, Matthias, thank you very much for the great tips, i have a question, can you explain what do you mean when you’re talking about fast lenses, and give examples? i’ve a 50mm f1.8 is this a fast one?
thank you
and happy weekend!!
Hi Matthias,
These are some great shots! I especially love that b/w one you shot from up above.
I had a photography biz a couple years back, shooting lots of local punk, hardcore, and metal bands here in Hawaii, and that shot brought back some good memories.
But I never pulled a Spiderman like that LOL
Hi Chris!
Thank you for your comment and the explanation about the lenses to Alejandro. I totally agree with your suggestions.
Alejandro, “fast” refers to the aperture. Big aperture means small aperture number. There is also the 50 1.4 available, but the 1.8 will do the job in the beginning.
Punk and HC bands in Hawaii sounds awesome. Would love to see some of the pics.
The spiderman is the SF based singer songwriter Zola Jesus. See a portrait of her here:
http://www.photographyblogger.net/music-portraits-by-matthias-hombauer/
at the bottom
best from Vienna/Austria
Matthias
Really amazing shots! I like concert photography a lot and usually take my prime wide aperture lens with me so I can shoot at higher shutter speeds and acceptable ISO values for less noise.
Thanks for the info and the valuable advice!
Here’s some examples of mine:
http://photofigo.blogspot.com/2012/08/concert-photographs.html
Hi Kamen!
Thanks and great article of yours too
Thanks Mark for this great comment! I´ll definitely will try this.
Awesome Matthias!
Thank you.
Will use.
I started a new project where I want to share with you all my knowledge I have about concert photogprahy
Check it out here:
http://howtobecomearockstarphotographer.com/
best,
Matthias
Do you want to become a Rockstar Photographer by yourself?
My ultimate “Guide To Rockstar Concert Photography” is out now!
http://howtobecomearockstarphotographer.com/
One doubt about the focus… Manual or automatic?
Rogerio,
I am always using the middle Autofocus point and it´s on automatic. I guess manual focusing for concert photography is really hard. I have a low light situation and often the artists are moving fast.
Honestly, photos in the article are crap. There are way MUCH MORE bettter one photographers, not saying that there are simply awesome ones. Seeing THESE pics I am not convinced, taht the guy knows what he photographs. Pale, not original… lifeless. Excpet of the first pic – shit.
Go Tabatha, how to kill a thread!
Thanx for these tips Matthias. I’m in the process of building a concert photography portfolio apart from my commercial work. I usually work with a dslr and 300mm. Do you have any quality compact camera/lens suggestions for situations where you cannot get into a venue with your press card or where dslrs are not allowed ? For shooting as part of the crowd.
I’d like to see advice for shooting under the LED stage lights
I am running into more. Over saturated colors, blotchy, blown out areas of color etc.
Thanks
I have the 50 1.8 lens and I cant even get close to using 1600 iso.It seems like I always need 3200 to even 64oo to get my shutter speed to 125 or 200.I am taking pics of bands in small poor lit venues though.Just wondering if I am doing something wrong?