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Hey I, Butthole: Do you have a blog or site I can follow you on? I like your stuff. I mostly take photos as a fan, so I don't have any experience in a photo pit, and I'm super paranoid about getting in the way of folks. How do y'all deal with other photographers (or fans taking photos for that matter) during a show? Are there any articles / posts that gives some good advice as far as etiquette goes? Sometimes it seems that I'm overly cautious, which leads me to miss some pretty great shots for the sake of not making people angry. Content:   
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Feb 24, 2014 19:36
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Sharizard posted:I mostly take photos as a fan, so I don't have any experience in a photo pit, and I'm super paranoid about getting in the way of folks. How do y'all deal with other photographers (or fans taking photos for that matter) during a show? Be courteous. It's a small world. One of those neat concert photography moments is when you're on one side of the stage, another photographer is on the other side of the stage and you've shot about as much as you can on your side and you look over, lock eyes with the other photographer and do the "pointing back and forth" motion, the other photographer nods and you both instantly switch places without saying a word.
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Feb 24, 2014 20:16
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Sharizard posted:Hey I, Butthole: Do you have a blog or site I can follow you on? I like your stuff. I've got a Facebook thingummy but it's rarely updated more than once a week if that. I feel like I should start doing a blog at some point but I never really get the time to sort it or maintain it. Thanks for the reminder I should update my site, however. The site I shoot for is here, which is pretty much the only thing I shoot for nowadays: http://www.theaureview.com/users/andrew-wade As far as etiquette, not being a dick is a good place to start. I feel like I've got it pretty easy; I live in a relatively small capital city so we have a small pool of photographers who are working and are all friendly with each other so there's very much a feeling of "hey, everyone's gonna get their shot, just chill". I wouldn't worry too much about getting in the way of someone in the crowd holding up an iPhone, but I'm always a bit wary of getting in someones sight line if they have an SLR. Duck or go around or wait it out, I guess?
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Feb 25, 2014 01:33
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Just got word that I can shoot NIN. My bucket list (outside of a Beatle; I'm not fussy, just whatever one I can get) is now done.           
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Mar 4, 2014 09:35
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Definitely up for this thread, I'm new to photography having just bought a DSLR (canon 600D) and thought I'd have a play with it at a local show........criticism is welcome lighting conditions we're terrible so I had to crank the ISO and process the images after.   
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Mar 10, 2014 18:03
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Give us some information on your settings. What ISO did you use? Shutter speeds? Apertures? If you are using a kit lens, drop it like it's hot and go get a faster lens like the Sigma 30mm f/1.4 or something similar. You will not be able to get the shutter speeds you want with a kit lens' maximum aperture of f/3.5 in your average small venue. Punk and metal venues tend to be even darker, so the fast apertures get even more important in those situations. Faster shutter speeds via faster apertures will enable you to get more emotive shots because you'll be able to take shots of the musicians doing more aggressive things. On the surface, I'd say you've got the "microphone face" thing going on the singer. Move to the side and get the singer in profile or wait until they're singing further away from the microphone. If they're total microphone suckers, your only choice is a profile shot. There's no need for the weird aspect ratio on the drummer shot. You could have kept it 3:2, the same as your other shots, as the guitar amp next to the drummer is not an important element of the shot. Same goes for the microphone in the bassist shot. You didn't need to include the microphone, so don't bother skewing your photo in an effort to include it. Also, with regards to skewing, your angles are also way off, and I don't know what the heck you were doing with that one guitar photo, but it looks like you straightened it and didn't bother cropping out the black areas left over from the rotation. Learn to shoot straight from the get-go and you won't have to futz around with straightening later. I find that when shooting in portrait mode without a battery grip, it's easier to shoot with the grip down than with the grip up. Shooting with the grip up involves a more awkward position than shooting with the grip down. It's harder to reach true vertical because you're craning your arm over your head and also if you're in a mosh pit or similar cozy situation, you're more likely to get bumped or hurt because you'll have your ribs exposed and your elbow sticking out. Shooting with the grip down means you can keep your arms against your body, making yourself more durable and more compact. It will also help you stabilize the camera. If you're having a hard time getting everything you want in your shot, consider elevation: you might not be able to fit everything from a straight-on view, but getting higher or lower than the subject is one way to get more in without backing up because it shortens the subject relative to the camera. This is where mirrorless cameras excel: it's much easier to shoot over your head with a tilty screen in live view than using a DSLR and shooting blind in a hail mary situation. Get a good raw processing program like Lightroom or DxO and use it to recover your blown highlights and reduce high ISO noise. On current generation sensors like yours, you should be able to shoot up to 6400 or 12800 in a pinch. Ultimately, nothing beats practice. Shoot as many shows as you can. Learn to get your settings dialed in within the first half of the first song. This is important because if you go on to bigger and better things, you'll only have three songs to shoot, so the less time you worry about technical stuff, the more time you can work on actually getting great photos. Oh, and try to get at least one good shot of the whole band, including drummer. Good group shots are hard to get, and they tend to be the ones bands appreciate the most. HPL fucked around with this message at 18:33 on Mar 10, 2014 |
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Mar 10, 2014 18:22
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Thanks I went in pretty blind, I must have shot about 300 photo's using an ISO of about 3200 with a kit lense, I'm not sure what aperture settings I used for those images as I was pretty much experimenting to get the right result I definitely got a bit silly with the angles though, next gig is on St. Patricks Day so I'll have another go.
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Mar 10, 2014 18:38
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I, Butthole posted:Just got word that I can shoot NIN. My bucket list (outside of a Beatle; I'm not fussy, just whatever one I can get) is now done. drat you  NIN is definitely on my bucket-list, I tried to work that out when they were through here a few months ago but didn't make it work. next time I guess... this is such an incredible tour though.
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Mar 10, 2014 20:05
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MMD3 posted:drat you It actually didn't end up happening; I got on my flight to go down and promptly had a panic attack. No idea what caused it, never had one before (and have done much worse than the one hour flight it was going to be) but I had to leave the flight and not make it down. Pretty devastated about it.
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Mar 12, 2014 04:44
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That's a huge shame dude, I was at the perth show and good lord I really wish I could have gotten a chance to shoot it! oh well some shots from a gig I had the other day, 13 bands on two stages.. the last band was A ska group and holy crap they were so photogenic.  ScottStock 2014 by bang3rachi, on Flickr  ScottStock 2014 by bang3rachi, on Flickr  ScottStock 2014 by bang3rachi, on Flickr  ScottStock 2014 by bang3rachi, on Flickr  ScottStock 2014 by bang3rachi, on Flickr Full set here!
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Mar 20, 2014 06:16
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Bang3r that first shot is amazing.
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Mar 23, 2014 10:40
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I, Butthole posted:Just got word that I can shoot NIN. My bucket list (outside of a Beatle; I'm not fussy, just whatever one I can get) is now done. So how did it go?? I was at the Sydney NIN/QOTSA gig (not shooting, just a punter). Keen to see how people went with that fabulous red strobe they had at the beginning 
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Mar 24, 2014 15:20
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Digital Jesus posted:Bang3r that first shot is amazing. It's my favourite shot ever, I took a few million of that guy cause he was putting it on non stop. Ska bands are the best bands to shoot.
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Mar 28, 2014 07:22
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Nilson posted:So how did it go?? I was at the Sydney NIN/QOTSA gig (not shooting, just a punter). Keen to see how people went with that fabulous red strobe they had at the beginning See above; didn't end up catching the flight. Saw them in Brisbane a couple of weeks later and don't know how I would have handled it to be honest. I did a music video too, recently: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNbea-FLPkY
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Mar 31, 2014 08:47
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Finally developed my backlog of slides. Thought this one turned out neat.
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Apr 2, 2014 03:25
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Slowly going through my backlog finally. Edward Ka-Spel/Legendary Pink Dots:  edit: ...oh ... that doesn't look so great with the tight crop and without the black-background Flickr photoviewer heh.
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Apr 4, 2014 20:50
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MMD3 posted:drat you All NIN tours are incredible. Even ones without all the fancy special effects.  
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Apr 6, 2014 09:22
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The only time I've gotten to see NIN was on the NIN/JA tour and it was ... so disappointing. I'm apparently stuck with my VHS, DVD and BluRay tour videos to get the proper experience. The last show here was well over $100 a ticket and sold out in seconds.
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Apr 6, 2014 14:20
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Putrid Grin posted:
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Apr 6, 2014 18:00
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Just shot my friend's band in a really dark bar here, are these any good? 
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Apr 7, 2014 02:48
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Some stuff from the backlog.     
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Apr 12, 2014 09:22
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Some local bands: DSCF4583.jpg by Geektox, on Flickr DSCF4400.jpg by Geektox, on Flickr DSC02974.jpg by Geektox, on Flickr DSCF4427-Edit.jpg by Geektox, on Flickr
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Apr 28, 2014 07:23
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Backstage Lounge spotted.
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Apr 28, 2014 12:54
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HPL posted:Backstage Lounge spotted. Yep! That big round logo thing always reminds me of the Hydra symbol. How do you guys usually approach band promo shots? How much direction do you give vs. letting the band dictate what they want it to look like? I've never been much good at shooting multiple people.
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Apr 30, 2014 06:11
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Shot a friends band for the second time the other day, previously with a 600d and this time with my 5D3, much better experience! Dry Dry River 2014 by bang3rachi, on Flickr  Dry Dry River 2014 by bang3rachi, on Flickr  Dry Dry River 2014 by bang3rachi, on Flickr  Dry Dry River 2014 by bang3rachi, on Flickr  Dry Dry River 2014 by bang3rachi, on Flickr Full set here Full old set for comparison (I'm glad I've toned down the processing!!)
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May 3, 2014 13:44
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I wish I'd read HPL's advice before last night, but in my (weak) defence I didn't know I'd be shooting any photos at the bar I just went to for a few beers. I've never tried to shoot a musical performance before. Nobody else had a DSLR that I saw, and the place wasn't very busy at all. This was too bad for the performers, I think a bigger crowd - and some people getting up and dancing or something - would have really helped those guys out. The opening acts were all high-school students but they did well. Weirdly, almost everything they played was (well-done) covers of songs at least as old as they are. Given I'm twice their age, this worked nicely for me - lots of stuff I recognized and really enjoyed from my own high-school days. Some of my semi-competent shots:  The Reckless Famous 2 by Execudork, on Flickr The Undecided 8 by Execudork, on Flickr The Undecided 11 by Execudork, on Flickr Nolan Shredz 2 by Execudork, on Flickr Nolan Shredz 5 by Execudork, on FlickrI mostly shot at ISO between 4000 and 12800, so there's noise galore. I didn't have any fast lenses on me, because I'd loaded my bag for my walk to campus that morning, which was birds and flowers and bugs in bright sunlight. I shot with the kit lens and my 105mm f/2.5 macro; not an ideal combo. If I get motivated I'll try running a few shots through a B&W conversion, there are some fantastic shots in this thread. Also, I couldn't resist the drunken urge for some rather questionable shots / edits.  The Undecided 19 by Execudork, on Flickr The Undecided 17 by Execudork, on Flickr
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Jul 27, 2014 06:02
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Old one: Going to shoot my first show in ages tonight, Kasabian. Should be interesting, because I have no doubt I'm out of practice - I haven't even picked up my cameras since April-ish I think.
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Aug 12, 2014 02:49
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I love the dangle of your angle, I, Butthole. I really gotta experiment with my shots more. I feel like they're all starting to look the same already. Yeesh. Here's some unmentionables I've finally gotten around to editing within the past month or so.  _7117088 by Kiwithing, on Flickr ( ) P8030070 by Kiwithing, on Flickr _2275738 by Kiwithing, on Flickr P8030133 by Kiwithing, on Flickr _7117149 by Kiwithing, on FlickrOh, and when you guys are shooting: What's the highest ISO you've ever have to use to get usable shots? This is more of a curiosity / fun question than anything. I have an OM-D EM-5 and never go past 3200. poo poo, for a while I was hellbent on not going past 1600 for a shot. The more basement / house shows I go to, the more I get over my "gotta be noiseless" sensibilities. Sharizard fucked around with this message at 07:19 on Aug 12, 2014 |
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Aug 12, 2014 07:11
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Part of the appeal/laziness of working with black and white - noise doesn't entirely matter. I'm usually on 3200 or 6400 in dark rooms, but I've also got a full frame camera which'll handle noise better than an OM-D.
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Aug 12, 2014 08:48
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I have an A7S and it is one of the most liberating cameras for stuff like concerts. It takes away all the frustration of a lack of light and lets you concentrate on creating nice photos. Want to get a jump shot in a barely-lit room? No problem.
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Aug 12, 2014 16:53
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It looks like I'm going to be shooting a friend's show on Friday. It's a pretty big deal and the biggest concert that I've shot at so far, so I'd like to do this right. My lens quiver is pretty small at the moment- I've got a 70D body, the 50mm f/1.8, the 18-55 f/3.5-5.0 STM kit lens, and a 55-250mm f/4 telephoto. The venue is going to be fairly dark, but the band in question is known for putting on a good light show. My 50mm can probably handle the lighting conditions, but I'm worried that it's going to be too tight given the crop factor. I'm considering renting the 16-35mm f/2.8L lens for the night instead. Has anyone used this for concert photography?
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Aug 13, 2014 16:12
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suboptimal posted:It looks like I'm going to be shooting a friend's show on Friday. It's a pretty big deal and the biggest concert that I've shot at so far, so I'd like to do this right. My lens quiver is pretty small at the moment- I've got a 70D body, the 50mm f/1.8, the 18-55 f/3.5-5.0 STM kit lens, and a 55-250mm f/4 telephoto. The venue is going to be fairly dark, but the band in question is known for putting on a good light show. My 50mm can probably handle the lighting conditions, but I'm worried that it's going to be too tight given the crop factor. I'm considering renting the 16-35mm f/2.8L lens for the night instead. Has anyone used this for concert photography? I use my 16-35 for shows and it works great, but honestly it could be overkill for wide unless you are going to be pressed up against the stage. The lens I'd suggest renting if light is going to be an issue is the 24 f/1.4 Hmmm, 70d is cropped sensor eh? 16-35 might make sense. Both great concert lenses either way
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Aug 13, 2014 16:22
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suboptimal posted:It looks like I'm going to be shooting a friend's show on Friday. It's a pretty big deal and the biggest concert that I've shot at so far, so I'd like to do this right. My lens quiver is pretty small at the moment- I've got a 70D body, the 50mm f/1.8, the 18-55 f/3.5-5.0 STM kit lens, and a 55-250mm f/4 telephoto. The venue is going to be fairly dark, but the band in question is known for putting on a good light show. My 50mm can probably handle the lighting conditions, but I'm worried that it's going to be too tight given the crop factor. I'm considering renting the 16-35mm f/2.8L lens for the night instead. Has anyone used this for concert photography? I haven't used that lens, but as long as you can shoot at 3200 with a 16mm on a crop body you should be fine unless the lighting is terrible. 18mm at 3.5 isn't much different than 16mm at 2.8 though... I probably wouldn't pay money to upgrade for just a night of shooting. Also if it's a big venue the 50mm probably won't be tooooooo tight, though I like to shoot concerts wider than that.
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Aug 13, 2014 16:25
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this is at 16mm and there was a lot of light in the venue but this was still shot at iso 2500, f/2.8 1/25
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Aug 13, 2014 16:26
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Yeah, the venue is the Rock and Roll Hotel in Washington, DC, if anyone's familiar with it. It's a pretty small venue and in all likelihood I'm going to be smashed up against the stage, hence why I'm looking to go wider than the 50mm. I figure I could do with the extra sharpness afforded by the L series, plus it's only $60 to rent it for three days and I'm planning on doing some action sports photography (downhill mountain biking) the next day, so I may just go with the 16-35mm. Edit: I wish I had the kind of disposable income that allowed me to drop $1,700 on a new lens with whimsy
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Aug 13, 2014 16:34
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Is there some reason you're not considering the Tamron 17-50 f/2.8?
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Aug 13, 2014 17:04
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No, that's actually probably going to be the next lens that I buy. It's just a little out of my budget right now, but I can afford to rent the 16-35mm for a few days.
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Aug 13, 2014 17:29
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suboptimal posted:Yeah, the venue is the Rock and Roll Hotel in Washington, DC, if anyone's familiar with it. It's a pretty small venue and in all likelihood I'm going to be smashed up against the stage, hence why I'm looking to go wider than the 50mm. I figure I could do with the extra sharpness afforded by the L series, plus it's only $60 to rent it for three days and I'm planning on doing some action sports photography (downhill mountain biking) the next day, so I may just go with the 16-35mm. oh I certainly didn't buy my 16-35mm on a lark  I probably rented it 8-10x for paid events before finally pulling the trigger on purchasing it. I still use my 24mm f/1.4 more for concerts though and the 16-35mm more for parties & events where I might be in a tight place taking photos of groups of people.
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Aug 13, 2014 21:59
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Haven't posted here in ages, but here is a photo from the other night of a friend playing at Wolf Trap in Vienna, VA
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Aug 15, 2014 00:51
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