Band photography, lighting problems.

[Jerryjohn]

Hey, I have been doing live band photography for about a year now and I've always had a problem that's been bugging me.

That problem is taking picture with the natural lighting.
For instance.. When I look at the screen, the picture is PERFECT, but when I take the picture the camera automatically dims the image, so it comes out really bad.

When ever I slow down the shutter speed, to capture a the dark image, it comes out blurry because the people on stage are moving so fast.

Is there anything I could do about this?

I want to be able to have clear images, with maybe a low flash, that will not mess everything else up.

Kinda like this image here I guess.

By the way, I have a Canon S2 IS camera.

All your help will be majorly appreciated.

Thanks alot.

[Photo-John]

Is that image yours? I like it - except for all that empty black space at the top. It could use a crop.

Anyway, your question is an age old one for photographers - how to juggle all the variables and get the outcome that you want. The bottom line is that photography is a game of compromises. You can't have it all. You decide what's most important in a given situation and hold on to some photo qualities and let the others go. You also learn technique that can help you make good photos in less than adequate circumstances.

The music photography things is funny. We get a fair number of people posting complaining about the live music photos they get with compact digital cameras. Well, there's a reason pro music photographers use the gear they use. It's a very tough type of photography and it really benefits from specialized equipment. Pros generally use very fast aperture prime lenses and either 35mm film slrs or high end digital SLRs with excellent high-ISO performance. Have I lost you yet?

But you can still get good photos. You've already listed some of the problems you have. And I've just told you that you're going to have to accept compromises, and that music photography is especially hard. In other words - I've confirmed that even though you're having problems, you're right on track. Everyone has those same problems when they shoot live music. You're going to have to make decisions on what compromises will work best for you.

Oh yeah - ignore the LCD. It lies. Learn to use your camera's histogram It tells the absolute truth about your exposure. If you start using the histogram you won't have dark photos anymore. But you will become even more aware of the ridiculously slow shutter speeds that are necessary for band photos. Do you pan? Since people on stage are somewhat unpredictable, this won't be a foolproof technique. But it should improve your success ration. Try using the viewfinder instead of the LCD and follow the subject with the camera. That should help.

There are a few tips for you and hopefully some encouragement. Keep in mind that wat you're trying to do is tough. You're going to throw a lot away. But that's ok. If you have more specific question, please post them. And also consider posting some photos on the Photo Cririque forum or on the gallery. It helps for people to actually see your photos to give advice.

Good luck!

[Jerryjohn]

Is that image yours? I like it - except for all that empty black space at the top. It could use a crop.

Anyway, your question is an age old one for photographers - how to juggle all the variables and get the outcome that you want. The bottom line is that photography is a game of compromises. You can't have it all. You decide what's most important in a given situation and hold on to some photo qualities and let the others go. You also learn technique that can help you make good photos in less than adequate circumstances.

The music photography things is funny. We get a fair number of people posting complaining about the live music photos they get with compact digital cameras. Well, there's a reason pro music photographers use the gear they use. It's a very tough type of photography and it really benefits from specialized equipment. Pros generally use very fast aperture prime lenses and either 35mm film slrs or high end digital SLRs with excellent high-ISO performance. Have I lost you yet?

But you can still get good photos. You've already listed some of the problems you have. And I've just told you that you're going to have to accept compromises, and that music photography is especially hard. In other words - I've confirmed that even though you're having problems, you're right on track. Everyone has those same problems when they shoot live music. You're going to have to make decisions on what compromises will work best for you.

Oh yeah - ignore the LCD. It lies. Learn to use your camera's histogram It tells the absolute truth about your exposure. If you start using the histogram you won't have dark photos anymore. But you will become even more aware of the ridiculously slow shutter speeds that are necessary for band photos. Do you pan? Since people on stage are somewhat unpredictable, this won't be a foolproof technique. But it should improve your success ration. Try using the viewfinder instead of the LCD and follow the subject with the camera. That should help.

There are a few tips for you and hopefully some encouragement. Keep in mind that wat you're trying to do is tough. You're going to throw a lot away. But that's ok. If you have more specific question, please post them. And also consider posting some photos on the Photo Cririque forum or on the gallery. It helps for people to actually see your photos to give advice.

Good luck!

Hey, Thanks for all the advice. I'm going to take it all into consideration.

That picture was on the myspace for one of the bands that I like, I WISH I took that, I think it's an amazing picture. I dont know if you noticed, but you can see his reflection in the drum on the bottom. I thought that was really cool.

and No, you didnt lose me. Lol. I just dont have the money to afford those kind of cameras at the moment, since they're so expensive. and with being 16 it doesnt help you much. ha.

But yeah, here's some of my pictures.
I think one of the major problems that I have, is the lighting that the venues have. (how the lights are set/colors and stuff.) Ya know?
Actually, insted of posting a bunch of pictures, I'll just post the link to my photography myspace. There's a lot more pictures on there. Tell me what you think.
http://www.myspace.com/jerryjohnphotography

All those pictures were taken by my old camera, a Canon A610. But that camera is broken now, so I have my new one now.

I've also found out that looking through the eye peice insted of the LCD is alot more accurate. So I think I'll be using that from now on.

[another view]

You've got a good eye, and doing better with a camera like that than most are!

I agree with everything John said. Low light, high contrast situations where people are moving is asking a lot from camera gear - any camera gear. I have a Fuji S2 and the AF is almost worthless even with an f1.4 lens unless it's a big stage with a lot of light, like a touring band at a large festival.

A film camera might be the way to go. 20 years ago, Nikon's F3 was their top of the line but these days you can get one for $200. Add a couple of fast manual focus lenses and you'll be in business. Ilford has a black & white film called Delta 3200 which is great shot at ISO1600 and developed accordingly. Do you have a good local lab that will process B&W film? You can also learn to do it yourself, it's not hard. I used to develop film and digitally scan for printing. It's time consuming, but you can get good results. You don't need a darkroom unless you're printing - just a changing bag. Check out Jim Marshall's book "Proofs" for inspiration, too!

Oh, ok, I'll post one that I did on that Ilford film... I think this was shot at ISO3200 and it still looks pretty good, IMO. I usually sent this film out because it's a little trickier to develop than classic Kodak Tri-X, and a local place was very good with it.