I was asked if I would create a post and discuss the different types of gear and settings that I prefer for photographing concerts. Im not going to discuss getting in the door (so to speak) in this post and mainly focus on equipment and the techniques that work for me. Ok, here we go! The number one most important thing when photographing a musical performer in a live setting is.... YOUR LENS. One can have the latest and greatest honker of a DSLR but if you throw a f4-f8 kit zoom lens on there you cant expect great results. Concerts are inherently dark environments so you want to be able to suck in as much light into your camera as possible. So what does this mean? Spend your well earned money on expensive glass. You can put a 24-70 f2.8 lens on a mediocre or even entry level camera body and get great results. Ideally, one would want to pair a great lens with a great camera body and if you have the means, I highly recommend it. You want to cover all of your ground before you start worrying about your cameras built in ISO capabilities. Heres what I currently use on this tour: 1 Canon 5D MKIII (Show workhorse 1) 1 Canon 1Ds MKIII (Show workhorse 2) Fujifilm X100s (great for stealthy candids, like on the band plane) Sony A7s (more on this later) and a trusty iPhone 5s My lenses are: Canon 24-70L f2.8II Canon 70-200L f2.8 Canon 50L f1.2 Sigma Art 35 f1.4 For the Sony I have a Zeiss 24-70 f4 I also carry one single Canon 580 EXII speedlite. So since I use the Canons mainly for the concerts, this is how I set them up - keep in mind, your experience may differ due to drastically different light. Im fortunate to be able to work with one of the best lighting designers in the business so my cameras, while quite capable in low light, never really have to struggle. I have the cameras rigged to my body with a Blackrapid Dual Carry strap. The 24-70 on the 5D and the 70-200 on the bulkier dinosaur 1Ds MKIII. And thats really all I need to shoot an entire show. I keep both cameras on Aperture Priority and usually live between ISO 800-1600. Keep in mind I am shooting typically wide open at f2.8 unless Im going for more depth of field - like a staggered group shot where I need everyone in focus. I choose my focus points manually with my right thumb on the fly. And thats really it! Save for some exposure comp here and there, thats my very simple set up!
Posted on: Mon, 01 Sep 2014 07:21:40 +0000
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