Taking Concert Photos: Get that Background Lighting
Aug 30th, 2007 by jeremy
Donny Osmond in Salt Lake City, 8/21/07
By popular demand, I have decided to start up a series of tips for taking great photos at concerts. Hopefully the tips I share will be both useful and entertaining as I will try to also include photo(s) that emphasize the point I am trying to make. I have plenty of photos to pull from, but don’t be surprised if I share some that also display common mistakes that we all make as well!
First off, I have to include a small disclaimer, I lay no claim to being the master of all things. I am a self-taught photographer that has had amazing opportunities to do projects that most others only dream of. I am thankful for those opportunities and what I have learned along the way. That said, I don’t know everything, and some of what I do works for me but may not be what you like. Take what you like, and offer up your own suggestions if you prefer something different that what I have to share.
Early on when I started taking concert photos all I did was zoom in as close as I could get and put the entertainer smack in the middle of the photo. I was so concerned about getting the shot that I neglected to look at the background of what was in the photo. Fortunately it didn’t take long for me to realize that all my photos were looking the same and I needed to find some way to distinguish them.
The lighting on Donny’s shows is usually awesome, especially when Mike Frogge from Bandit Lighting is at the helm, so I started composing my shots to include the various spotlights and colors and found I really liked what I saw. Whether colored or direct white lights, those shafts of light added a whole new dimension to my photographs. I know so many fans just like the close up of Mr. Osmond’s face, but you have to admit having a little more in the photo adds a lot to the artistic look.
This presented a whole new dilemma though: at times the spotlights are so bright that you cannot balance Donny’s lighted face when the generally softer lights of the background. Honestly that can be a tough one and sometimes it depends on the spotlights of the venue. You may have a night that spots are just to hot to get a great shot with background colors. Bottom line is you do the best with what you have. This is especially true of outdoor concerts. Sometimes it is just too bright from ambient light to get anything in the background, those are nights you can focus on the closeup. Other nights have great background and a softer spot, so jump on that opportunity to get the colors.
Most of all my message is to look for the opportunity to get some variety in your shots. Tomorrow I’ll talk about why it’s important to turn off your flash to get those beautiful, rich colors.
Canon 20D, 24-105L IS, 1/60 at f/4.0 and 400 ISO
Great advice! I love the new artistic photographs that you have been taking. Closeups are nice (If it is of my kids
) but I just love the artistic lighting and the “stories” they tell.
A fledgling photographer myself I love to take photos of my kids in different ways with different elements in the photos. Great job Jeremy and keep up the good work!!
Thanks, Jeremy! Looking forward to reading more on concert photography. I’ve been through that phase where most of my shots look the same..and I relied on Donny’s clothes to help distinguish concert locations. LOL! Am trying to take “different” shots.
Hi Jeremy!
So nice to see you in SLC! It was rather fun having you ’sitting at my feet’ taking pics! LOL Thanks for taking shots of Donny’s ‘wiggle’ when I alerted you when to shoot! LOL “okay here it comes..NOW! ”
My questions for camera settings would be:
I’m really trying hard to wean myself off of my 35mm…lol…but in order for me to do that, I need a digital that can stop action…when Donny is moving fast on stage, I use my 35mm with the sports setting to get a clear shot. Using my digital, which is a Canon Powershot S3, those shots, even on the sports setting are too blurry.. I am interested in purchasing a Canon Digital Rebel XTi / Canon 400D (10 mp) …are you familar with this one?
I think what would be helpful to others here would be to kinda explain in simple terms the terminology…. what the F-stop is…what’s aperture …what’s shutter speed…what’s the ISO…etc…and what the numbers mean…like if the aperture is open all the way, is the number low or high?
I would also like to get better with not using flash, if I knew more about the correct settings..
Thanks for all your help! looking forward to you sharing your expertise!
Elaine
couldn’t agree with you more about the lighting, I have some fabulous photos enhanced by the lights…especially some of tom there is a folder of pics of him…not many in here but just a few of my fave colourful ones on here, http://www.photoboxgallery.com/donnyosmond
HI Jeremy!
So glad you are coming back with more photography advice!
Hi Jeremy,
I just love the fact that you are including the settings for each photo. I have been tinkering around with my new Canon XTi, but I don’t tend to change much more than the ISO and the white balance, depending on the lighting. Or, I take a million pictures to check my settings. Thank goodness for digital (lol) I used my full auto setting while I was still using film. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t, but the odds were in my favor. Can you tell me if you typically shoot in aperture priority, or shutter priority? I still am unsure under what circumstances to switch. I can’t seem to get good shots in AV. I think that may be due to the quality of my lens, cause I wouldn’t want to think it was the photographer. Anyway, I am looking forward to your advise.
During the last push to ‘click away’ I joined the digital photography school from the link on the right. I’ve also gotten some good tips from there, although I haven’t spent much time on it:)
Elaine, I would highly recommend the XTi. I love it!
Linda