HELP!!! I got Photography job!!!

06/08/2005 04:07:11 PM · #1

In a moment of madness I emailed the student newspaper just to see if they needed any photographers...they do!!! Even though its the end of term, the Summer Ball is on Friday and they want me to cover it. They want crowd shots and Band photos, and there are some pretty big bands going (not my cup of tea admittedly...) : Goldie lookin' chain, The 411 (pretty foxy!), hundred reasons, Kosheen to name a few. I'm being given a VIP pass so hopefully I'll be able to get close to the action.

Only thing is now my trousers are brown (pardon the euphemism!). I'm gonna take the F717 as backup, and use it for the crowd shots. This should be quiet funny, as they'll all be bladdered, and use the 350D for the bands.

I'd just thought I'd ask for any tips! I've been looking at Bobster's & Arnits portfolios, they have some awesome shot in the, anybody got anymore they'd like the share? I know to avoid any smoke machines with the SLR. Just shoot wide open with a high iso? not too sure what sort of metering to use either.

Its going to be a bit of a Baptism of fire for me, but should be a great experience & even though the thought of it has cured my constipation... I'm really looking forward it!

Thanks in advance for any pointers.
MARK

PollyBean

Canon EOS-5D

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

06/08/2005 04:14:14 PM · #2

Just a thought....it might be a good idea to bring a mate, to hold gear and help organise group shots, wipe beer off your lense that kind of thing!

chesire

Canon EOS-60D

06/08/2005 04:14:56 PM · #3

Are you going to be doing a "photo opp" place also.

I know our company does at it's Christmas party... a themed area, where the attendees have the opportunity to get their portraits.

Good money for the Photographer, since he got paid by the print for those. :)

06/08/2005 04:17:05 PM · #4

Thats not a bad idea! I might see if i can wangle another ticket, it promises to be pretty raucous!

06/08/2005 04:19:28 PM · #5

I'm not really planning on doing portraits as such, but it i've just thought it might be a good idea to get some cards printed just in cast. I'm not getting paid for the event, which takes the pressure of a bit, but they will go into print. Which is pretty cool!

CreativeFlyPhoto

Canon EOS-5D Mark III

06/08/2005 04:26:04 PM · #6

i love shooting concerts ... my biggest tip ... NO FLASH!!! :)
here's some of my collection ... //www.pbase.com/photosbyayme/concert_photography

Mainly have fun with it :)

GoldBerry

Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM

06/08/2005 04:26:52 PM · #7

Hey Mark, take a breather buddy. Shooting for school papers is fun because they give you creative licence. I shot for a local UNI paper last year and unlike a large syndicate .. they WANT different stuff and are pretty laid back.

Are you still breathing?

I've done lots of band stuff and it's no biggie, just use a fast shutter and yes a higher ISO. Have fun with it baby! You've got a digital and lots of time. The biggest mistake people seem to make is using too slow a shutter and getting bad blur (not artsy..just bad).

Others may offer other advice but from someone who's been there and learned a hellofalot, take most horizontal shots...close-ups if you can, wide angles if you can, whatever.

Business cards won't hurt persay, but most kids at these shows don't give two shits about you. Esp. if it's a punk show. There won't be any 'photo op' type areas set up at this show..I can guarantee it. You'll be lucky if you come out smelling like anything other than urine and beer. Sigh...good times.

GoldBerry

Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM

06/08/2005 04:27:40 PM · #8

Originally posted by PhotosByAyme:

... my biggest tip ... NO FLASH!!! :)

Oh yea, that's the biggest one. Definetly no flash.

RonBeam

Minolta DiMAGE 7

06/08/2005 04:31:34 PM · #9

I have seen your work, Mark. You can do this. In fact, when finished, the work will be inspirational. Just stay calm, think details and do not hurry anything. If you miss something ... something else will come along, don't beat yourself up. Follow your instincts (they are good) and take no mind altering refrshments whatsoever until this gig is over ... if you ever do.

06/08/2005 04:33:32 PM · #10

LOL Cheers guys!
BTW Amy your portfolio is awesome!

Over at fredmiranda someone just posted photos at an Iron Maiden concert (more my cuppa tea!) using a 17-40, the wide angle worked really well.

All the student should be suited & booted, its a black tie event... but after a few snackbite n' blacks it all goes out the window! LOL

leaf

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

06/08/2005 04:43:23 PM · #11

hey there.

wow, congrats.

if you are looking for more ideas, or are interested to see more examples i have done a fair bit of band photogrpahy

band photography

some better than others...

i read an article once that sudjested shooting in shutter priority keeping the shutter speed on 1/90 or 1/125 so you can freeze the action (the high iso allready makes the image look bad enough, you don't need motion blur and camera shake added) then let the aperature waver from wide open to closed a stop or two, and meter on the musicians face with overcompensation half or a full stop (skin is 1/2 or 1 stop lighter than middle grey)

good luck

CreativeFlyPhoto

Canon EOS-5D Mark III

06/08/2005 04:48:58 PM · #12

Originally posted by cheekymunky:

LOL Cheers guys!
BTW Amy your portfolio is awesome!

thanks :)

the Blue meridian shots were done with a Sony Mavica FD-91 and most of the rest were done with my Minolta ... your stuff is awesome .. i'm sure your shots will come out great ... maybe you'll share with us once you get them done :)

Sigma 15mm f/2.8 EX Diagonal Fisheye for Nikon

06/08/2005 05:10:27 PM · #13

Cheers Leaf!
Thats really great advice, compensation isnt something I've experimented with much yet, you have some cracking shots on your website, very inspirational.

Do you recommend spot, partial or evalutive metering? with the bright lights behind the acts etc, I am inclined to use spot/partial.

Amy, you are more than welcome! I'd be over the moon to get any shots remotely like yours! I'll post the best definately, I'm quite bad at pimping my photos... like this:

They was a Dodgeball tournament on at univeristy this lunchtime, for some reason this shot had me in stitches!

muckpond

Nikon D200

06/08/2005 05:19:18 PM · #14

you can use flash judiciously. i've shot concerts before where the press came in and did a couple. at the very least, bounce 'em off the ceiling.

try to get low in front of the stage kinda like this because it gives a cool effect sometimes (it's better when there aren't gigantic speakers there).

don't be afraid of grain. crank up the iso for some of your shots.

shoot the bands while they're setting up. there are always some offbeat moments when band members are interacting while they think no one is watching.

and shoot the crowd too -- especially if people are dancing and generally goofing around in front of the band. see if you can get to a position where you can show the band looking directly at crowd members too.

most of all: have fun. even if it's your first time out, don't panic. the paper probably only needs 1 or 2 solid shots. the rest of the night is for you to experiment. :)

GoldBerry

Sigma 15mm f/2.8 EX Diagonal Fisheye for Nikon

Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM

06/08/2005 05:20:52 PM · #15

Do they always wear lady's tops? :-)

muckpond

Nikon D200

06/08/2005 05:21:10 PM · #16

ooh ooh. thought of one more.

if the stage is big enough, see if you can crouch down behind them (or stick your head out of a side door) to get some shots of the band from behind. those are always cool.

CreativeFlyPhoto

Canon EOS-5D Mark III

Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II

06/08/2005 05:21:30 PM · #17

Originally posted by cheekymunky:

with your camera i dont see why you wouldnt ... if you have an opportunity .. and if it's your kinda thing .. take your camera to a dance club - and practice there ... the lighting is always moving - then you can "play"

BobsterLobster

Fujifilm FinePix S3 Pro

06/08/2005 05:28:38 PM · #18

The best advice I can give with band photography is to keep the composition simple... don't take shots with loads of cluttered detail. Find angles where nothing is going on behind the performer. Isolate detail using shallow dof, and zoom in if you need to in order to keep the composition simple.
I would imagine flash would be okay at the function you've described, but if you do keep manual settings so you can still see all the lighting and get some motion blur. Flash should never be onboard, and should be bounced of the ceiling or walls. Ask for permission from the bands if you do this.

pidge

Canon EOS-7D Mark II

06/08/2005 05:32:30 PM · #19

RonBeam has a good point. You may find yourself saying, oh crap! I missed an awesome shot! And then it might happen again and again, but jsut stop, breathe, and refocus, and you'll get the next one that comes along.

If you can, find out what the lighting and any special effects might be. If there are pyrotechnics, you want to know about them so you can plan to be in the right place at the right time.

As somone who has shot live shows (no rock bands though), having an idea opf what may happen ahead of time helps to feel a bit more comfortable. Here's a few of my live action shots:

I know! there not a rock band, but it is live and on a stage... High ISO and fast shutter speed as everyone is saying.

Just remember, there will always be another awesome shot coming along!

Good luck, Cheers

Message edited by author 2005-06-08 17:32:53.

Sigma 15mm f/2.8 EX Diagonal Fisheye for Nikon

06/08/2005 05:35:42 PM · #20

Thank you so much bobster & Muckpond, thats really good advice. At present I havent got a proper flash, which is a shame, but shouldnt be too much of a loss. Getting under peoples toes is something I am concerned about, ideally I'd like to be a ninja with a camera!

And Goldberry... a surprising amount of doods wear ladys tops in wales...

muckpond

Nikon D200

06/08/2005 06:19:03 PM · #21

if you've a proper camera shop, see if you can rent a flash. it would be handy for crowd shots, if nothing else, as those are bound to be dark.

but above all have a great time!

leaf

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

06/09/2005 06:06:13 AM · #22

Originally posted by cheekymunky:

yeah definatly spot metering. With the lights or black black background evulative or partial metering doens't work.

cbonsall

Canon EOS-350D Rebel XT

Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM for Canon

06/09/2005 07:18:27 AM · #23

oooo i see from your profile (and the pic of the mumbles gorilla) you're in Swansea, does this mean its the Swansea Uni ball you're attending?

I went to swansea for 4 years, great uni. Back in my day (97-2000) the balls were held up at the Swansea air field, lots of marquees and fair ground rides. Unfortunately the increased number of flights serving the city meant it became too pricey to hire the airfield.

I wrote a number of articles for Waterfront over the years, but I wasn't into photography back then so i never volunteered to take pics.

Very happy memories of Swansea, I was last back in 2003 when I did a MSc there, lots of building work going on, digital technium etc.