How to shoot live performance without flash?

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

12/25/2008 10:44:59 PM · #1

Hello,

I'm going to attend a live performance (dancing) in an outdoor tomorrow evening. The thing is that the lighting at this place is low (at least for the camera), and the organiser discourages using of flash which might distract the contestants.

I'm planning to use wide aperture (more light coming in) but the shutter speed would be compromised, and the images would turn out blurry. If I were to use fast shutter speed, there's not enough light, and the images would turn out very dark.

Any advice, tip or trick? Please help. Thanks.

incubus

Canon EOS-5D

12/25/2008 10:48:43 PM · #2

time to turn up the iso, also use a lense with image stablization if you have it.

just looked at your camera, idk if you have it, i would think that it should.

Message edited by author 2008-12-25 22:49:23.

bvy

Sigma DP1x

12/25/2008 10:51:31 PM · #3

Crank the ISO as high as it will go. Looks like it's 800 on your camera. You'll get more noise in your images, but they'll be sharper. And if it were me, I'd manaully set the shutter speed to 1/60 or so -- lower if you're able to use a tripod or rest the camera against something stable while shooting.

12/25/2008 11:01:06 PM · #4

Thanks for the suggestion. My camera has a fixed lens :(

Originally posted by incubus:

time to turn up the iso, also use a lense with image stablization if you have it.

just looked at your camera, idk if you have it, i would think that it should.

12/25/2008 11:05:49 PM · #5

Yes, the highest ISO is 800. This will make my images very "noisy". My camera starts to show noise at ISO-200 :( I might have to use Neat Image to reduce the noises and I don't know how much it could reduce. I shall try to shoot using various modes and then choose the best one. I'll be bringing my tripod with me. I hope it's OK to share the images here after that. Thanks a lot!

Originally posted by bvy:

geinafets

Canon EOS-50D

Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM

12/25/2008 11:13:51 PM · #6

I shoot live music performances for work, so I might have a few tips. I've found that to get the best photos, you need to use all non-camera equipment to your best advantage as well!

- It's ok if the photos are a little dark. You can always lighten them later. This might make the photos a little grainy, but grain usually works with this kind of stuff : )
- Get a feel for how the performers move and try to anticipate when they will slow down or pause so you can minimize the motion blur.
- Keep an eye on particularly bright spots on the stage, and try to capture the performers when they happen to be in those bright spots. Every bit of extra light helps : )
- Ask the people in charge of lighting if they can turn the lights up a bit if it's really dark. Sometimes they'll do it (they usually keep them low so as not to blind the performers, in which case maybe you can also ask if they can keep a few house lights on to even out the lighting for the performers).

I don't want to encourage you to rely on post-processing too much, but dark areas hold a fair bit of information that can be pulled out during editing, so don't let that worry you too much. A wide aperture and high ISO will probably be your best bets though. And as always, don't forget to enjoy the performance in between shots : )

geinafets

Canon EOS-50D

Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM

12/25/2008 11:16:32 PM · #7

Originally posted by angkokweng:

I'll be bringing my tripod with me.

You should ask about the tripod. All the places I've shot in won't let me use one due to insurance stuff.

bvy

Sigma DP1x

12/25/2008 11:16:45 PM · #8

Originally posted by angkokweng:

Actually I should have said take it as high as you need to, and no higher. 800 isn't very high, but it might be just enough. If you can shoot at 1/60, great, but if you have a tripod, 1/30 or so may be better. Anything slower, and you'll likely get motion blur. Experiment on location if you can.

Another piece of advice: Unless space is at a premium, don't discard anything until you've downloaded it to your PC and reviewed it. Stuff that looks like crap in camera, can often be salvaged in post-processing. And accidents can take on a life of their own sometimes:

Message edited by author 2008-12-25 23:17:37.

12/25/2008 11:25:05 PM · #9

Hello geinafets,

Great idea about anticipating the performers' movement and watching out for the bright spots. I'll see what I can do with the person in charge of lighting :)

I'm not really a big fan of post-processing. I want my photos to look as natural as possible. I do like a lot of post-processed photos, like the ones I see in the challenges. Perhaps, it's just me who prefers things to look more natural? :)

Thanks for the ideas!

Originally posted by geinafets:

12/25/2008 11:28:01 PM · #10

Hello geinafets,

There shouldn't be any issue with the tripod. However, at my place, people get easily intimidated by big camera (as opposed to compact camera) and tripod. I think they feel like I'm intruding their privacy!

Originally posted by geinafets:

Originally posted by angkokweng:
I'll be bringing my tripod with me.

You should ask about the tripod. All the places I've shot in won't let me use one due to insurance stuff.

MelonMusketeer

Nikon MF 50mm f/1.4

12/25/2008 11:42:07 PM · #11

I use a monopod to great advantage for performance shooting. It's not as much of a big deal to move around in a crowd, and you can even use it while sitting in a row seat without bothering the people around you.
I agree with the hint about saving all the files and looking for things in them later, after you edit the best ones.
Have fun and enjoy the show while you shoot if you can.