Advise kindly asked: Concert photography

[j_lir]

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Hey,

 

I'm a music photographer.

Check Jesse Lirola Photography.

 

I find that when in the pit the 75 'lux is one of the best m lenses out there.

The long focus throw helps with moving subjects, and the rendering @ ƒ 1.4 is stellar.

 

I generally have a 21, 35, noctilux (the BEST!), 75, and 90. all are lux's except the noctilux and the 90 'cron (just sold my apo in favor of the pre-asph)

 

i also use a d3 when i have to use longer lenses, i wish i had a r9 and dmr and a 180 cron.

i'm probably going to convert the 180 cron for use on my d3 one of these days.

 

shoot alot, bracket alot, and make sure you're @ at least a 1/125th.

the higher the iso the smaller the dynamic range, so its easier to get blowouts.

 

i find that i convert to b&w alot, lights make skintones really funky.

 

hope this helps.

 

a 1.25x & 1.4x mag's help with focus on the m8, but i havn't had a problem with my m9.

 

cheers

 

jesse

 

sidestage with a 15, or 21 or 24 is a fantastic angle, one of my favorites.

i shoot lots of other bodies, xpan, rolleiflex, hasselblad 503 and film and digital m's.

the more the merrier if the client is paying for film...

 

my flickr (flickr.com/j_lir) has lots of concert imagery too...

[tgray]

I'm surprised nobody mentioned this yet: Take ALL off the above advice with a grain of salt, because concert venues span an incredible range of conditions. No offense to the previous posters of course.

 

For the shows that I used to shoot (at smaller clubs), f/1.4 was mandatory, I needed high ISO, and I shot with a 28 and 50. No need whatsoever for longer lenses in these conditions unless you aren't in the front. If you are shooting bigger venues, I would imagine a 28 is laughably wide, and you'd be better served by a 50 and a 90. At these places, you are often in a 'pit' between the crowd and the stage. The lighting should also be good enough that you could back off a bit from the aperture and/or ISO. For the largest of shows, it's probably more like shooting sports; break out the 70-200 and maybe an even longer tele. I don't know where they stick you at these shows.

 

So, while people have made some great comments, you really need to define the kind of venue you are shooting in, what kind of access you have, and what the lighting is like.

[!Nomad64]

Bernd,

 

depending from the type of concert you're attending. Unless held in a theater, generally classic/baroque concerts allow you to get closer to the players than pop/rock ones. Also, in the first cases lighting remains uniform, therefore exposure is quite trivial. Once set, it's good for the rest of your shots. What you should really care is the degree of annoyance you may provide other with. I speak for myself as I have an M8 and not an M9. My shutter is on the noisy side, therefore I avoid to use the camera during the concert itself, reserving the shots for the encores, when everyone is more relaxed.

The lens you'll want to use depends from the amount of detail you want to have. I happen to use all of the three lenses I have - 24,50 and 90.

Lens speed matters according to available light. Normally classic/baroque concerts are well lit and I could use an f4 lens at 640 ISO.

Pop/rock concerts are another kettle of fish. First, lighting is always changing. Therefore your experience as to exposure becomes essential. I never rely on the built-in meter and trust my eye. Second, distance is usually greater, so unless you want an overall view, 90 or 135 might be a must.

Faster lenses are mandatory. I have an Elmarit 90/2.8, but replaced it with an APO Summicron 90/2.

Simply put, I NEEDED that extra stop. It allows me to use a faster shutter speed, or at the same shutter speed I can decrease the ISO sensitivity and increase the quality.

Third, there's a lot more nois... er... the music volume is much higher, so annoying others is not much of an issue. Which is good, because pop/rock musicians tend to show a greater mimic repertory than their classic colleagues, thus giving you more opportunities.

Get yourself a set of flare resistant lenses and always use the shade.

 

Hope this helps

Bruno

[faraz]

I'd like to add that even in the presence of sudden light changes, resist the temptation to use auto *anything*. Take a look at following shots, I think despite the changed light, all three images have merit.

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[ianman]

I find that when in the pit the 75 'lux is one of the best m lenses out there.

The long focus throw helps with moving subjects, and the rendering @ ƒ 1.4 is stellar.

 

I could not agree more ! Here are some shots I took recently with that lens.

 

As mentioned before, do not auto anything !

Two things I now know to avoid:

1. Do not be tempted to go too high ISO.

2. Do not trust what is shown on the screen !!

 

If you are indenting to shoot musician who play a quieter type of music you may find that the M9 is too loud.

 

Ian

[!Nomad64]

I wish I could get that close... :-(

Nice pics indeed

 

Bruno

[!Nomad64]

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@ Faraz: lovely and intense pics.

 

Bruno

[MikeD700]

I'd like to add that even in the presence of sudden light changes, resist the temptation to use auto *anything*. Take a look at following shots, I think despite the changed light, all three images have merit.

 

2nd and 3rd are very very good; the 1st is simply mesmerizing!

[Guest WPalank]

I could not agree more ! Here are some shots I took recently with that lens.

 

As mentioned before, do not auto anything !

Two things I now know to avoid:

1. Do not be tempted to go too high ISO.

2. Do not trust what is shown on the screen !!

 

If you are indenting to shoot musician who play a quieter type of music you may find that the M9 is too loud.

 

Ian

 

Ian,

 

Nice job. Would you mind telling me what you mean by "do not AUTO anything"? I get it, but I don't understand how it is achieved. The lighting is switching by the nano-second several stops negative or positive. The subjects are moving all over the place. I understand how it would work if you were standing in Yosemite taking a picture of a rock as it is lit by the sun.

 

How do you prevent going too high ISO. Do you underexpose and bring it up a stop in ACR? What is the minimum shutter speed you are going for? I would imagine you are trying to stick with f 1.4 and 2.0.

[AlanG]

When I shot concerts back in the early 70s, I had no trouble using a 200mm F 4 lens and 400 ASA b/w film and 160 ASA color slide film. I learned how to be steady. I often wanted to get as close to the subject as possible. I'd also shoot overall views with wider lenses. But consider that a Leica is probably not really going to get you tight enough if you want to get the emotion of someone's face. Today, you'll have a hard time getting this kind of access in most places.

 

With modern cameras capable of high ISOs and f2.8 AF IS long lenses, this work would be pretty easy. (Although it wasn't very hard for me back then and I was just a kid.)

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[brill64]

does the nokton f1.1 suffer from focus shift?

 

those are really lovely shots, alang

[!Nomad64]

does the nokton f1.1 suffer from focus shift?

 

According to the latest test of Sean Reid it does.

 

Bruno

[Anguish]

After all this good advice, I would second a thought posted previously. If you tell the organizers you are coming, it might be to your advantage. I did so at one show (actually several) and at the start they got all the shooters together and said everybody could shoot the first 2 songs and the last one - except Anguish, who called ahead and asked for permission. I could shoot the whole event.

You might want to know the ground rules. Courts have said that Bob Dylan owns his image. If you are at his concert and photograph, security might take your camera away - seriously.

[larryk34]

Depends on where you'll be sitting. I used a 35mm Lux Asph for a ballet performance in Vietnam, but I was sitting about 6-8 rows back from the front row. The lens was perfect for capturing most of the whole stage and the resolution was good enough to allow cropping. If I only had a 90mm lens I would have missed much. On the other hand, if you're further back, you obviously have to have a longer lens. As usual with Leica (as the posted photos show), lens resolution really matters.