YBG - Gig Photography

Shot my mates band, headlining the Liverpool Barfly.
It was so dark in there, and they only had one large light which was on the centre of the stage, so often the guys at the side were too dark to shoot.
They are an indie/rap/acoustic band for anyone interested, http://myspace.com/ybguk

K20D, 10-17, 3200ISO, 1/25



K20D, 50, 2000ISO, 1/2500 (I think the exifs wrong on this, sounds way too high)



K20D, 50, 2000ISO, 1/500



K20D, 10-17, 3200ISO, 1/40



K20D, 10-17, 2000ISO, 1/40



K20D, 50, 1000ISO, 1/640



I had around 30 good shots (1 a minute?) out of say 300 that I took, but there were many duplicated shots in that 300 to ensure I got the shot. AF worked fine, sometimes hunting but then i switched to MF for the shot. Another photographer there shooting with a 400D said her AF was suffering in the light

I think you can be pleased with a 10% keeper rate and you have some good shots considering the difficult circumstances.

It would certainly appear that the noise immunity of the K20D is vastly superior to the K10D, which I continually find disappointing. Maybe it's time for me to upgrade . . . again.

I've tried taking pics at music venues (tribute bands mostly) with much less success, even with my SMCP 50mm 1:1.2 and DA* 16-50mm 1:2.8 lenses.

Well done.

I'd say you've done VERY well in those conditions.

Some of the shots are not only technically good, but are interesting compositions.

The stage lights add a great deal to the atmosphere.

Did you have to do much post processing?

Minimal, I basically fix it up in CameraRAW (Ie exposure, shadows, contrast, brightness) and resize/sharpen for web. The vivid colours are output like that from the camera, and I didnt need any noise reduction

This is the 4th or 5th time ive shot local bands, and I think i'm improving, but if I consider I needed 1000-2000 ISO, with my old K100D, i would've suffered.

The only noise visible in these shots is dark blue blotches in the black areas, but increasing the shadows 1point in cameraraw or just fiddling with contrast a little gets rid of them

Some tremendous shots there - bravo!

I wouldn't have thought of the 10-17 as a gig lens (the 50 yes) but it's actually done a very good job - especially on the 5th picture. With any luck they'll land a huge record deal and take you with them as their official 'tog - there are worse ways to earn a living and see the world...

In those small venues hefty, its advisable to have a wide angle lens. Granted the 14mm F/2.8 would probably suit better, but it did the job.

Plus you can show off how awesome the crowd was to those scouting the band




(yes, that metal griding was where I sat most of the time, fun )

Now that's a great angle - I can see the fishy's purpose for crowd shots like this. Don't suppose you sneaked behind the drummer at any point to shoot through did you? If not it's worth considering for the next gig...

I did that the last gig Hefty but that was back when they had no drums or bass.


(Compressed by myspace, so lower quality. That was so much better lit.)

There was no space between the drummers seat and the back, but at the end of the gig I took a 3fps animation of the drummer diving into the crowd as I stood on the stool. I wouldve taken a 20fps if I'd had enough time to switch modes

That's more what I had in mind.

The great thing about really wide lenses is they make even small rooms look huge - perfect for an up-and-coming band. Keep it up anyway, be interesting to see how things progress at their next gig.

Next ill be shooting will be the same venue, but smaller gig (I might not bother) and then a matinee at Zanzibar in liverpool ( a free gig for any locals ) which should be excellent because it will be alot lighter.

Yes, I think you've done well with these pics as well, I'm not a great one for mono pictures but number two is very good I reckon.

Vic.

I think you have got some very impressive shots here.

I really like the BW one. Excellent.

The shot behind the scene is very good as well.