1st Try at Concert Photography

Last night went to the Hollywood Bowl where Diana Ross was performing. Really an incredible concert. No photography was allowed and people going through security with dSLR's were told to return them to their vehicles. Mine was buried in the picnic paraphanalia and where I'd have loved the 70-200 or longer, I took the 50 1.2 which I hadn't been using for a while. A tricky lens to use but my favorite for dark where flash isn't usable. I have not done any concert photography before and this made me happy. Most of Miss Ross' wardrobe was heavily sequinned and no matter what adjustments I made, her gown was blown by the spotlights if she were in center stage.



Tv(Shutter Speed)
1/50Sec.
Av(Aperture Value)
F1.2
Exposure Compensation
-1/3
ISO Speed
500
Lens
50mm
Focal Length
50.0 mm

Kathy,

Commendations on your bravery! I have good contacts in case they look you up in the Philharmonic dungeons. The picture is helped by the lit arches of the dome. The repeating pattern helps to join together the widely spaced musicians. That spacing is always a problem in getting the figures large enough yet including more than one person at a time!

The videographers at the event are able to use multiple cameras and then overlay the images. since the backgrounds are pretty dark, this works very well.

Here however, the heads of the audience and the patterns of the stage help to make the picture and tie things together.

I guess from the position of the shot you had pretty good box seats not way up with the pebeians in the hard benches.

Asher

Yes

Aha - that's how they get their video clear...
Next time I might have to put my 70-200 or 100-400 in a wine bottle holder..
.
The 50 1.2 was astonishing to my box neighbors - yes, we have these seats for 30 years - handheld and no flash.

Thanks, Asher - yes, don't report me...I did sneak up to the pool box area during the finale for a few shots but being 5'3" was no help with 6'5 people in front trying to do the same with the cellphone cameras.

Good shooting Kathy!

I love the color.

In the past I have used the 85 F1.2L and the 70-200 F2.8L IS for this kind of job.

On recent Shoots I have been happy to use my 50 F1.2L instead of the 85 since the 85 is slow to focus and with an all access pass you are too close for the 85 most of the time.

Thanks!

Thanks, Will!

I am going to try again next month....Donna Summer next time. Hopefully, I won't be shaking the camera with the beat of the music. I had to make a concious effort to do that at this concert.

Interesting you used Iso 500, and Tv 50.

At 100% is it sharp?

Not as crisp

Nope, not 100%....but....I was trying out a new genre for me. That was the best setting I could get under the circumstances - I was about 25 rows from the stage; no flash, handheld. very dark in the audience, so I was happy with the results - any other settings I could come up with either blurred Ms. Ross or couldn't get a good exposure. I did lots of experimentation. That said, the 50 1.2 was not the ideal lens for concert work.

Available light concert photography is rarely sharp! Just ask Henry Doltz!

Well done

Will Thompson said:

Available light concert photography is rarely sharp! Just ask Henry Doltz!

Click to expand...

Having shot a lot of live concerts with available light, I can only agree. It is a real challenge to get any sharp pictures. Even if you have a steady hand or the camera mounted on a mono/tripod, the musicians themselves are constantly moving. So you'd have to have shutter speed of at least 1/125 to freeze them. Even if you are shooting at ISO1600 and @ f2.8 or lower, it is frequently impossible to achieve those fast shutter speeds. So be very happy with the results you've got Kathy. You have made the best possible use of what is available to you, congrats ))

Cheers,

Thank you!

Thank you for the pat on the back. Anytime you do something new, it's nice to get feedback. I am glad to know that 100% sharp crops are not the norm!