First Gig C&C

Riamfada

Hey,

I am hoping to get into doing some gig photography. I was at a small event and managed to get the band to allow me to take some shots. Im not really happy with them but I cant put my finger on exactly why they dont pop for me. Id really appreciate some feedback on this set.

Full Set

1


2


3


4


5


Cheers
G

m5ex9oqjawdg2i

Firstly, I am not expert.

For picture number two I think a higher Bokeh effect would work nicely here.

In image 5, focusing on the Drummer would have given a different perspective also. Might have looked nice.

thebaz

the second & last image are by far the best - the rest lack energy or punch - music images should have some vitality or individuality , make them stand out from the crowd , as it seams everyone is recording at gigs today, so your images need to be creative & different - everyone has ther own style - practice will help you develop this style , the second image you have captured the personality , and that is what it is about.

homerun_homer

What lens are you using? If you don't have a nifty fifty then you might want to invest in one if this is an area you want to get into because it's cheap and at f1.8 it's great for gigs.

m5ex9oqjawdg2i

homerun_homer wrote: »

What lens are you using? If you don't have a nifty fifty then you might want to invest in one if this is an area you want to get into because it's cheap and at f1.8 it's great for gigs.

Would the f1.4 be worth the extra €€€? I am excluding the f1.2 here as it's pretty expensive in my opinion. Not sure if the OP has a budget or is looking to invest in higher end lenses.

homerun_homer

Katherine Unimportant Speedboat wrote: »

Would the f1.4 be worth the extra €€€? I am excluding the f1.2 here as it's pretty expensive in my opinion. Not sure if the OP has a budget or is looking to invest in higher end lenses.

I doubt op needs to go that far yet if he's just starting out and testing the waters. That's why a nifty fifty is great. Depends if there is money to burn.

AnimalRights

1.2 is not a gig lens, slower to focus and a hard lens to master under normal circumstances let alone a gig.

#1 Interesting and leads one into a possible story for the gig

#2 As Barry said probably the best because you've caught an expression which gives them personality and interest.

#3 No, most of the guitar missing, speaker in the way, no life from the guy, this could easily just be a praccy session.

#4 I am not a fan of low gig angle shots, others are and also microphones are distracting and obscuring faces.

#5 I'd crop some of the top away for starters, pic look's very noisy.

Study other peoples gig photography for the basics and especially gig shots that are of a similar nature referring music genre.

AnimalRights

Oh looking at ur pixie I seen no exif in properties but if ur using a Canon I recommend the 40mm pancake lens which is more forgiving than the 1.4 and cheaper too and ofc wider.

melekalikimaka

1. great shot but not gig photography per say

2. nice shot bit no instrument and doesnt look like he's singing, whats it trying to achieve?

3. PA really disrupting the flow of the image, barely see head neck of guitar, always try to get who instrument in image

4. I like this one, maybe slight further back, so as not to cut of guy on right and the dreaded missing feet issue with frontman

5. A nice shot, tbh the lighting is doing nothing for the mood of the shots, good work on this given the lighting IMO

wonderful for first gig, I'd be ashamed to put up mine (they are up here but probably close to a decade ago and awful kit lens used.

I'm sure I'll get blasted for my opinions on the shots by folk but as I say they are only opinions, it'd be a dull place if we all agreed.

Deadlie

I quite like 'em as a set, the last two seem a bit more purple than the rest, though! The sh*tty venue let you down in terms of lights, but the fact that it's so dingy lets the viewer know this is a small gig. They tell a little story, which is kinda cool.Your post production is very good and the images are as sharp as they should be.

The only reason I wouldn't be happy with them is because they're a little boring - but that's not always your fault. Gig photography in Ireland can be pretty boring. Local bands here (for the most part) don't have as mad a passion as say the Nordic crowd do. It's lots of lads standing behind a mic with a guitar doing eff-all. You'll see people in gig photography for a while tend to chase lunatic bands - heavy metal acts, EMO band, controversial rappers etc. These give you some great opportunities, if you can withstand some godawful music.

Riamfada

Thanks guys. I really appreciate the ideas and feedback. Just to clarify I was using a 6D. The first image is on a 1.4 50mm and the rest on a 24-105mm. The ISO was fairly high (compared to my old 50D) but well within the limits of a 6D for relative noiseless shooting but they seem a bit noisier than I had hoped.

Zascar

So I'll just say that usually I find gig photography very 'meh' - but I actually really like these group of photos, well done. A little more dof in places could work.

Can I ask about the 6D and what levels of ISO you can go up to before you start noticing noise?

Riamfada

Zascar, those images were shot at 20k ISO IIRC where you get a bit of noise but nothing really noticable arund the 12k mark. Thanks for the comments