Exciting, fast, low lit and LOUD!

This week the Watford photographer has been looking at Band Photography with MJL Photographics.

Michael from MJL Photographics a big live music and Rock / Metal fan regularly attends many local gigs. “For me it’s the perfect shoot, combining two passions Music and Photography. Getting involved, loving the tunes and getting to know the band gives me an excuse to get up close and personal and get some great atmospheric action shots!” 

The first Set of images are of awesome metal band Neverstar who you may recognise from my earlier article 'Rocking Portraits'. You can listen to some of their awesome tunes and see more images of them in action at  www.neverstar.com

Challenges
The main challenges you will come across that subsequently cause other problems are low light levels and inconsistent light. Because most gig venues are dimly lit and have stage lights in all colours of the rainbow that are flashing on and off its pretty difficult to get the shots you want. Because of the low light levels you not only need a fast lens, but to avoid unwanted movement in the subjects you need a reasonable shutter speed. So how do you overcome these issues without ramping up your ISO and going mad with you flashgun? It all comes down to using the right kit for the job.

Lenses...
All the info below is from my personal experience, there are as with most things in photography a plethora of options when it comes to lens choice. However often the choices open to us unless we have a rather large bank account are based on compromise.

A wide aperture lens capable of low light levels is a must, with a standard f3.5 -4.5 you will really struggle. The reason for this is that most venues whether they are large or small will at some point be filled with hundreds of sweaty fans. This means you will be shooting hand held = no tripod.

Secondly a high percentage of performers are not static on stage, if you are in to rock or metal then you are going to need a fast lens! A lens with the minimum aperture of f1.4 – f2.8 is what you will need to get more natural shots handheld without blur, excessive flash or extreme ISO’s.

A great way to get some up close shots from some great angles is to use a 50mm prime lens. Prime lenses are sharper, often have great wide apertures and because you can’t zoom you have to get up close and personal! Canon has several on the market, an f1.2, f1.4 and f1.8. Dependant on your budget you can get away with the cheap and basic 1.8, but be warned the focusing system is very basic and you may miss shots at low light levels. But you can’t really complain at the super low price!
Next up (and my personal preference) is the f1.4, its ultrasonic focusing system is superbly accurate and allows for some dreamy background blur. Next is the ultimate, the 1.2, yes it’s amazing but unless money is of no object and you are using it a lot in a professional capacity in my opinion you are not gaining much over the 1.4.

Other lenses I have tried are the sigma 50mm macro and Canon 20mm f2.8. I found both these lenses struggled to focus accurately or quickly enough in low light level situations. The best focusing system to look for on canon is ‘ultrasonic’ or if you have the budget you can just rely on the ‘L series’ name!

Dependant on the size / height of the stage and if you are on stage or in the crowd a 50mm may not be a long enough focal length for you. Equally it may not be a small enough length for those group shots. My advice here would be to go for a 50mm initially and then see what you need more, do the venues you attend require more wide angle or close up shots?

For close up shots id recommend the Canon 100mm f2, it’s got a great focusing system (very similar to the 50mm 1.4) and is very sharp wide open at f2!
For Wide angle shots you have a few options, I personally don’t rate the canon 20mm f2.8 for low light action shots as mentioned above. However I do rate the Tamron 17-50 f2.8 and the canon 16-35 f2.0. They are both great lenses that focus accurately.

Flash
A flashgun can provide much needed fill light and bounce light if you are graced with low level white ceilings. Obtaining one with manual settings enables you to manually set the flash compensation / exposure. ‘Auto only’ flashes restrict your creativity and like to over expose everything in low light  level situations even with the most advanced ETTL or equivalent operation

A sigma 530dg super, Canon 430ex or 530ex are great choices. My advice here is to use only minimal fill flash, don’t rely on the flash for your main light source or to keep your shutter speeds high otherwise you end up with over exposed and bleached out photos very easily. Keeping some of the natural colour from the stage lights really makes the shot. Over exposing with flash because you have a minimum aperture of f4 lens is not the way forward. Also consider the use of a diffuser to soften the light as well as the bounce flash technique. The key here is to let the lens do the work and only use the flash for minimal fill.

Extras
Dependant on the size of stage and whether you are in front, behind or on it you may have the option to use some extras and not get in the way of the band or crowd.

A monopod can be a great accessory to keep your camera still in the right situation. But also limits your movement at the same time.

A tripod further restricts your movement and is rarely a tangible accessory in gig venues. However if there is a little space you can get away with using it maybe try some creative long exposure shots with the band and crowd moving around but the surrounding walls and stage staying still.

Another body?
If you have ever been to some big gigs / festivals (I’m talking 40,000+) you may have noticed the pro photographers on stage running around grabbing shots. Lots of L series red rings and grey bodies to be seen! But do you ever catch them loosing valuable shooting time swapping lenses? Of course not! 

The way to do it is to use two high quality prime lenses of different focal lengths at the same time on two camera bodies. Ok it can get expensive if you want two 5D mkii’s! But dependant on what body you have you don’t have to go crazy. If you have a 5D mkii why not consider a 50d or 40d, they are high end crop frame bodies and could give you an advantage of being even closer up as 1.6 crop frame sensors further zoom you focal length. If you have a 50d / 40d why not consider a 450d. They still allow live view and spot metering and can achieve some really great shots.

Lastly a personal tip ....
When you are concentrating hard, rapidly firing off shots and swapping camera bodies to get that perfect shot you will probably not realise at some point that you are standing right next to a rather large speaker! I have done it so many times trying to get a shot and not realised, being deaf for 3 days isn't much fun so take some ear plugs!