Reply To: concert photography

[neonstz]

I haven’t taken many concert pictures, but I’ll try to give some advice. There is no need for a tripod or a monopod unless you’re standing way back with a long tele. To freeze the action you need short shutter speeds, so handholding is fine.

The light will be tricky. The light meter will be fooled by the stage lighting since it can’t adjust the exposure fast enough. Be prepared to get some over/underexposured shots. Fast glass is nice, but if the light is good you may get away with slower zooms (f/4 etc). You’ll need to use high iso (1600 and faster).

I have some concert pics at
http://www.darkside.no/gallery/cloroform_and_shining_at_kongsberg_jazz_festival_2005/
http://www.darkside.no/gallery/hopalong_knut_at_kongsberg_jazz_festival_2005/
http://www.darkside.no/gallery/asbury_park_a_tribute_to_bruce_springsteen/
http://www.darkside.no/gallery/low_frequency_in_stereo_at_kongsberg_jazz_festival_2006/
http://www.darkside.no/gallery/wibutee_at_kongsberg_jazz_festival_2006/

The lenses I used were 10.5mm f/2.8 fisheye, 50 mm f/1.8, 35mm f/2 and 85 mm f/1.4.