With a fix shooting position, very low light, and an all-seated acoustic set by the Magnetic Fields, I had my work cut out for me in conditions that had even the Nikon D3 nearly maxed out.
Music Photographer’s Notes:
The rules for this show were three songs, no flash. In addition, the band had requested no stage-front photography; all shooting had to be done from the sides of the stage. Thanks to a tip from reader Michael LaFleur, I had a heads up about some of these restrictions. For Michael’s gig photographing the Magnetic Fields in Bloomington, Indiana, he had the further stipulation of shooting no closer than 10-feet from the stage.
Overall, this show was dark. In fact, the major source of light on Stephin Merritt came from the lamp on his music stand. With a baseball cap compounding this dimness by blocking what light came from the overhead cans, and even the Nikon D3 was up against the wall.
Exposure for this set was ISO 5000 and 1/50 at f/2.8. The “slow” f/2.8 aperture of the 70-200mm was a necessary evil, given the distance restrictions and limited shooting options.
Still, for all these difficult conditions, it was a pleasure photographing Merritt and friends. I’ve been a fan since the bands’ 69 Love Songs; hearing “The Luckiest Guy On The Lower East Side” as the second song was a treat.
This entry was posted on Saturday, March 6th, 2010 at 10:56 pm and is filed under Music Photography and tagged with 2010, acoustic, live, magnetic fields, music photography, pageant, performance, Stephin Merritt, tour. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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I like this set!
What is you thinking behind how to shoot a more static group rather than a crazy metal band.. there are times when I have to shoot an acoustic, a single guitar and a mic and then performer barely moves away from the microphone. I have a couple shows I shot this way and I felt that I just wasn’t able to get much to tell the story.. maybe 2-3 pixs but nothing more..
Thanks for any advice!
david
Hey David,
Sometimes all you need are a few images. If you’re looking to tell the story, there’s always the crowd and the venue – not all of the story of a concert happens on stage.
Very true Todd. Some of my favorite shots from different music photogs have been of the crowds, or wide shots of the venue. Specifically, I love the one you shot that ended up on the Dave Matthews cover.
Hey Kevin,
That DMB cover was certainly one prime example of how photographing other parts of the story can pay off, that’s for sure. Crowd shots can be a great way of showing the energy or mood of a show. Thanks for the comment.
Thanks so much for the insight.. I guess I just haven’t really invested any time in turning my camera away from the performers and on to the crowd..doh!
My next show is an acoustic one at the end of the month.. I will certainly have to try my hand at shooting the crown and venue.. thanks again for all the time you spend on us here!
Photographer @toddowyoung has some great shots up from Magnetic Fields, day after #btown concert: http://bit.ly/9FBdWi
Todd,
You did a great job with the restrictions at hand. I went straight from the Magnetic Fields into the week-long Pit Stop Music Marathon, so I haven’t processed my shots yet. It’s a great week for music and photography in Bloomington.
I love how one person is texting in your audience shot.
Best,
Michael
Hey Michael,
Thanks again for the heads up on your restrictions for this show, I appreciate it. Looking forward to seeing how your gig went. Cheers.
Michael! The girl texting is me. Except I wasn’t texting, I promise! I was taking a picture to tweet the concert experience. Or at least, I was about to take the picture.
I was excited when Todd told me he had a picture of me doing that, and how meta it all was but then I kind of felt like a poser. Oh well.
Todd – these pictures look awesome. It was a great night. Did you stick around for the whole show?
Hey Kaylen,
Great seeing you and Pete at the show. It wasn’t until I got back and saw your tweet about the gig with the image and the time that I put it together while editing through the set.
I didn’t stick around for the whole show, but I was really glad that I got to catch the Magnetic Fields live. With a little from 69 Love Songs, no less.
Image stabilization saved the day for The Magnetic Fields. 70-200mm f/2.8 FTW. http://bit.ly/bBkpuH
I miss mine — RT @toddowyoung: Image stabilization saved the day for The Magnetic Fields. 70-200mm f/2.8 FTW. http://bit.ly/bBkpuH
Merritt and the overexposed belly xD
amazing site my friend!
Hey Alezayas,
Thanks for the comment. Sometimes there are casualties when more exposing for the face!
of course Todd! just adding a little fun :) you’re truly an amazing photographer bro
Todd, you did a great job even with all the restrictions placed upon the photographers for this show. I’m always learning from your work. Thanks for sharing these with us.
Hey Eric,
Thanks for the kind words, I appreciate the support. Cheers.
todd, guess you didn’t need the ear plugs for this one? good to see you change up the subjects now and then. ever thought of upgrading to D3s after a show like this?
Hi John,
No earplugs necessary for this show. I haven’t seriously considered the Nikon D3s because though there seems to be a real one-stop advantage over the D3, that’s not enough for me to shell out for new cameras just yet.
Also, I really enjoy shooting the D3 and D700 because, for all intents and purposes, the image quality is identical. So, when I upgrade bodies, I’d prefer to do it at the same time if at all possible. I think the D4 is probably more in my future at this point.
Hey Todd,
i was wondering what setting you would use for a gig like this where there is not alot of movement, im unsure whether to use M,P or A?
Thanks alot
x
Hi Jordan,
I always shoot manual mode. I prefer being in complete control of the exposure when at all possible. For slow shows like this where the lighting doesn’t change, there’s no reason not to shoot on M.
Todd,
How do you go about deciding exactly what ISO to use, as well as shutter speed? I typically keep my D700 on Auto ISO and a minimum shutter speed of 1/100 and then use Aperture Priority Mode. I’m reluctant to switch to Manual, simply because I’m not yet skilled enough in terms of knowing or accurately choosing ISO and Shutter speed.
Thanks!
Jake
Hi Jake,
For me, ISO is determined by the image quality of the camera. Shutter speed depends on the movement of the band – it really depends on the situation. Focal length is also going to inform what shutter speeds might be best.
Hey Jake,
First off I would certainly listen to Todd for advice before anyone else..
But maybe my limited experience could be of use..
I’ve been shooting shows for about a year.. and for a long time I was really hesitant to shoot manual.. I was just afraid I’d totally destroy every shot..
I only have a D80 which is an oldy and used to shoot pretty much like you.. but the more I learned about the camera the more I knew I need to change my shooting style… The d80 pretty much maxes out about 800ISO without introducing too much noise.. and if I meter with Matrix at a show I can pretty much be guaranteed my highlights will be destroyed.
So I set my camera a ISO800, center weighted metering, next I usually just set my lens to f2.8 … I pretty much leave all these setting alone for the whole show..
and the only thing I tweek is the shutter speed..
The more I thought about this and what Todd says about manual shooting I thought if this is the way to do it, I need to try to learn it..
So I started by shooting just opening acts using manual.. and often destroyed most of the images.. I got a couple lucky ones.. but just by doing that it taught me not to be afraid.. I’d normally switch back to shutter priority when the main band came on.. I was just too freaked out that I wouldn’t get anything in manual..
But more and more I’m getting comfortable with Manual mode.. yes, there are times when I totally destroy many images..I use my shot review on my camera to see how bad I blew some highlight out and try to adjust accordingly … yes it does slow your shooting down, and it make you have to think more.. but slowly I’m getting better at interpreting my shot and how it’ll look… I’m sure it’ll take me 100 years to really get this down, but.. every journey starts with a single step…right?
All this to say.. shoot manual with the opening bands and it’ll help get rid of the paranoia :-) and if you keep at it, before you know it you’ll shoot everything in manual.. (I’m telling myself this too.. I’m still not there yet, but getting closer)..
maybe that helps?