Are you heading to a gig and want to take pictures of your favourite artists? This post will explain some of the techniques, settings and equipment you should consider using for great results. Example pictures shown are of a band called Kid Wave.
Equipment
It’s a good idea to use the fastest lens you can, ie a lens that has the widest aperture such as f2.8. A zoom lens is a good option if you are planning on moving around and won’t be able to get close to the artists.
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Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 Lens |
Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L Zoom Lens |
Settings to Use
You don’t want to be taking long exposures when taking pictures of bands as the artists will just be blurred. It’s also recommended to not sure a flash, as well as this being distracting it, will often remove the stage lights resulting in a picture with boring plain lighting.
Aperture: Use an aperture of around f2.8-f4
Shutter speed: A shutter speed of around 1/125 should normally be ok and would even catch movement from the artists. The shutter speed could be lowered or increased according to your focal length and the amount of movement by the band.
ISO: 3200-6400
Stage Lights
Think about where the lights are in the scene and consider positioning your subject between the lights and your camera for interesting glows and effects.
Black and White
Often band images look fantastic in black and white. If possible take your pictures in colour and convert them afterwards in post.
Band Members
It can often be easy to just take pictures of one person in the band but don’t forget to get wide-angle shots and images of all the members.
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Details
Detail shots of just the band’s instruments can also be interesting for your collection.
Summary
These are some of the settings and techniques that you could use to take better pictures of music bands. Be sure to try them out next time that you’re at a gig.
