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How to: Photograph a Concert
Article & Images by Armando Flores
With summer now here, I am looking forward to the summer concert series. Some people like to collect their ticket stubs, others, concert tour T-shirts. I prefer to display photos of the events. As you can imagine there are many rules, regulations, and restrictions when it comes to photographing a concert. I recommend that you do your research and find out what the rules might be at the venue that you plan to attend.
© Armando Flores
Most venues that I’ve attended have a restriction on the length of the lens that you can bring in, usually under six inches. Some venues will not allow a camera that looks to be of a professional caliber. For this reason, I prefer a DSLR or a mirrorless camera with an APS-C sensor. Although most may be average looking, you can get professional results with a high-quality lens.
A camera with an APS-C sensor will also allow you to take advantage of the crop factor. In other words, any lens that you mount on a camera with an APS-C sensor will change the effective focal length by a factor of approximately 1.5X depending on your camera. So, a 300mm lens will have an effective focal length of 450mm with a crop factor of 1.5. My lens choice is usually an All-In-One and there are several to select from, like the 28-200, 18-300 and the 18-400 all under six inches in length. If you are lucky enough to know someone in the band or have a friend that knows someone, and you can get a press pass then you can use whatever you want.
© Armando Flores
As for the exposure, manual mode is fine when the lighting is constant or controlled and you are using a zoom lens with a constant maximum aperture. I prefer a semi-automated mode like shutter priority, it allows me to select the desired shutter speed. You will need a shutter speed fast enough to freeze movement from either the subject or from you hand holding the camera.
© Armando Flores
Other camera settings to consider are continuous focusing with a single auto focus point and continuous shooting in low. Auto ISO is fine but make sure to set the maximum limit, for me that is usually 3200. My metering mode of choice is spot, as it moves in conjunction with the single flexible auto focus point. I also shoot in RAW to give me full control of the images in post, and if I find that the white balance is too difficult to correct, then I will desaturate the image and convert it to black & white.
© Armando Flores
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