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Need tips for taking pictures at a concert (alien.top)

submitted 10 months ago by Alternative_Monk_396@alien.top to c/photography@viewfinder.pro

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I’m going to a music festival Friday-Sunday, and I have passes to be in the photo pit for three songs. My grandma is sending me with her Nikon d3300 to take pictures, but I’ve never really used a camera before, aside from my cell phone. I’ve practiced taking pictures of my cats for the last few days, but I’m sure there’s some settings I will need to adjust for the concert. I have two lenses; an 18-55mm, and a 55-200mm but I only have space to bring one. Does anyone have any tips for me? Should I just ditch the camera and use my cell phone?

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[–] chari_de_kita@alien.top 0 points 10 months ago (2 children)

Not knowing the aperture of either lens nor any details except it's a 3-day festival, I'd go with the 55-200mm since even in the pit you probably won't be close enough to the performers to make the 18-55mm useable.

Is this all outdoor stages from day to night?

Based on my experience shooting live music in "easy mode" for the first few months I had my DSLR, including some festivals, you could get some decent shots but the camera will tend towards slower shutter speeds, resulting in less sharp images if the subjects are moving fast on stage. Trying to keep the camera as steady as possible helps but there's only so much you can do handheld.

Get some earplugs since it's a 3-day festival. Wear comfortable shoes. Take breaks and stay hydrated.

I would advise getting backup batteries and memory cards also but that depends on how much you think you'll be shooting and whether you decide to shoot JPEG or RAW. I've been okay with two 64GB SD cards lasting me through a 8-10 hour day of shooting RAWs.

Be aware of your surroundings and keep in mind that when you're in the pit, there are hundreds/thousands of people behind you that paid to be there so don't block their view any longer than necessary.

[–] SCphotog@alien.top 0 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Both of those Nikon lenses are kit glass, so they're going to be 3.5-5.6 or so.... dynamic across the focal range. 3.5 at the wide end and 5.6 at the long end - give or take a stop, but I'm pretty sure that's accurate.

Not ideal for a concert really but if they (op) stretches the ISO out and manages to get the exposure without running the shutter down too slow, might end up with a few keepers.

[–] chari_de_kita@alien.top 1 points 10 months ago

Thanks for the information! Most of what I know about concert photography is from Todd Owyoung's site and talking with other photographers at venues. Shot for about a year on my f4 24-120mm kit lens that came with my D750 until I could scrape together enough for a Tamron f2.8 70-200mm since it was way less than the Nikon one.

Shot a 3-day festival with multiple stages using just my 70-200mm in the middle of summer and did okay. At least with a daytime outdoor stage, having a wide aperture won't matter as much as it will with an indoor or nighttime performance in my experience.