The PERFECT Camera Settings for Concert Photography
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 ก.พ. 2020
- I'll telling you guys my secret today...my secret settings. These are the camera settings that I use 99% of the time for music photography. These settings offer you a starting point when you get to gig, and any changes you will need to make are pretty easy from there. I cover shutter speed, white balance, aperture, ISO as your perfect camera settings when it comes to music photography. Trust me & try these camera settings, then tell me how you liked them!!
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For concert photography mirrorless has been a game changer for me, especially now you can see the image as you shoot.
I agree! Being able to edit your settings and see the change in real time -- it's absolutely incredible! Definitely helps for quick lighting changes or when you're running between stages at festivals.
Thank you for your time on this. You're tip on the white balance makes so much sense to me. I don't believe I have heard that yet, I've watched about 10-12 tutorials/tips on concert photog. Thank you so much!
I'm so happy that helped!! Most photographers I know use auto white balance, but I do love it - hope it helps!! Feel free to reach out if you have any more questions -- I'm always happy to help!!
Reeeally useful, thank you! I have my first gig shoot coming up soon at the 100 Club in London. It's a tiny venue. I'll try to get another gig in beforehand to practice these settings!
Did you already have your gig?? How did it go! I would love to hear how these settings worked for you and what you adjusted during the show!
Came here for the white balance advice, now I'm subscribed and going over all the videos hahah great stuff! thank you so much for putting such great content out.
Oh my gosh, that's so kind!! Thank you so much for watching, subscribing and commenting!! I appreciate it so much!!
I really tend to not even worry about settings. I usually just set the exposure for the venue and keep it at that for the rest of the night. If you're shooting raw, then the post processing is where you set the tone for your photo. You can make one photo feel many different moods with different edits.
Nick Barrett I 100% agree! I see a lot of people fuss over their settings throughout sets and it’s definitely unnecessary when it comes to editing because you can change most things through post processing. The only thing is that I’ve seen a lot of people set their exposure to where their highlights are completely blown, causing a lot of facial features to be lost even. Definitely a good idea to set your exposure once for the venue and edit the rest in post - I feel like it saves a lot of stress during sets!
Agreed!
I dont so much have default settings, but what I do always have in one of the memorised settings is a very high shutter setting so that if the band suddenly turn on an unexpected super bright strobe I can adapt more quickly. Good video :)
What a great idea!! That sounds like that would come in handy a lot; I might have to memorize how to do that as well...I've had way too many blown out photos with strobe usage and quick changes in lighting... 😭
I usually go iso 1600 to 2500, f2.8 or 3.2 and shutter speed 400 or 500 cause people usually dance a lot. And if the light is good.
Love shooting at 400 or 500 to capture those crisp shots - especially needed for people who are dancing! Great settings -- thanks for sharing!!
Brilliant. Never thought about this area of photography and seems really challenging. I am especially interested in the Kelvin setting. Tomorrow is wintery dark, cloudy, miserable, moody. Can't wait now, bring it on and I'll try the settings. Normally just go to WB Cloud.
I would HIGHLY recommend trying it. The Kelvin setting allows SO much more control, and if you wanted some artistic tones to your images, you can easily do that. I just think it's a lot of fun to play with! Hope you like it! Thanks so much for watching!!
Hello, I'm interested in learning more about this Kalvin settings that you recommend?.
Helpful! Thank you!
So glad this was helpful for you, Jon! Thanks for watching & commenting!
Thanks this was really helpful ✌️
Glad to hear that!! 📸🙌
Hi Boston, I really liked your video tutorial on shooting concerts in low light.
I am a UK music photographer that covers small to medium size venues, some with barely a couple of light bulbs they are so dark to larger music venues 2000 plus capacity. I use Nikon D750's and Nikon/Tamron lenses mainly. You gave some good tips here for beginners and I will check out more of your work. Well done. Gary.
Thank you for watching & commenting Gary, I appreciate it!! I love that you think my tips are good, and I really hope they help some people get their start in music photography! 🙌✨
@@BostonSchulz Thanks Boston. I use the Nikon D750 but I wondered how do you calibrate your lenses? Do you use the in camera settings to tweak or something else? It's not something I've had to do to date on my lenses but often wonder if nailing focus would be better by doing each lens? Some say yes others no. Would appreciate your thoughts if possible please. Thanks.
Thanks for sharing your settings! I haven't done any shows yet so this will give me a great place to start! I tend to do more portraits and when indoors I try and keep my ISO below 800 but I've seen a lot of images that are changing my mind and showing me whats possible. I love going wide open with my aperture but tend to do maybe two stops higher till I'm sure I've nailed my focus. My shutter speed I usually start at 125 and really only increase it if I notice blur. Love these videos!
Thanks for watching! I'm super happy that this video was helpful. I really wanted to give people a good starting point for concert photography settings. I would definitely start at a higher SS, just so you're ready for the moment! Good luck! Show me your photos too - I'd love to see them!
great vid! thank u
Happy to hear that! Thanks for watching!!
Hi Boston. I really loved your Video. Im all the way in the UK and did a few live band shoots in local pubs or bars as you say in your country. I was really interested in your iso setting as I too use auto iso setting with a minimum setting 1/60 -and a max of 6400. I saw this method on a photographer channel called Beyond Photography and they called it the "Ultimate Aperture Priority Hack". Its like a super auto mode as it adjusts the shutter speed and when it reaches the lowest speed it then adjusts the iso. But I really wanna try it your way especially the WB set to Kelvin figure. We too are in a semi lockdown situation and so I wont be able to try any settings until the restrictions are lifted. That is if we dont go into full lockdown again. But thank you for sharing your info with us. It has been really helpful to me. I look forward to seeing more of your videos here. Really enjoying your content. Stay safe and well Boston 😊❤️
Thanks Vee Jay! I'm so glad that you watched and liked my video!! The WB setting is easy and doesn't seem like it makes much of a difference, but I've found my image sets to be much more consistent and realistic to what it actually looked like, when I'm finished with editing. Regarding the Auto ISO, I've heard of that and seen other photographers in the pit use a similar setting. Me personally though, I'm a control freak and I like having full awareness of exactly what setting I'm at, at each moment. If it were changing at all, I know that I would personally get annoyed and frustrated by it. That being said, I'm sure that would help with situations like strobe lights so you don't have any images super blown out. But I'm definitely a M only shooter, where I start at one set of settings and then adjust as needed. 🤘📸
I also have a “standard” starting point.
Wide open,af-c ,aperture mode ,auto iso, with minimum 1/640 max 6400 iso, and spot metering.Will try that wb pre-set,i always use awb.(stay at home government orders,so I’m running a few of your videos😉)
I love that you're watching a few of my videos during the stay at home orders! I'm at home too, just trying to continue turning out content. I've never set an auto iso with a max. I might have to try that next show! I am very fond of the wb preset. Hope it works for you because it's helped me sooooo much.
Boston Schulz keep safe. Also keep doing this videos,you’re good at it. Hey, you managed to get views from a random guy in Portugal 😀
I'm just starting out, and certainly no expert, so I'm curious what other people do for sure. Most of the shows I shoot are indoors, and in darker venues. Also a lot of strobe lights usually. But my train of thought on the exposure triangle was I know I wanted a minimum shutter speed (which is around 1/160-1/250). And I know I don't want my aperture to change (1.8-2.8) so in order to be able to adjust to rapidly changing conditions without really messing with settings, I hard set aperture and shutter speed, and I leave the ISO on AUTO. I shoot a Sony A7-III which performs pretty well at a higher ISO and I've found that keeps me from having to mess with setting much in the heat of the first 3 songs. I found that my good shot ratio went from about 1 in 100 to about 4 in 100 using these settings.
I've been hearing a lot about people using AUTO ISO, and I might have to try it for myself - I've personally never been comfortable with 'auto', but I might give it a try. I also rarely go lower than 1/200 because I shoot a lot at 200mm zoomed so I try to shoot quick so my shaky hands have less of an impact, but that's also a personal preference!
Thanks for commenting - I'll try out some of your tips!
Hi Boston.
I'm laughing to myself at the memory of shooting a few concerts in London in the early 80's on Tri-X bumped up to 1200 asa on a Nikon F2As :-))
Also, I read a great article a while ago about how our personality reflects in the pictures we take. You have a good energy about you.
BTW: The cover of "Live and Dangerous" shot by, Chalkie Davies, for Thin Lizzy is one of my favourite concert pictures. What is yours?
Sending you good vibes from London and enjoy the rest of your day.
(Apologies for the delayed response! Getting back into the swing of TH-cam!!) 📸✨ Thank you so much for watching & commenting - I appreciate your support! I don't think I could pick just one favorite concert picture - there's so many that I LOVE. But I think the one that always sticks out to me is Robert Plant with a dove. Just such an iconic one!!
Your lenses will perform better (ie be sharper) if you stay away from the widest aperture. I shoot f/2.8 lenses but try to be at f/4 if possible.
Shutter speed for wide angles can be lower than 1/250 sec. Much lower.
I see some commenters using priority modes or auto ISO. Always shoot on manual exposure and stay away from auto ISO. Your light meter will be tricked by the bright backlights and you’ll end up with silhouettes in the auto or semi-auto modes.
So many comments about auto ISO! I'm gonna have to try it just to confirm that I don't like it. :)
Great other points! I tend to like how musicians 'freeze' with 1/250, as I get a tiny bit of motion blur to show off their movement and action on stage while still keeping a sharp photo. So even with wide lenses, I stay at that shutter speed due to that.
And totally get what you mean about not shooting wide open. I'm just a sucker for a wide open lens for more light and that stunning background. Sometimes it's worth the sacrifice, but sometimes not.
I really appreciate you taking the time to comment & watch my video!!
I am scared to shoot in extremely wide apertures in live events. I try to stay at f/3.2 and above. F/1.8 is definitely not for me to shoot live events. Thanks for sharing your techniques and experience.
I shoot either Aperture/Shutter Speed priority mode. I started shooting bands on film I can hand hold at 1/8 (there will be some blur) but as long as the subject is in focus, it is a good kind of blur. If the band is okay with flash I will Pop a flash on a long exposure. I don't batch edit. Starting on film I shoot on the lowest ISO as possible. Cool to hear the way you shoot.
PINT GLASS as tripod is a key skill set to shoot bands.
Thanks so much for watching and commenting, Dan! I love a little bit of motion blur for the bands I shoot as well, but they are so quick that I usually shoot around 1/250 and still wind up with blur. And I try to shoot lowest ISO as possible too, but I don't know how you film guys do it - that's always 1600 at least for me.
As for your pint glass = tripod comment, I 100% agree, that's a necessary skill to master!!
Hi Boston, great video. What metering do you use? I am guessing 'spot'?
I actually usually prefer matrix metering...but often use spot as well!
I usually set my ISO and WB to auto but I can def see how having them fixed can be much easier batch processing. I will try that out next show.
It definitely helps me a lot, but it's not everyone's favorite way of editing & shooting. Did you try it out? Curious if you liked it more when it came to batch editing?
@@BostonSchulz yea! I liked it, especially having a fixed WB. Colors were more consistent and not all over the place with auto WB
@@jbzavala8151 So happy to hear that!!
what camera do you find does best on low light photography? I like Nikons and looking to upgrade. Currently have a D3400 but I'm finding it doesn't go as low in ISO as I need to keep shutter speed high for low light concerts. Any feedback or advice you have for me would be so greatly appreciated :-) really informational video! thanks for posting it!
Hi Amber! Thanks for commenting! What shutter speed are you using and what ISO are you expecting? I rarely go above ISO 6400 in the darkest clubs, then I can be around 1/125 if needed. I shot in a lot of really dark clubs with the D3200 for quite a few years, but I almost always shot at f/1.8. A full frame camera will help you capture a bit more light due to the sensor size. I personally think the mirrorless also do better in low lighting (I've heard great things about Sony), and Nikon will probably be the best DSLR in low light. But I'm also partial to Nikon. :)
I shoot wide open, ISO depends on the lighting and type of lighting in the venue, 160-200 s/p and white balance auto.
That being said my D850 with the 85mm 1.4 is straight up magic...
La Clika Podcast I’ve always wanted to get a D850 because I’ve heard great things about them. And I loooove my 85 1.8 so I can believe that the 1.4 is just magic 🙌🏻📸
@@BostonSchulz I definitely recommend it. I bring two cameras to shows.. d850 with the Nikon 85mm 1.4 and my D800 with either 24-70 2.8 or 50mm 1.8.. depends on the spot. Love your videos
@low_light_gangster
How about the focus setting? El servo, continuous? Thank you for sharing I appreciate you
I switch between AF-S and AF-C depending on what I'm shooting. But for concerts, I'm almost always on AF-C. Since the subjects are always moving, I want that continuous focus setting. Hope that helps! 📸
Not sure if it’s just me but you reminded me of the teacher who was dating Spencer from icarly 😅
This is the funniest comment to me. I don't know who you're talking about - but I always get a kick out of people saying that I remind them of someone else...hopefully in a good way though LOL
Hello, thanks for your video! I have a gig this Saturday and would like to give your settings a try. I have the following lenses. Can you tell me which ones you would consider using? I know the 70-200 is a great lens, but not sure if any others would be beneficial for getting a little closer?
18-135
10-22
18-55
75-300 *
24 prime
50 primes (1.8 & 1.4) **
70-200 2.8 **
I have starred the ones I believe I should use. Thanks!
I'm sorry that I didn't see this sooner, Christine! Let me know how the settings worked for you! Your lens choice really depends on the venue. If you're shooting further back from the stage, then the 70 - 200 is a perfect lens. For concerts, I really only recommend a 2.8 or faster lens. I LOVE the 50 1.8 and the 1.4, but I don't like shooting at 1.4 that much, so I'd actually recommend the 1.8. If you're really close, then try the 24 prime, but I love shooting the scene, so I often use the 24 - 70 range. Hope that helps!
@@BostonSchulz no problem! I actually used my 50mm 1.8 and my 70-200. The pics turned out nice for my first attempt 😉
Good stuff! The idea of setting a specific white balance hadn't occurred to me - I've just left it in auto, but you're right (of course) to point out that this means I'm pretty much editing each photo individually. I'll have to give that a try to see if it takes a step out of the editing process. (But wouldn't you still have to adjust the WB of each photo individually in a setting with variable light? I mean, if one second a red spotlight is on the right side of the stage and a blue spotlight covers the left side, and then in the next second they switch around, and then after that they add in a green spotlight .... if you've shot every photo with the same WB setting, wouldn't you need to adjust? I'm going to try it out.)
I like my 2.8 zoom lenses, but it does mean that I can't shoot as fast as you can with a 1.8 lens. :) I'll set my shutter speed to 1/160th and adjust up or down as needed. If I can get away with a 1/200th of a second, I'm thrilled and (in a dark bar/pub setting) 1/250th of a second would be nearly unheard of. I usually shoot in Shutter priority, but sometimes full manual. Aperture is almost always 2.8, but if I'm able to get it to 3.5 or 4 for just a slightly deeper DOF, I'll certainly take it. (And at outdoor/daytime festivals I'll have that luxury.)
I love hearing how other people shoot; thank you for telling me all of that! I definitely shoot a lot with my 2.8 zooms too, but even with those I try to keep my shutter no lower than 1/250, mostly because the bands that I shoot move SO FAST, that anything below that is a waste to motion blur it seems. I normally push my ISO to make any changes I need. And always in full manual, because I have control issues.
Regarding the WB, the way I see it, is that I'm color correcting to one setting, so making my skintones look how I want them under an average light (say I get one shot of just white light on the band, no insane stage lighting for a second, that is the image I use to correct my colors and set up my image edits). Then I apply that to every photo. With that, you get the colors from the red spotlights, from the green, whatever they throw at you, but your base remains the same and true to the visible color. That way each image shows the true look of the stage show and the lights, while also looking clean. Does that make sense? If they flood the stage red, you'll have a fully red shot. But that doesn't seem to be the case for most clubs that I shoot at (they have all light colors rotating). So I just get a variation of different colors throughout the set. I really like editing that way...because I want to hold true to how the audience sees the show. But everyone edits differently! It's just what makes me happy. :)
@@BostonSchulz Pretty much all of the bands I photograph are blues/blues-based. There's motion on the stage to be sure, but not like I'd imagine at a metal/hard-rock concert. Historically, when I've shot concert photos at higher than 2500 or 3200, I get a little nervous. But I've recently purchased Topaz Denoise and it does seem to help with the higher ISO shots. So I'l probably start experimenting with the higher shutter speeds (and therefore higher ISO) a little more. And I'll definitely try out your "set the WB to a static valule" trick as well.
@@igibbs2000utube oooo I was curious about the Topaz Denoise and was thinking about buying it...at least when concerts start back up again. Do you think it makes a worth while difference?
@@BostonSchulz I think it takes a little getting used to (still learning) and it's not the speediest program out there, but the results are better than what Lightroom can do. I've also started using Topaz Sharpen.
@@BostonSchulz I meant to ask about metering mode - what do you use? I find myself going back-n-forth between spot metering and highlight metering.
Keeping the minimum value of 1/500 would better for unexpected occurance of light-flood on faces. This would be a much comfortable zone. Plus, with a faster shutter the light that comes in couldnt be "flooding" the subject at a given time (miliseconds) and in post you can smooth up edit work, maybe only some color grade, highlights and (de)saturate touch kind of thing....I mean it is much easier to get a darker scene which is to be processed after in the post, than getting too much light on the sensor and trying after to figure out and cut the too much light in the scenery (unless you really want that effect straight ouf of the camera).
Hi! Thanks for commenting - totally get what you're saying but most new photographers are struggling with clubs that are low lighting with not huge flashes of strobes to worry about light flooded images. 99.99% of my images are edited due to darkness and maybe 0.01% is too bright. But I know that I shoot dark. It all depends on venue and what lighting the band has, but most of the venues I shoot at, 1/500 would be a blessing to shoot at, but not a reality due to dark lighting.
I see a lot of photographers recommend shooting wide open, but I really struggle with most of my shots not being in focus as a result of shooting at 1.4, despite using high shutter speeds :(
I understand. The widest I ever shoot is usually 1.8 or 2.8, which I’ve never struggled too much at those apertures. But it really depends on your lens! When shooting at 1.4, I’ve noticed that it’s not a problem with the lens being out of focus, it’s that your depth of field is so shallow that their eye may be in focus, but their nose is not.
Boston Schulz I’ve only really shot in tiny low lit pubs/clubs with super fast, high paced musicians as my subjects, but I’ll definitely be trying to take it up a few fstops next time despite the low lighting, I thought maybe there was a secret to shooting wide open that I was missing out on :’)
LovingLullaby I understand! Definitely try something like f/2.8 next time and see if that helps. I got my fingers crossed for you!!!
I normally use f2.8 - f4 depending. Ff1.8 is too shallow and considering shutter speed and ISO to avoid excessive noise.
You never adjust your exposure compensation +- ?
Tim
Never actually! I've never found it necessary as I'm hope to match what I need in the basic settings. I've also never played around with it - so I'll test it out next time!
focus modes?
I use single point AF on all my cameras. Sorry if I missed that in this video!
What are you favorite camera settings? I want to try your recommendations!
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@@BostonSchulz Hi! Cool video but how about focus settings? I use Auto WB, auto ISO (up to 6400), 1/250 to 1/320 speed. Focus: AF-C single point. Spot mettering. Aperture wide open.
@@philippe21R I use AF-C with single point as well. Spot metering is also my favorite. I don't do Auto WB as I mention in this video, but most of our settings are very much the same!!
if you need to know about best camera settings for any given situation - just find another hobby. If you want to stick with photography DON'T SKIP LEARNING AND UNDERSTANDING THE BASICS so you will not have to look for quick fixes
Eh, I don't think that's fair. Some people like a starting point, and it really helps getting insight on what other people are doing and why it's different from you. Especially when starting out, having tips on 'standard' settings and why they're like that is super helpful to help you learn the basics. It's like the difference between book smarts and working knowledge. You can learn about settings, but unless you put it into practice in different scenarios, it might not stick. So videos like this help some people learn!
it's not fair... I see ... OK. How sad, how cruel life is - that in order to understand something one has to go through all the learning@@BostonSchulz
I find that when it comes to concert photography there are no optimal or perfect settings. For me there is no one size fits all. The settings are based on the lighting conditions of the venue. At the urging of a friend I recently starting using Auto ISO and I have to say the camera does a very good job with that. I plan to stick with that for now. Auto ISO gives me one less thing to worry about. I still set the f stop and the shutter speed. So it's basically manual mode with Auto ISO. The lenses I use the most are either f2.8 or f4. I use full frame bodies so f4 is not a problem. Sometimes if the lighting is particularly good I might set the f2.8 lens to f4. I do have a 50mm f1.8 and a 85mm f1.8 but rarely if ever feel the need to shoot at 1.8. If I need to I will but I rarely do. When shooting that wide open your focus has to be spot on. I prefer to stop down a bit and give myself a little leeway. What I described works for me. Everyone has to find their own comfort zone.
Hey Nelson! Thanks for commenting!
Totally get what you mean. In the video I mentioned that these are my starting point settings and then I adjust as needed. It's really great to have a go-to setting that you know really well and can adjust as you need to depending on what the venue and show is! So many bands have their own unique lighting, so you definitely have to adjust for each band, venue, even song!
So fun to hear how you shoot -- I appreciate your comment! :)