Gig photography with kits lens???

[Free]

Should I even bother?

I've just found out I'm going to see a mate play tonight and wouldn't mind trying to take some shots. Problem is, every good gig photo I've seen so far seems to be have been taken with a much faster lens than my kit jobs.

I've never seen a gig at this pub at night, but it is one of the main pubs for music in town so I imagine the light will be about average for a small venue.

Question is, with my aperture open all the way to to 4 and the ISO up to 1600 or 3200, will I be able to get anything more than a blur?

Cheers
Free

[jdepould]

It really depends on the lighting, every venue is different. Have you thought about picking up the new 35 f/1.8 AF-S?

[ericw]

Originally Posted by Free

Should I even bother?

...with my aperture open all the way to to 4 and the ISO up to 1600 or 3200, will I be able to get anything more than a blur?

I doubt it, but its possible. I usually shoot at iso1600, aperture f/1.8 and end up with max shutters speeds from 1/50-1/125. These usually require a bit of lightening/adjustment in post product. so at iso 3200 and f/4 you'd be around1/25-1/60. It also depends on what kind of act this is. An acoustic set would require less shutter speed to stop motion than a punk show.

[Free]

Thanks Guys,

I gave it a go and out of about 150 shots got maybe 6 keepers! The lighting at the venue was a lot less than I expected.

I shot mostly with ISO at 1600 but got way too much grain. Somehow the better pics were all at 800 with the shutter around 1/20?

I'm afraid my wife doesn't share my passion for photography to the point of spending on faster lens. I have got my eye on a 50 f/1.8, just need to pry some money out of her

I'll put a pic of two in share your shots shortly...

Cheers
Free

[wulf]

It would be great if you could post one or two of them here, actually - that helps make the discussion more useful for someone who finds it in future.

BTW, I think you can do a lot with the kit lens in a setting that isn't brilliantly lit, especially if you are willing to use lower shutter speeds and live with a bit of motion blur from the performers; sometimes this helps add to the energy of the shot. Also, remember that your lens can let in more light at the wide-angle end; here's one I took at a church event a couple of years ago:



Camera: Nikon D40
Exposure: 1/4s
Aperture: f/3.5
Focal Length: 18mm (18-55mm kit lens)
ISO Speed: 400

Wulf

[Free]

Originally Posted by wulf

It would be great if you could post one or two of them here, actually - that helps make the discussion more useful for someone who finds it in future.

No problems.

Here are the final copies of the 2 best shots after PP in Lightroom

Sam Cole


Jonno Coleman


I'm fairly happy with these, but the first especially has been quite PP'd

And now before post...

Sam


EXIF:
Exposure: 0.04 sec (1/25)
Aperture: f/5.6
Focal Length: 55 mm
ISO Speed: 1600
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: No Flash

The noise is a LOT more noticeable at full size, to clean it up in Lightroom, I lifted the exposure slightly, lifted the blacks, dropped the contrast and clarity slightly and of course tweaked the white balance to compensate for the red gels.

Jonno


EXIF:
Exposure: 0.05 sec (1/20)
Aperture: f/4.8
Focal Length: 100 mm
ISO Speed: 800
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: No Flash

Because of the lower ISO this didn't have quite as much noise, so I could remove a lot of that using the noise reduction sliders in LR, then it was just a white balance adjust, and a bit of a tweak of the exposure, blacks, vibrance and saturation.

After looking at the EXIF and checking my lenses I've just realised where I went wrong...

I started with the 18-55mm lens as it has a wider aperture... at 18mm! I then went straight to the 55mm end of the zoom and shot at f/5.6. Then later I swapped to the 55-200 which at the lower end of the range has a larger aperture than the 18-55mm at 55mm.

All in all, it was a good learning experience, I'm not sure I'll bother trying again until I get a faster lens though? I suppose if they ask nicely more practice never hurts.

Cheers
Free