Take 2 - Concert Photography. Please Critique

[swiftmed]

Hey Guys,

You might remember a few weeks ago I posted the results of my first attempt at concert photography. I got a few nice comments, but I wasn't overly satisfied with my own photos, to be completely honest.

Since then I've had the chance to photograph four more concerts, each time tweaking my camera settings (still learning manual) to get better handheld results in a dark setting. I made the mistake of thinking my shutter speed had to be really low, then I was wondering why my pictures weren't perfectly sharp - even when on a tripod.

These are three pictures from a concert I shot at on Saturday night, and Im personally really happy with the outcome, and how sharp they are. Light was very limited, just two light sources from the front, and one from directly above the stage, which did absolutely nothing.

Please take a look at my pictures and pick them to bits. Any constructive criticism is greatfully received.

This one looked quite nice in colour, but it showed up an awful lot of noise, even after using DFine so I converted to B+W in Aperture, and I personally really like the result. What do you think?



Shutter: 1/80
Aperture: 5.6
Focal: 55mm
ISO: 1600
Exposure Compensation: +2



Shutter: 1/100
Aperture: 4.0
Focal: 70mm
ISO: 1600
Exposure Compensation: +2

This one, I wanted to get some of the crowd in the shot, along with the band. Taking a picture from the back of the room wasn't an option, as 1. Im a short arse. 2. There was nowhere I could get above the crowd to take a picture where id get both the crowd and the band in the shot. So side of the stage it was.



Shutter: 1/50
Aperture: 4.0
Focal: 25mm
ISO: 1600
Exposure Compensation: +2

[sk66]

Looks like you might be up against the limits of aperture/SS...they would have benefitted from faster SS. Why the +2 EC? That doesn't quite make sense to me.

I don't particularly care for the overall purple color balance.

[swiftmed]

Thank you for your advice regarding the shutter/aperture. Again, I'm still pretty new to all this, especially in a dark concert setting. The lighting was terrible, literally they had a an alternating blue and purple light on either side of the stage, and that was it. No other sources of light whatsoever.

With regards to the +2 EC, Im not totally sure. I was told by somebody that If I up the exposure compensation in a dark setting like that, ill be able to get lighter pictures. Have I been mis-informed?? What's your advice on it?