Live and Up Close: 3 Event Photography Tips
- George Figueroa
- Feb 1, 2018
- 3 min read
Recently, Sierra and I were invited to attend a concert in Pomona CA featuring her cousin Big Lyrx and a few other rap artists including Lil Rob and Reverie. We, of course, accepted the invitation and had a great time. I offered to bring my gear to catch some pics of the event and I’m grateful for the opportunity. It was definitely a learning experience but a fun one! This was my first attempt at event photography and overall I believe it was a success.I would like to share some of my takeaways and hopefully help anyone who may be considering event photography.
There are some factors to consider when jumping into an event and some challenges to be aware of. Below are a few things to consider:
1.Pack light and right! Often times, events can easily become crowded and hinder your ability to maneuver, let alone carry a ton of gear. I only brought whatever I deemed essential in order to do the job. I had my camera body, memory card, two batteries, flash, zoom lens and a fast prime lens.
Do your best to obtain lenses with the largest aperture possible in your budget to let as much light in. I ended up only shooting with my prime lens because my zoom lens maximum aperture was f.4 which meant I would have to bump up the ISO far too high to really get any decent shots. Luckily the venue was smaller in size and allowed me to get really close to the performers and catch some great shots even with my 35mm prime lens. Having a crop sensor camera was beneficial in this scenario because it transformed my 35mm prime lens into roughly a 50mm lens which means closer shots! But if you can get your hands on a fast zoom lens of f2.8 or larger than you’ll be golden.
If you do bring a flash, try to obtain a diffuser. Most flashes come with a simple diffuser that helps soften the light but I’ve heard good things about the Gary Fong Lightsphere that may be worth a look. I found that my flash, even at the lowest setting was to harsh for the performances. Perhaps I was to close and my flash's diffuser was not softening the light enough. However, the flash did come in handy when I took shots of Big Lyrx off the stage with his crew and fans.
2. Show up early! If it is possible, show up to the event early! This will allow you to scout the venue and get a better idea of what your opportunities are. You can use this time to figure out what settings you’ll need for your camera and also secure locations to snap away! I showed up early enough to walk throughout the venue and take some test shots and sip on a Jack and Coke! Showing up early not only allowed me to envision compositions but also gave me time to release some nervous energy.
Showing up to the event early is great but if you have an opportunity to scout the location weeks prior to the event than that is even better! This will give you ample time to obtain the best gear possible and you can possibly coordinate with the venue about specific needs or access for greater shots!
3. Shoot Manually Probably the most important tip I can give you is to shoot manually. This will allow you to maintain consistent exposure and control over your images. I usually shoot in aperture priority mode so I figured it would do fine but I found that my shots were not consistent. So I switched over to manual and crossed my fingers that I would get decent shots. I set my aperture to f2 and my shutter speed between 125-160 which froze the action but also gave some images movement. For my ISO, I stayed between 1500-2500 but I did my best to stay under 2000 to get cleaner shots.
My goal was to minimize overblown highlights and even underexpose just a tad. I did not mind crushing the shadows because there usually isn’t much detail in those areas in low-lit concerts. Since this concert was more tough and gritty, having crushed shadows and high contrast images really works well.
Well, there you have it! 3 tips for better event pics! I hope my experience encourages you all to give event/concert photography a try. If you have any other tips or stories about your personal experiences, please comment and let me know. I would love to hear them!
Be sure to share this post and head over to my Instagram page visual.literature for more pics of the concert! A special thank you to Big Lyrx for the invite and the opportunity to snap some shots.
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