Need advice!!

[puffcrusader696]

Hey guys! I've been recruited to shoot a band tonight at a school in their auditorium. I'll be at soundcheck to get my stuff all acquainted but I've never done this type of photography before. I'll be shooting with a Canon 600D and the Canon 24-105 f4L. The stage lights will be on but I'm not sure how bright those are. Does anyone have any quick tips on what to do to make my stuff turn out? I don't want to disappoint anyone! Thanks in advance!

[Douglas]

No flash. Shoot wide open. Adjust iso until you get a proper shutter speed. Do a white balance check. Usually its flurescent or tungsten. cant remember which. get lots of close ups on everybody (aka, dont forget the drummer).

Heres a site that I like:

Music Photography Gear Guide - www.ishootshows.com (the gear is for nikon, but look at his tips)

[Canonian]

A bit off to say that Canon offers only the f/4 and "slower". I can get good exposure at f/4

[zemlin]

Looks lik the 600D is comparable to my D300s for noise levels. You will probably want to shoot manual as the small, brightly lit areas with a lot of black on the stage will likely result in over-exposed images. If you're lucky, you might get away with ISO 800, but don't be surprised if you need to push it a lot higher than that. If the stage lighting is weak, you could easily find yourself shooting ISO 3200 at 1/30 exposure.

[Canonian]

I got away using ISO400 inside a concert venue, you will have to judge on the first few seconds of the gig, as most likely you only have 3 songs to shoot

[zemlin]

Originally Posted by Canonian

I got away using ISO400 inside a concert venue, you will have to judge on the first few seconds of the gig, as most likely you only have 3 songs to shoot

From the OP, I take it the band is school-aged kids - I seriously doubt the 3-song policy will be in effect there.

[Canonian]

Originally Posted by zemlin

From the OP, I take it the band is school-aged kids - I seriously doubt the 3-song policy will be in effect there.

Did you need to reply to me regarding that bit? I seriously wish I hadn't come back

[SpeedGraphicMan]

Shooting raw can give you more noise reduction control in post.

Ditto the white balance tips above.

Make sure you use a high enough shutter speed for sharp handheld shots.
Also you might want to engage IS.

[zemlin]

Originally Posted by Canonian

Did you need to reply to me regarding that bit? I seriously wish I hadn't come back

So I offended you by pointing out the OP was talking about a school band?

[puffcrusader696]

Thanks everyone for the replies. They did only play three songs as it was basically a school held concert mostly for choral stuff. But they did great and I got some useable stuff. I was shooting at ISO 1600 and trying not to go below 1/60th. I'm still picking out shots and editing them. I'll try and post a few when I'm done!