Photojournalism- concerts, salvage misssion, help?

Canon EF 17-40mm f/4.0L USM

08/31/2006 12:07:35 PM · #1

I have a lot of questions, observations, requestsâ�¦ I love live music and I love photography. I feel really fortunate that because of a volunteer side-job, I get the opportunity to photograph several music events a year. Itâ��s something I love doing and want to get better! Iâ��m looking to improve not only my picture taking, but also my post processing skills, so my post here is 2-part:

===Part 1 â�� Tips on Shooting Concert Events===
Iâ��d like to get some advice from other photojournalist/event photographers. I want to improve! Iâ��d love to see some examples of your work, advice and tips for shooting and overcoming some of the obstacles that go along with shooting action in dark environments, without a tripod, very limited time, etc. What techniques do you use? What types of equipment are you using (not that I can spend the money, stuck with my little 5-meg kodak for now)? What settings do you use? How do you minimize blur from camera-shake?

===Part 2 â�� The Salvage Mission & improving post processing skills===
I recently upgraded to Photoshop CS2 and have been spending a lot of time learning new tools, and playing with post-processing in effort to salvage some images and see how I can improve my skills in Photoshop. And, lol, it seems I have a good supply of blurry, grainy, harshly lit, and dark images to practice with. Below are several images that I recently added to my portfolio. I welcome any comments/feedback! Just know that Iâ��m aware that some of the processing is rather sloppy on some of these, just trying to play with settings, filters, and learn new tricks.

Again, I'd love to see some examples of other photographer's work along with some explanations of the pp techniques used:)

Thanks!

Jaded_Housewife

Canon EOS-5D

08/31/2006 12:18:08 PM · #2

I think your processing looks great. i dont see much anything wrong with these photos. the one of frank black could use a little more contrast or something for the "cloudyness" but everything else looks sharp and nice. only problems are harsh lighting in a few but i assume you didnt provide the lighting for these shots.

theSaj

Canon EOS-20D

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM

08/31/2006 12:31:48 PM · #3

Try this link

//www.dpchallenge.com/forum.php?action=read&FORUM_THREAD_ID=240076

Message edited by author 2006-08-31 12:32:05.

NVPhoto

Canon EOS-40D

Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II

08/31/2006 01:11:38 PM · #4

Concert photos quick list o' tips...
1.pump up iso as high as it goes and get a noise reducing program like Neat Image or noise ninja.
2.Wide open aperature. I think you have a point and shoot, so use 2.8 or whatever is widest.
3.if you can, shoot in bursts. a lot of time the 2nd or 3rd shot is the best.
4. be careful of cutting off limbs. Make sure to keep elbows and heads in the frame otherwise it interrupts the viewers eyes as they pass through an image.
5. use the lights, from teh images you posted, it looks like pretty decent lighting setups. Use them to make images more exciting.
6.shoot in raw if possible.
7.if you have overpowering red lights, don't get mad, the heavy contrast makes for great conversions to black and white.
8. get close, sometimes you can get a lot more light right next to the stage.

Artifacts

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

08/31/2006 02:00:28 PM · #5

Originally posted by lil_mo:

...have been spending a lot of time learning new tools, and playing with post-processing in effort to salvage some images and see how I can improve my skills in Photoshop...

The unfortunate truth is that if you have to resort to using PS to salvage an image then it is already to late. You want to get it right in-camera first, then use post processing to bring out its full potential. If you don't have a very good image to start with then there is little you can do. You spend a lot of energy for very little gain.

08/31/2006 04:01:36 PM · #6

Originally posted by jaded_youth:

Ahh thanks... yeah... that one of Frank Black is cloudy cause I think I got a little too happy with the Neat Image settings... Have to play with it some more:)

Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II

08/31/2006 04:02:38 PM · #7

Originally posted by theSaj:

Try this link

//www.dpchallenge.com/forum.php?action=read&FORUM_THREAD_ID=240076

]

Thanks! I'll check it out.

And thanks to others who have posted too:)

BobsterLobster

Fujifilm FinePix S3 Pro

08/31/2006 06:01:11 PM · #8

The mentorship thread is no longer active, but there are loads of great tips in there.
I also have tips on my blog: //Blog.EyesOpen.co.uk