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How to shoot stage and concerts using available light Stage and concert photos are some of the subjects where your skills in utilizing the fundamentals of photography are crucial in getting the right shots, from the exposure settings down to how the shots are accomplished. Exposure can be tricky, especially with the ever-changing, multi-colored spotlights, so much so film with higher ISO speed or lenses with fast maximum apertures are needed. However, Canon EOS users have an added advantage over users of competing brands - IS lenses technology. One of the factors that ruins many great pictures is caused by camera shake due to too slow a shutter speed in conjunction with the focal length used. One thing to note, for both the beginner and amateur shooters, is that most of the concerts featuring international artistes do not allow the spectators to bring in their cameras. Even the professionals who are granted permission to cover such events are only allowed to shoot the artistes concerned during the first three or five songs, following which they will be escorted out of the stage area. However, most of the Asian artistes' concerts, except for a few with bloated egos, do not impose such a tight ruling on the Press and their fans, allowing them to shoot as many pictures as they wanted. I attended one of these concerts in October 1999, my first in more than a year. Only this time around, rather than applying for ID Press credentials (and freedom of movement) to cover the show, I chose the other option, by shooting from the place where a paying fan would normally be seated (okay, my seat was handpicked by Sammi Cheng herself) on the eighth row from the stage. This was part of the most expensive seating, which was close enough for my EF 70-200mm f/2.8L USM lens to get most of the action plus the vibrations generated from the over-enthusiastic fans whenever the artiste reached out to shake hands with them. The vibrations also knocked out most of the hand-held shots when the lens was fitted with the EF Extender 2x (shooting with 1/60 sec at f/5.6, 400mm). It was times like these that I felt I should have borrowed the EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 IS USM zoom lens instead. At least, the IS lens would have saved those shots that were photographed using the 1/60 sec. shutter speed.
How to get the correct exposure reading when shooting concert photos such as the above? Should you use Evaluative, Partial or Spot metering? In most concerts, the singer concerned will be lit by a daylight-balanced spotlight while the back-up dancers will be illuminated by multi-colored lights or none at all. To get the exposure right, use the Partial or Spot meter and aim it at the singer's face, memorize the reading with AE Lock, recompose and shoot. Don't worry about the dark or black background, it will turn out all right. If the background has been lit with multi-colored lights as well, it is okay to use Evaluative metering for such scenes. If you are an EOS 300 or EOS-3 user, Evaluative metering can be used all the time, regardless of the ever-changing lighting atmosphere - when the background goes dark or black, zoom in onto the main subject, memorize the reading, recompose and shoot. If the subject is too small to influence either camera's multi-pattern Evaluative metering to obtain a correct reading, due to your seating or the lens is not adequate to provide the "reach", just switch over to Partial or Spot. Text and photos by Philip Chong. |
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