taking photos at a concert

[britinozz]

I have asked a group if i can take photos of them at a gig and they kindly said yes as well as giving me a back stage pass awsum.
Can any one give me tips on settings etc i have 5dmk2 24-105 is the best i have for this and i won't use a flash .
Cheers.
the concert is inside so low light at night i was thinking of getting the 50mm mk2 as i think it would be better for low light but it would be great if i can get way with the 24-105.

[ricktas]

Daytime/Nightime/Indoor/Outdoor. Please give us as much info about the gig as possible.

[britinozz]

thanks Rick i have edited my question.

[achee]

My general thoughts would be shooting in manual, because 1) it probably will be pushing the low end of 'ideal exposure levels' so you'd want contol over where to sacrifice potential IQ for exposure, and 2) there will probably be lots of quite bright and quite dark areas in your images, so getting the exposure to what you want will likely be different from the exposure the camera thinks is right.

I think the 24-105 would be great, is it has IS. I'd suggest starting at f-4, ISO 1600 (your camera can handle that fine, and anyhow it seems that a bit of noise is commonly accepted for concert photos). If you're finding your shutter speed is getting too slow to freeze the motion, bump up the ISO. If your shutter speed is getting too low for handheld shooting but the motion blur is ok, use a tripod or monopod, or put the 50mm on if the focal length is suitable. Oh, and shoot RAW if you can, it'll give you more room to fix poorly exposed images later.

[Rattus79]

Raw not just to fix poor exposure, but whitebalance too. Don't use auto whitebalance as the changing light conditions in a concert will affect the balance. Set white balance manually in post.

[britinozz]

I am a bit worried about the 24-105 being a f4 lens obviously 2.8 would be better but i have to work with what i have so if there are any one out there that uses the 24-105 for concert photography let me know how you go.

[Rattus79]

I've used a 4.5 - 5.6 in theatre lighting. ISO 1600 or greater is a must, and choosing your moments carefully.

This was shot ISO 1600 1/25th F5.6 in Theatre lighting:

http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4072/4361311074_72ceaecedb.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/photosbygreg/4361311074/)
Come with me ..... (http://www.flickr.com/photos/photosbygreg/4361311074/) by rattus1979 (http://www.flickr.com/people/photosbygreg/), on Flickr

[britinozz]

thanks for feedback and great image yeh looks great at the high iso.