Newbie in Concert photography

[photobear]

Untitled by Beartography, on Flickr

1. in what area is critique to be sought?
Framing/composition, colour and exposure

2. what one hopes to achieve with the piece of work?
To give the viewing my photo a feel of how is the concert is like

3. under what circumstance is the picture taken? (physical conditions/emotions)
I took this picture at esplanade outdoor theatre the lighting is not very bright so have to shoot at F4 ISO 3200... Not much emotion from the audience so not much of a fire up concert.

4. what the critique seeker personally thinks of the picture
I personally quite like this photo... But not sure if the colour is over saturated and the exposure..

[zaren]

the lighting conditions for this shot were tough and not ideal, i would have liked to see more light on the guitarist. i might opt for a b&w approach to this shot to give it a grittier concert feel.

[MGohzxc]

I quite like the framing but the exposure is a little low. As you said, there is not much emotion from the performer and not lively at all. For this photo I would do it or process it from the art POV to make it a little more interesting and bring out a little more details on the instruments in a different way. Of course, there are many other ways to do it.

[johndoe161]

The lighting at the esplanade outdoor theater can be pretty bad sometimes for photos. But its a matter of timing to get the correct exposure and having and knowing your equipment.


ISO1600, F2.8, 1/200s, WB-Auto : D7000+Sigma 70-200 F2.8
Converted from RAW to JPEG, no other PP done

Keep shooting & learn. Cheers!

[photobear]

Thank fo the comments, kind of like the B&W it bring up more detail from the subject and making it less distracting by the lighting and the art filter make the picture more interesting... May i know what kind of software you use?? Also ya the lighting on that day is not really good i can only see red and purplish lighting there is not much proper lighting on that day to bring out the detail more detail... I have to shoot in ISO 3200 Shuttle at 1/100 F4 to get a decent exposure...

[Rashkae]

I have to shoot in ISO 3200 Shuttle at 1/100 F4 to get a decent exposure...

You shoot at the shuttle? NASA never came after you???

ISO 1600 and 3200 are normal for concerts. My suggestion is to use center weighted/spot exposure on the subject (singer/guitarist) to make sure you're not struggling because of matrix metering.

[CZJena]

Are you shooting for vogue magazine? why so tight at his head especially with all the cluttered gears around, he seems to be standing in pile of junks.

There is sense that you are too anxious to snap down your trigger and forget about the essence of music/art is of teamwork and individual unique character, you virtually make him too blanc in taste. If you want to show him standing in front of the drum equipment, can you kindly also show the drummer face/head?

Things you might consider:
1. manual focus your subject and manual exposure for low light
2. watch the backdrop for distraction (common fault)
3. step back alittle to give "room" to the scene, this is not a model shot
4. you seems to love using telephoto with this kind of scene (isn't wrong, and probably you're in love with the bokeh) but actually more care have to be taken, since telephoto lens "compress" the scene alot
5. B&W isn't gonna change much, yes it give you more "detail" because of the contrast but the composition (cluttered) ill is still there and even louder!
6. of course you might be just an audience bounded to your chair and not able to move around that concert, so this may be the best composition you could get.

These are not great, and just my sharing:

[photobear]

Thank for the feedbacks and advises... I will take notes of it next time and improve...

[CZJena]

FYI, only recently i'd my focusing screen replaced so that i can do manual focus properly. The above photos were taken with original focusing screen also very narrow DOF (f1.8) causing the softness. What i want to emphasize is the composition, i still regard myself not putting enough efforts then, to bring out the teamwork/collaboration between the band.

[photobear]

Yea i get wad you mean... you trying said to consider showing the teamworks between the band members in the composition of the picture rather than making a solo shot of band member and not showing the chemistry between their member...

[CZJena]

Yea i get wad you mean... you trying said to consider showing the teamworks between the band members in the composition of the picture rather than making a solo shot of band member and not showing the chemistry between their member...

I don't mean you can't make a portrait of the artist, you always can! But not in this composition here and using the wrong format. For solo/portraiture you need to get a closer shot, probably with portrait format (not always).



Probably:

[photobear]

OIC... thank for the advise...