shooting a concert at extremely low light... suggestions please

[layna...@yahoo.com]

Hi thankyou for all of your help so far...

I have an opportunity to practice taking some pictures at a friend's
concert...
It is going to be quite low light, candle light in fact, and I will be
situated about max 20 feet away from the performance as to not distract
from the ambience depending on the crowd size....I cannot use a flash.
My camera: 35mm autofocus Minolta Mazzum Stsi
The lens that I have with the camera is AF28-80mm Zoom (62mm)
and I just ordered a Sigma 70-210 AF 1:4.7 Macro Zoom, that should be
at my house shortly.
We are going to do some test shooting, just to get a feel for this type
of ambience.
Does anyone have any suggestions re: lenses (will mine work, or is
there another that will be more appropriate in the lighting/setting).
There will be actors and musicians, so quite a bit of moving around,
but there will be some stillness that I can capture). I would like to
get some close ups as well as some group shots. I am just worried,
because whenever I have tried to shoot with my 28080mm Zoom
(1:3.5-5.6), I need anywhere from 2secs and upwards shutter speed to
get a decent exposure. This is not appropriate given the setting.....
also I am wondering about any other practice that one utilizes in this
type of setting... I am planning on using my tripod also... but
anything advice will be well received....

Thankyou so much..

Layna

[Noel Stoutenburg]

layna...@yahoo.com wrote:
> Hi thankyou for all of your help so far...
>
> I have an opportunity to practice taking some pictures at a friend's

> concert...<...snip...>

> We are going to do some test shooting, just to get a feel for this type
> of ambience.
> Does anyone have any suggestions re: lenses (will mine work, or is
> there another that will be more appropriate in the lighting/setting).
> There will be actors and musicians, so quite a bit of moving around,
> but there will be some stillness that I can capture). I would like to
> get some close ups as well as some group shots. I am just worried,
> because whenever I have tried to shoot with my 28080mm Zoom
> (1:3.5-5.6), I need anywhere from 2secs and upwards shutter speed to
> get a decent exposure. This is not appropriate given the setting.....
> also I am wondering about any other practice that one utilizes in this
> type of setting... I am planning on using my tripod also... but
> anything advice will be well received....

In my opinion, you're on the right track with test shoots. Try to do it
a couple of days in advance; with the lighting as much like what it will
be at the concert as possible. If possible, have standins, as close to
doing what will be done at the program as possible. Move around with
the stand-ins, and find the best possible place where you can get the
most interesting photos.

You know the light is going to be poor; whether you're shooting black
and white, or color, go with the fastest speed (highest ISO) film you
can get, and ask when you buy it how much it can be "pushed". You might
consider shooting black and white, if the light is poor; color balance
is going to be problematical, anyway. Also, start with the assumption
that you are not going to get a good "shapshot " print, and be aware of
situations that might give you instead a good art print, a particular
interplay of shadows. Go to the local library, and study books on
portraiture in low light situations.

One thing I do: set up the shot in the viewfinder, and then, close your
eyes, and imagine it as a print. This little trick has saved me a few
times from the "tree growing out of the head" shot....

ns

[Ivan Berger]

It might be worthwhile to rethink your lens choice.  Both the zooms  you mention are "slow" (have small apertures, and so gather less light). Shooting by candlelight with them will require long exposures, with the likelihood of blur from camera and subject movement.  Could you instead get hold of a fast normal (50mm) lens, such as an f/2 or, better yet, f/1.4? Maybe borrow or rent one for the occasion?  The subject would occupy less of the frame because of the shorter focal length, so you'd have to crop away much of the image and enlarge only the part you need, which would make the film grain larger; but I think it's preferable to blur, most of the time.

There are, by the way, some digital cameras with fastish lenses (f/2.8~3.7 or so) that have candlelight scene modes, and some of them have moderate noise at high ISOs.  I have not tried candlelight mode on any camera that's passed through my hands; I would assume that they bring the color balance more into line with warm candlelight, making the colors more natural.  If overdone, that might eliminate the warm feeling of candlelight, but I'm just theorizing,

Sorry i can't mention specific cameras, but all that info is on a different computer.

-Ivan