5 Must-Have Camera Settingsfor Concert Photography

“Use fast lenses and shoot them wide open”. You’ll hear this quote

a lot from concert photographers. Due to the low light situation

on stage, it’s crucial to  set  your aperture to the smallest f/number

on your lens e.g. f1.8 or f2.8. This allows the most possible light to

hit the sensor and is one of the  must-have concert photography

settings. For beginners on a budget, I highly recommend the 50mm

f1.8, which is a no-brainer (available for both Nikon and Canon).

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1. APERTURE

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Have you ever been to a concert where the artist was hyperactively

jumping from one side of the stage to the other? To freeze movements

like these, you have to use a fast shutter speed. In general, I set my

shutter speed to 1/200 sec or faster. Otherwise, you’ll run the risk of

getting blurred photos. If you’re shooting singer/songwriters who are

sitting on a chair and barely moving, you can try longer shutter speeds,

such as 1/60 sec. Some people prefer motion in their photos, but my

personal photography style entails me wanting to freeze the action and

so I choose a fast shutter speed as one of my camera settings.

2. SHUTTER SPEED

ISO, or film speed, refers to the sensitivity of analog film. These days, the

term is used to quantify the sensitivity of your digital sensor. The higher

the ISO setting, the less light is needed for a proper exposure, but the

more noise you‘ll encounter in your photos. Depending on the capabilities

of your camera, an ISO setting of 1600-3200 is a good starting point for

concert photography.

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3. ISO

When I started out as concert photographer, I used the Aperture

priority mode (Av). This mode allows you to set the aperture and your

camera will automatically set the shutter speed to get the correct

exposure. In the beginning, it can all be a bit overwhelming. Standing in

front of the stage is a great experience, but you might find you have too

much to think about.

So, I would suggest starting out in Av mode and, once you feel more

comfortable with the situation, change to manual mode, which will

give you more freedom to set your exposure. Both options work great

and I know a lot of music photographers who only use one of these two

settings.

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4. APERTURE PRIORITY VS. MANUAL MODE

The last setting I choose is the burst mode. The situation in font of the

stage is really challenging for your camera. It’s a low-light situation and

fast movements are not the easiest things to deal with, so therefore

you’ll need to take lots of photos during the concert. Using the camera’s

burst mode allows you to take 3-4 frames over a short time period, which

increases the probability of getting the shot.

5. BURST MODE

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With these 5 camera settings in mind, you’ll be able to get

awesome results from your camera.

These pages cover the main points for all kinds of low-light stage

photography and can be achieved by any DSLR (Digital Single Lens

Reflex) camera with an ISO setting of at least 1600 and a fast lens

e.g. 50mm f1.8.

Do you want to know more about how to become a Rockstar

Photographer and live your passion in THE coolest field of

photography? If your answer is YES, then keep an eye out for my

upcoming emails.

I started How to Become a Rockstar Photographer with only one

aim in mind - to share my experience and tactics that work, and

to help you kick start your concert photography career, whether

you’re a hobbyist, a semi-pro or  you’re just starting out (and you

don’t even need professional photography training!).

www.howtobecomearockstarphotographer.com

Feel free to contact me! If you have any questions, comments or

you want to send your feedback to my project, drop me a line:

office@matthiashombauer.com

Rock on!

Matthias

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