First attempt at photographing a concert

[steve1840]

I was invited by a friend of mine to go to the local agricultural fair tonight (Fri) so I took her up on her offer. After getting the invite I decided to check out the schedule to see waht kind of events were going on that would be fun to photograph. Well, when I looked at it, I saw that there was a concert by a country group that I like (mainly because they are two gorgeous women). I thought to myself that I have been looking for a way to start photographing concerts, so I told my friend that if I went, we had to see the show and that I'd be looking through my viewfinder for a good part of the night. Long story short, we staked out two spots right by the stage and she was snapping pics just as much as me.

Anyways, here are the pictures. The duo is called The Jane Dear Girls. I know from hanging out with some of you guys that country music isn't big with a few of you, but let me tell you, they put on one hell of a show.

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[Zee71]

Nice work Steve! What was your ISO setting and what lens were you shooting with? Both ladies are beautiful and stunning.

[threeholerglory]

nice job Steve, they look great! I'm actually a big fan of country...don't know too many bands/songs but I love the genre and indeed, they're hawt.

[gonzalu]

Man that girl on the right (black hair) is gorgeous! Anyway, you did very well... it looks like you had tons of light on them. Usually not very much light or just a spot on them. Were you close or far from the action? IF close, a very dynamic shot is to get a low angle and go wide to include the lights and smoke/fog if any.

[steve1840]

Thanks guys! I definitely appreciate the compliments. Luckily I saw the photographer that was with the band walking around before the show started and was able to chat with him a bit and get some tips and good information about concert photography, which helped me a little.

@ Mark - I was using my 24-105 F4 L. I had it set to F4 and ISO 800 for about 75% of the show after realizing that I could get away with that ISO setting and still maintain 1/125+ shutter speed even when the singers/band members didn't have a spotlight on them. I also used spot metering for the entire show.

@ Mike - I have to admit, I only knew one of their songs, but when I saw they were performing, I knew I was definitely bringing my gear to the fair. I was not passing up an opportunity to capture these two hotties with my camera.

@ Manny - Yes, Susie is very beautiful. The lighting was actually very good for most of the show. I did get a little nervous when I looked at the light booms and saw a bunch of red gels over the lights, but there were actually less red lights used than I was anticipating. I was close to the stage. Id say I was between 10-15 feet from the right (if looking at it) side of the stage. I thought about that low angle, but unfortunately it was not an option for me. Being at the fairgrounds the stage was only about 1.5-2' off the ground and there is a flower bed in front of each end of the stage. The flower bed was being a pain even for some of my other shots. The only way I would have been able to get the low angle would have been to shoot from off to the side right against the stage, but only the "hired" photographer was allowed to get that close.