Concert Photography Tips Part 2!

Most of the time when you go to shoot a concert you get the first 3 songs to shoot from the pit, and then if you're lucky you can shoot from elsewhere in the venue. There are the few times when either the security guy working the pit is new, or the band doesn't restrict you to only the first 3 songs. Now you have hours to shoot the same few people from the same spot. What do you do? Get creative! I've been wanting to experiment with some longer exposure shots at concerts for a while, but usually can't waste precious time on shots that might turn out terrible, or at least useless for publication. Why long exposure? Well other than the obvious (the music) one thing that is often lost in the quest for the ultimate sharp image is: movement! Sometimes we photographers are so worried about sharpness that we forget that a little motion blur can add to a photo. When a guitar player is violently attacking a solo, he's usually not standing still posing for you, he's moving, and that's part of the show. So why not include that in some photos now and again?
I got this idea from a wonderful photograph of Tina Turner by Bob Gruen, which you can see about halfway down the linked page. None of mine turned out nearly as crisp as his shot, but it was fun trying.
In Gruen's great shot, it's pretty safe to assume that the strobe light was the only, or almost the only light illuminating Tina, allowing for the very definitive 5 different Tinas. I didn't get so lucky at the Nokia Theater. The front lights were horrible LEDs and the backlighting was ever-present. This next photo was the closest I got to that type of strobe shot. The strobe light was going off, but the yellow lights were so strong that Jake's face and guitar aren't as crisp as they would be if it were only the strobe light, but you can still make out 3 distinct faces in the photo. This shot is ISO 200, at 0.2s, f/3.5, 50mm.



This next shot is with the Tokina 11-16mm, taken at 11mm, ISO 200 at 0.6s f/9. Shooting with such a wide lens allows you to shoot handheld at such a long exposure and still keep the stationary objects sharp while getting the motion of the musicians.



These aren't the greatest examples of long exposure concert shots I'm sure, so if you have any of your own, post link in the comments below!