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Getting the best pictures

WhatWouldEddieDoWhatWouldEddieDo Posts: 55
edited May 2010 in The Porch
Hey everyone...I was just wondering if anyone had good knowledge of the best way to take pictures for shows. It's my first show and wanted to get the best pictures (got 10C ticks so I dont know where im sitting for MSG2)

So anyone with any remote knowledge of what settings to use in my camera for the best shots will be greatly appreciated! I am a dunce when it comes to ISO, exposure etc so the less technical the better!

Thanks!!

PS: I have a regular fuji Finepix j110w 10mp...gracias!
Post edited by Unknown User on

Comments

  • JulienJulien Posts: 2,457
    not easy to make pictures that are not blurry. The more there are lights on the stage, the best it is.
    Using the zoom obviously increases the risk of the pics to be blurry. So, if you zoom, don't move at all and hope the band doesn't move either.
    I mainly put the camera in automatic mode (with no flash, which isn't useful since you'll be too far from the stage - flash works on a few meters only) but I sometimes try to make a few pics in other modes that my camera allows (portrait, etc.).
    The best is to make as much pics as possible :-)
    2006: Antwerp, Paris
    2007: Copenhagen, Werchter
    2009: Rotterdam, London
    2010: MSG, Arras, Werchter
    2012: Amsterdam, Prague, Berlin
    2014: Amsterdam, Stockholm
  • Brisk.Brisk. Posts: 11,557
    Whats the point really? Kerensa takes loads of fine ones anyway.

    Unless you are close close then i wouldn't bother, dont use flash if your miles away, its hard to tell you how to take a good pictures cos the lighting always changes on stage so the ISO varies etc.

    Just enjoy the show and keep the memories in your head.
  • WhatWouldEddieDoWhatWouldEddieDo Posts: 55
    Yeah well i figured I cant take perfect pics but would be nice to have some!

    I guess it really depends on where youre sitting...I never really use flash (overrated) when taking pics but i guess trial and error is the best way to go! I wont get bogged down about taking pics...in other concerts i totally forget about the camera and then realize at the end I have like 30 pics of the stage all very similar. :roll:

    You think video is better then?

    Thanks for the responses!
  • bazzerbazzer Posts: 3,092
    I've always had success opening the aperture and slowing down the shutter as much as possible before it blurs (say around 1/30s). Then I adjust the ISO as needed. Definitely don't bother with flash or zoom. If you have 10MP you can always crop once it's on your computer and still get decent prints if you want.
  • WhatWouldEddieDoWhatWouldEddieDo Posts: 55
    bazzer wrote:
    I've always had success opening the aperture and slowing down the shutter as much as possible before it blurs (say around 1/30s). Then I adjust the ISO as needed. Definitely don't bother with flash or zoom. If you have 10MP you can always crop once it's on your computer and still get decent prints if you want.

    THanks! Ive actually poked the camera a lot and havent found that feature to change the shutter speed...guess it doesnt have it?!

    oh well...mental picture! :x
  • bazzerbazzer Posts: 3,092
    A lot of the P&S ones don't bother with them. Maybe check out the different scene settings and see what they end up like. It's hard because it's darkish so you want the shutter open for a longer time but you don't want blur etc. Use the opening band to test! :)
  • acutejamacutejam Posts: 1,433
    Get a really big storage card. Set the camera to continuous shoot. Take shots in bursts of 6-10 photos at a time, one may turn out! And yeah, turn flash off cause recharge time affects burst shooting....

    Alternately, use the timer function, set to 2 seconds or so, pull the trigger and brace yourself -- this should minimize the movement of clicking off a photo...

    Try the various auto modes, night time, fireworks, vivid -- shoot a few bursts of each.

    Wait for the last few songs with the house lights on, wait for scenes with lots o lights.
    Try not to annoy the folks behind you too much...
    [sic] happens
  • noahmnoahm Posts: 19
    What kind of camera do you have?
    I use a Canon Powershot S5 IS which I purchased specifically for Lollapalooza.
    (My real camera is a Canon 5D MKII, but no cameras with detachable lenses are allowed into the venues)

    At the show, I will either shoot full manual settings or Shutter speed priority (Tv)
    I set my ISO to 800 even though it is really grainy (at 1600 ISO, I can't even look at the photos there is too much grain)
    My shutter speed will vary from 1/40 of a second when the lights are low, up to 1/200 second when the house lights come on during the encore.

    Make sure your battery is fully charged before the show and you have lots of room for photos on your memory card.

    Also I urge you to put away the camera for most of the show and just enjoy it - but definitely take some photos even though they won't be great.

    (my shots from Cleveland and some other shows are up here. )
  • WhatWouldEddieDoWhatWouldEddieDo Posts: 55
    Thanks ppl.

    I have a crapy FUJIFILM J110w. As I was playing around with it I found that you cant really do much in Manual mode, apart from altering the ISO and setting continuous shots well thats about it. I think that I will just take a few pictures and just enjoy the show as everyone said. Also my camera is known to bail on me with battery life so fuck it i'll just take whatever I can but thanks.

    Noahm, those are AWESOME pics man. You were pretty close to the show or was it a combo of zoom as well? You got good pics of the guys. Acutejam thanks for the continuous pic thing I had never thought of that nor did I know my camera had that lol...but I just realized I have to set it every time I take a picture (dont know why) so whatever.

    Hey do they allow mini-cams in? like recorders? or no? cause video would be so much better and all the videos ive seen in youtube are kinda good quality. Anyways gracias! And I will use the opening band as test yey.
  • MG79478MG79478 Posts: 1,665
    Brisk. wrote:
    Whats the point really? Kerensa takes loads of fine ones anyway.

    Just enjoy the show and keep the memories in your head.

    I have to agree, having someone in front of you continually snapping pictures is REALLY annoying. If you are close enough to take good pictures, lottery seats, don't waste any time snapping pics, just enjoy. If you are not in lottery seats, most likely the pics won't be any good, and you will just annoy everyone around you. In other words, leave the camera at home.
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