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Hey everyone!

I just got back from the first night of the Foo Fighters tour in Montreal, and whoever is going to see them this month is in for an amazing time! The show was just over 2 hours and they played pretty much every one of their songs you could ever ask for.

Now, let’s get down to business…

The most important thing to keep in mind when you’re shooting a band for the first time, is you never know what to expect. What will the lighting be like? How long will the 3 songs I’m allowed to shoot last? How many other photographers will I have to move around to get a good spot to shoot from? Will the band be moving around a lot on stage?
Most of these questions can not be answered until you’re right there in the think of things…but having shot last night’s show, I can help you get around some of those unknowns…

The first three songs will last about 10-15 minutes, and that’s a good thing. Sometimes bands will start off with a 30 second intro, which could be considered one of the 3 songs that you’re allowed to shoot, only leaving you up there for 4 or 5 minutes!

These are big arena shows, so there use a good amount of light. You will still need to set the camera’s ISO fairly high though, and I would suggest starting at 800. Open your aperture all the way and try shooting at 1/60th of a second.

The beauty of digital photography is you know what you’re getting as soon as you take a picture, and you’re able to make the proper adjustments.

If it’s too bright, I would close down the aperture one stop at a time until it looks right. Otherwise if it’s too dark, you will need to slow down the shutter speed a little bit at a time until it looks nice. You might find yourself having to shoot at 1/30th or even 1/15th of a second. In this case, relax and make sure you are holding that camera as steady as possible. Oh, and DO NOT USE A FLASH or you will get yelled at, and that’s no fun…trust me…

Always stay relaxed and have a good time. Try not to be so focused on getting that perfect shot that you completely block out the music, and the fact that you’re standing 3 feet away from Foo Fighters! Enjoy the moment, knowing that everyone in that building wants to be in your shoes!!

Dustin

Posted on Thursday, March 20th, 2008 at 11:49 am by Wendy and is filed under Concerts & Events.

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