So tonight was my first real attempt with my 50MM f/1.8. I put it on aperture priority. I thought they looked good in the camera, but now I'm not so sure. So far (after looking for like 2 minutes) This is the one I like the best.. but the camera picked up ALL blue.. no skin color. I tried to adjust but it didn't work out. Please critique/help me figure out why I got all lights and that's it! Thanks!
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Did you shoot RAW?...
If you shot RAW, try bringing up the temperature, that should help knock out some of the blue. Also, you can try adjusting the Hue/Saturation of the blues. I have found, with my camera (5D), that shooting AWB gives me the best color for fine-tuning in post production. Sometime I find that what comes up on my computer screen in the RAW window looks nothing like what I saw on the display in the camera while shooting. What I'll sometimes do is... download the files, pull them up in Bridge, put the media card back into my camera and compare what's on the camera display to what is on the computer screen. If I still like what is on the camera display, I'll try to tweak the the files in Bridge to match it.
Good luck.
I did shoot RAW, but it's
I did shoot RAW, but it's not helping too much. Should I just turn them into black and whites?
NEVER do aperture priority
NEVER do aperture priority in dark clubs! Depending on metering mode, it mess up everything, you can not predict what you'll got. While you need a solid result. Take some shots and adjust ISO, aperture and shutter to the light (be ready to change it on the fly, even while pointing to the subject, too) .
I just suggest for 50mm to use shutter 1/160 or faster, f/2.0 or slower, ISO 800 or less.
Askar Ibragimov - middeneaht.deviantart.com
Yeah it was a first attempt.
Yeah it was a first attempt. Everything looked fantastic on the preview so I kept on going. My next big show I'm going to try it your way and hope it turns out better. I know nothing about the lighting at the new place though. Oh well. My first attempt at non-flash... I can't feel that bad about it.
I Always Shoot Concerts in Aperture Priority
I have a couple of those bodies that have no noise at any ISO. Last night I was shooting Montgomery Gentry at ISO 1250 & f/2.8 and the shutter wasn't fast enough so I bumped to ISO 2000. But more to the point, for what I do, Av mode is the way to go, along with exposure bracketing and RAW. I will admit I don't shoot in dark clubs much and not for a long time.
...
When the lighting is monotone (like the solid blue of your image), there is little you can do in post processing. You either process it into the best blue image you can, or you turn it into black & white. Same with any other monotone color image (red, green, orange, etc).
As for shooting mode, I shoot in aperture priority exclusively. If I feel I'm not getting the shutter speed I need, I bump up the ISO. I want shallow depth of field (for my style) so that mode works best for me. You should shoot in whatever mode you feel allows you to capture the images you want to capture. Experiment with all of the modes until you find what works for you. There is no single best way. Everyone works differently.
Walter Rowe - Rowe Images
Professional Photographer
Columbia, Maryland - USA
I really enjoyed shooting in
I really enjoyed shooting in aperture priority. The problem is, though I love my Nikon, even shooting at ISO 800 gave me sort of grainy images. I'm glad to hear you say that there's not much you can do when the lighting is like it was last night. I don't feel so bad, then. At least it's not ALL my fault. And the thing that they did that really bugged me is they used very few overhead lights, but brought their own lights that shine from the floor up. The stage is really high, and with the lights going up, I didn't get as much light in as I would have otherwise. Plus, it ended up lighting them from the waist down but not doing much at all for faces. It was a pain. When I shoot Dream Theater this month I'm going to try manual a little to see how it looks, and if I like it better than aperture priority. I also did notice I need help with focusing. A few otherwise good pictures didn't look so well cause of my focusing lol. How stupid.
One thing that helped, though, ws another photographer came up to me and complained about the lighting so I was like "yes! It's not just me!"
If I feel I'm not getting
If I feel I'm not getting the shutter speed I need, I bump up the ISO.
I presume you own one of those 5-7k$ cameras with no noise? :)
No ISO above 800
I don't own a $5-7K camera. I experiment and learn the limitations of the camera I own. As a professional, I am expected to learn and know the limitations of my equipment. After careful testing, I know I can create publishable images up to ISO 800 with my Nikon D200. I start out at ISO 400 for concerts and bump it up as needed, but never do I exceed ISO 800. If I have to push beyond ISO 800, I stop shooting. It isn't worth the time or effort. I don't use tools like Noise Ninja or Neat Image. While they are very good, they simply don't render the quality I want out of images taken at ISO above 800. Your mileage may vary.
Walter Rowe - Rowe Images
Professional Photographer
Columbia, Maryland - USA
I have a Nikon D50. I tried
I have a Nikon D50. I tried ISO 1600 for one song just to test it out, knowing it would be awful. I actually got a considerable amount of noise with ISO 800, though, which hasn't really been a problem before. I did notice the shutter speed hitting upwards of 1/500th, though, so I think next time I'm going to have to try to set it manually at f/1.8 and 1/200th or less, because ISO 800 is pushing it. I want to to try to stay at ISO 400 as much as possible, so I think for me that might mean no aperture priority :(
New Photo
I wanted to post a new photo and my edited one from before. I want to put out a little disclaimer that I wanted these to look artsy, and completely a-typical. I'd still like feedback, but the blue one, for instance, I did on purpose.
Learning The Behavior Of Your Tools
You can use this knowledge to your advantage. Remember that ISO, shutter and aperture are the three ingredients to proper exposure. When one goes up, one or both of the others must go down to maintain the same exposure. So ISO 800 resulted in unacceptable noise, but it also provided 1/500th shutter speed. If you drop ISO to 400 (one full stop), you will drop shutter speed by one full stop as well (1/250th). That is pretty fast shutter speed relative to most concerts I shoot in small to medium size venues in my area.
This is exactly why I use aperture priority mode. I can monitor the shutter speed I'm getting and adjust ISO as needed to get the shutter speed where I want it. The camera has a metering system. Use it. Learn how it behaves. Learn to trust it. Become an expert with your tool and it will produce expert images. You are in complete control. Use your knowledge of exposure and how ISO, shutter and aperture work together to create proper exposure.
You should also save your pennies to try and upgrade your equipment. The D50 is definitely a consumer grade, entry level body. I would not expect it to produce the same quality image as a my D200. And the D200 doesn't produce the quality that the D2Xs produces. This is where you have to take off the photographer hat and put on the business manager hat. How much do I make per assignment or photo shoot? How many assignments and photo shoots will it take to purchase camera "X"? Set goals, monitor expenses and revenue, and be disciplined.
Learning where your money goes also gives you the confidence to negotiate for better rates. If you aren't making enough to maintain equipment and upgrade periodically, you aren't booking enough engagements and/or you aren't charging enough per engagement. You can use pen and paper, use a spreadsheet, or use more sophisticated tools like QuickBooks.
Walter Rowe - Rowe Images
Professional Photographer
Columbia, Maryland - USA
Just a little note - my
Just a little note - my experience shows that for 50mm lens 1/160 is pretty much OK for sharp results. The faster the better, of course, but no particular reasons to go faster unless you have already stopped down from 2.0 to 2.8 in order to achieve better DOF and lowered ISO down to some safe values.
BTW D300 seem to be a good and not so pricey option now. Only not getting it because saving for D3.
Askar Ibragimov - middeneaht.deviantart.com
With this I'd agree. I also
With this I'd agree. I also stop at 800 and trying not to push it further, including postpocessing. Though, if you turn BW, you can get rid of some noise.
I use noise reducers; probably if I gave to submit image for press I will not choose a noisy one, but for web they are fine.
Askar Ibragimov - middeneaht.deviantart.com