I am by NO means an expert in photography but after taking several thousand concert pictures over the last few years, I have come up with some of my personal ideas on the subject. I should also say that these ideas/tips are with the intention of scrapbooking the pictures, not for trying to get them published in a magazine or anything (unless of course someone sees them and thinks they are fabulous and wants to buy them from me – LOL).
Tip #1 – GET GOOD SEATS! It is much easier to take good photos if you have good seats. If I can’t get close seats, I try to get in a section where I can see the big screens clearly.
Tip #2 – Have a good camera. When I first started taking pictures my camera did not have a very powerful zoom lens. I find that makes a big difference, especially if you can’t accomplish Tip #1! Most venues will allow simple point and shoot cameras. Mine fits in a pocket of my purse so I rarely (never so far) have had an issue with it. It is a Canon Power Shot SX 700 with a 30 x zoom. I would not be able to take pictures if I had to manually focus, so having an easy camera to use is important for me. It also has a good setting for taking pictures without a flash, which is generally not allowed.
Tip #3 – Take LOTS of pictures. The artists generally move back and forth across the stage so there are many times I can’t get anything more than a blur. If I have a lot of pictures, I can pick and choose the best ones for my pages. Sometimes I’ll have a lot of mediocre and then one or two good ones. This spread I did with Tina Turner is a good example. It was before I got my Canon and the zoom was terrible but by putting together some not so great pictures with some okay ones, I am pleased with the way this came out.
This is one of my favorite layouts from the Adele concert. She didn’t have a lot of costume changes, our seats were up in the second level and she does not do a lot of moving around when she sings but I think I was able to capture her here.
Same with Stevie Nicks. When she sings “Gold Dust Woman” it’s almost like she goes into a trance and even though the pictures are not that clear, I can see her getting into her song.
Tip #4 – Take pictures of the venue itself. Shots of the building or the marquee help to document dates and times. Some of my favorites are:
I took the above two pictures and combined them to make the bottom one for the album. They almost match up perfectly.
Tip #5 – Take pictures of backgrounds. A lot of times the performers use the screens behind them to add “embellishments” to their show. Those shots can also be “embellishments” on my pages. They also serve as titles sometimes.
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| Behind Blue Eyes – the Who |
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| Scorpions |
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| Neil Diamond |
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| Lights on the vine wall at the Mountain Winery, Heart concert |
Tip #6 – Don’t forget the shadows. At first I waited until the lights went on so I could get clear pictures of the performers but then I noticed that sometimes the shadows were the best shots. I am SO glad I got the ones of Prince!
Prince
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| Sade |
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| Cher |
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| Backstreet Boys |
Tip #7 – The crowd. While I don’t necessarily want pictures of a bunch of random strangers in my album, still there are times when the crowd is definitely part of the show.
Journey singing “Lights” and a shot of the AT&T Park crowd showing their “lights” made for a pretty magical moment.
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| Lights at the Adele concert. She is the tiny figure on stage at the bottom left of the picture. |
Tip #8 – Expect the unexpected. We were watching Heart at Shoreline singing “Reign O’re Me” and it started raining. Middle of summer. Heart didn’t realize what was happening until they went backstage according to the article I read about it. Fortunately we were under the overhang so we didn’t get wet.
Rod Stewart kicks signed soccer balls from the stage! We didn’t actually get any but one went really close to us and on the BART trip home, two people near us had gotten them so they let my husband hold them while I took this picture.
Tip #9 – Stay until the end of the show. After all, you paid your money, may as well get all you can for it. I know it is tempting to leave to get ahead of the crowd and out of the parking lot but really, what’s the rush? Savor the moments!
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| We got some of the confetti from the Who show. |
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| Mick Jones handed out some picks! |
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| It’s a good way to get a picture of the whole band when they take their final bow. |
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| Adele’s confetti had special messages written on them! |
Tip #10 – Don’t forget YOU! You were at the show too! I try to make it a point to get a shot of my husband and I and whoever we are with.
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| At Huey Lewis & the News |
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| Us at Tina Turner |
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| My daughters and I at Backstreet Boys |
What do you think? Good tips? Any other suggestions or questions? Love to hear from you!
from Blogger http://asmile4ufromjanet.blogspot.com/2017/07/july-in-janetville-tips-for-taking.html
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About scr4pl80
I'm a 60-ish, married, mom to 3, creative soul looking to make the world a better place one smile at a time.
Journey singing “Lights” and a shot of the AT&T Park crowd showing their “lights” made for a pretty magical moment.
Janet's Smiles 
That’s quite a concert collection!
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Thanks! It is one of the gifts I give myself.
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Nice to meet a fellow concert goer/photographer! 😀 I followed your link from Michele’s post over at Angel’s Bark. These are all excellent tips. Getting good concert photos can sometimes be a crapshoot. The lighting makes a big difference. For example, the blue spotlights rarely offer a good outcome, from my experience. My camera is also a Powershot (SX600HS), but yours is obviously better. Time for an upgrade. Cheers!
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Hi Debbie! Nice to meet you too. It is very true about the lighting. I have a hard time getting good shots if there are a lot of spotlights on the band. Thanks for stopping by! Michele’s blogs are fun to read as well! I’ll be checking yours out too.
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I love the shadow photos! These are wonderful tips, too! Dawn
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Thanks Dawn. I almost didn’t take the ones of Prince! My husband said, “That’s the picture!” so I took them.
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They are amazing–and priceless now, too. You are a very talented lady with so many innovative ideas. Wish I had just 1/8 of the creativity you possess.
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Those are great tips for photographing any event. Nicely done.
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Thanks Jacqui!
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These are fab tips – I am famous for taking the WORST concert photos, so now I’m excited to get to my next gig and put these into action!
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Thanks, Claire! Let me know if they help!
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Great post Janet! I would also add (and it’s probably straight forward to you but many can use the reminder) to not worry too much about photos. It’s good to remember to put it away and collect memories only via our own bodies 😊
PS: Totally different topic. I’m starting a series to feature my favourite bloggers, I would love you to be part of it. Would you be interested?
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Yes, Miss Andi, when we saw Cyndi Lauper she even yelled at a man who was taking pictures telling him to pay attention to what was going on now and not worry about later. I would certainly love to be part of your new series. Thanks for asking!
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Hi Janet, thank you, that would be awesome! I’d like to start a “blogger of the week series” with a short interview and featuring some of your posts. If you’re interested, send your email in private here please: https://courageouslivingjourney.wordpress.com/contact/ and we can discuss it ☺ I’d be delighted to have you 💚
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Great post! I also love taking photos at concerts and have that exact same camera – like you said it’s great because it’s small enough to keep in your pocket but also get decent pictures in low-light.
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I am so happy with this camera. So easy to use. Thanks for stopping by!
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