Concert & Low Light Event Quiz

Concert stages usually have bright, lit performers against a very dark background. Evaluative or average metering sees all that darkness and overexposes, blowing out faces. Spot metering reads only a small area, so it can be placed on the performer to expose for them.

Performers move constantly, toward and away from the camera. Continuous autofocus (AF-C or Servo) keeps adjusting focus for as long as the button is held. Single shot autofocus locks once, so focus is lost as soon as the subject moves.

Most concerts forbid flash in the photo pit because it distracts performers and spoils the show for the audience. Photographers rely on stage lighting, fast lenses and high ISO instead. The rule usually applies to every act, headliners included.

A fast lens has a wide maximum aperture, such as f/2.8, f/1.8 or f/1.4. That lets in more light, which allows faster shutter speeds and lower ISO in dark venues. f/4 and narrower let in at least half as much light as f/2.8.

Many LED stage lights flicker very rapidly because they are dimmed by switching on and off. An electronic shutter reads the sensor row by row, so some rows catch the light while it is on and others while it is off. The result is horizontal bands of light and dark across the frame.

Under strong red stage lighting almost all of the light reaches the red pixels, so the red channel fills up and clips long before green or blue. Faces lose detail and turn into flat red blobs. Checking the RGB histogram, not just the overall one, shows this.

Many concert venues limit photographer access to the first three songs of a set and then require photographers to leave the pit. This restriction protects the performance experience for paying audience members and limits the disruption of photographer activity during the main set.

Concert sound pressure levels routinely exceed the threshold for hearing damage at the distances where photographers work. Even relatively brief exposure during a short shoot contributes to cumulative hearing loss, making ear protection a health necessity rather than an optional comfort.

A jumping drummer moves fast, so a short exposure is needed to stop the motion. 1/500 second or faster freezes arms, sticks and hair in most cases. 1/60 second is slow enough that the movement blurs.

Concert light is mixed, colored and full of hot spots. A raw file keeps much more data than a JPEG, so blown looking highlights can often be recovered and white balance can be set freely afterward. Raw files are larger than JPEGs, not smaller.