Sunday, 22 May 2011

What equipment does a live music photographer need?

Fast lenses and a fast sensor. That goes without saying. The canon 5d mk2 is the benchmark.

Adobe lightroom. The software is worth it, especially for sub-35mm sensors.

A 50mm f1.4 or f1.8. This lens is as fast as they get. The qualityis usually insanely good for the price point.

A monopod. Image stabilisation is good but there's nothing better than good technique. Learn to hand hold and use any object as a support. Drink at least one beer too.

The other lenses are a telephoto zoom. A 70-200mm f2.8 is suitable. A wide angle lens is useful too. It's not my area of expertise but an f2.8 wide angle is suitable for DJs. Faster optics are always better but these are rare or expensive when wide angle lenses.

That's the core equipment. Doing events photography is different. A fast standard zoom and good flash is required.

I currently use a canon 50d. The lens is an old sigma 70-200mm f2.8 which only works at f2.8. This is the widest aperture which offers the worst quality and smallest depth of field. The lens is old. It has a metal body which is scuffed and scarred. The lens optics are too. The motor is worn and the oil may have dried up so I have to use it manual focus.

I still get good shots because more than equipment there's being out there shooting. That's how photographers get good shots.

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We It comes in part from an appreciation that no one can truly sign their own work. Everything is many influences coming together to the one moment where a work exists. The other is a begrudging acceptance that my work was never my own. There is another consciousness or non-corporeal entity that helps and harms me in everything I do. I am not I because of this force or entity. I am "we"