Camera Settings for PERFECT live music, concert photography images // ISO, WB, Metering, AF & More

[@infinityfabric]

I can't help but constantly have my eyes drawn to your majestic cat or to look for it in the corners of the frame when it seems to be gone. Thank you for sharing the video and everything you say in it as well.

[@BostonSchulz]

She's really the highlight of the video, isn't she?? 😆 Thanks for watching - I appreciate the kind words!!

[@justinweier4099]

It took watching 6 videos that provided zero information about actual camera settings to find yours. I really appreciate how you broke this down, and that you provided straight forward information about your camera settings. Thanks so much for putting this together!

[@BostonSchulz]

Ah! I'm so happy you found my video. I felt the same way as well, a lot of people give general ideas about settings but never tell you what theirs are!! I'm super happy this was helpful to you - and I appreciate you watching and commenting!! 📸✨

[@williamm.3981]

Really nice to see you back making Photography videos!! Ironically I was wondering if you were still doing photography videos. I always loved your presentations , your sunny disposition makes it easier to learn tech tips !! Glad to see you and am looking forward to seeing more new content!!! ❤❤🎸📸📫

[@BostonSchulz]

Thank you so much for coming back and watching me again!! I'm definitely going to keep trying to put out more videos, and hopefully, I'll be doing some more presentations in LA soon too!!

[@johndonohoe2260]

I found this video just by chance and I'm glad I did. No matter how long you have been doing photography it's always good to learn something new or even a different or better way of doing things. Great video.

[@BostonSchulz]

I appreciate your comment so much!! Thank you for watching; I'm glad you liked the video!!

[@RawloftheDead]

Glad to see you dropping a new video!!

[@BostonSchulz]

Thank you!! I'm gettin' back into it! haha

[@Hipsterhugger]

Good to see you again!!

[@BostonSchulz]

Thank you so much!! It's good to be back!! 🥰

[@ericsande5345]

Nice to see you again! All my YT channels have been slowing down on content.

[@BostonSchulz]

Thanks for coming back and watching, Eric!! I'll try to keep some videos going!! Maybe put some fun ones in the mix!! Let me know if there's anything you're dying to see -- coming up with content ideas is hard (lol).

[@DJVasC]

Thanks a lot, Boston. I have to take some pictures tomorrow of an orchestra as a good-willing amateur. 😇 This will help a lot. Greetz from The Netherlands.

[@BostonSchulz]

I'm so happy to help!! I have my fingers crossed that your shoot went well! Best of luck to you!!!

[@DJVasC]

@@BostonSchulz I’m pretty happy with the results. I used the 85mm lens most of the time and your tips off course 📸

[@ericsande5345]

I don't have any modern DSLRs but used to have an 85mm f/1.8 and tried photographing musician friends. 1.8 was not my friend - still had to stop down a bit, underexpose and do a little work on the computer. As a musician myself I've worked venues with photos on the wall well before digital was king and have NO idea how the film photos look so good.

[@BostonSchulz]

People who shot film were magicians, and I don't think anyone will be able to convince me otherwise! 😆

[@ericsande5345]

Would love to see you discuss making a living as a photographer. It's one of the great mysteries out there. Nobody wants to talk about negotiating fees, copyright ownership, etc. I'm a semi-professional trumpet player with a "day job" because there's not enough work in Las Vegas anymore.

[@BostonSchulz]

Thank you for the suggestion!! I feel like there are so many different ways of making money as a photographer that it's hard to summarize all of them. But I can definitely make a video on how I do it!! Thank you for watching and commenting, Eric!!

[@ericsande5345]

Hi - I came back to this comment because there are many good musicians and photographers out there that give their effort away and it's frustrating. There are people in the upstairs offices of the PAC where I work that make $250,000-$500,000/year and they're not even there 8 hours per day M-F. It's frustrating being a person that can create art and be at the bottom rung of the pay scale.

[@simonevans8810]

brand new to doing some concert photography, got my first gig on saturday so been watching through some of your videos, thanks so much for the advice and help getting going!

[@BostonSchulz]

So excited for you, Simon!! Good luck on your first gig! Please message me on IG (@bostonschulz) - I'd love to see your images after your show!!

[@igibbs2000utube]

Good to see your videos again!

[@BostonSchulz]

Thank you so much for sticking around!! I always appreciate you watching!!

[@michaelelliott4975]

Thank you for your lessons on exposure. I’ve photographed a number of Y&T shows over the years, and had some really great results. But recently saw a RUSH tribute band and the lighting was all over the place. Needless to say I threw out everything I took, so this info will go a long way towards improving my photos. Thanks

[@BostonSchulz]

Hey Michael, thanks for watching & commenting! Always love hearing about if my settings give insight & help!! I've definitely been at shows where I've had to throw out almost everything, but they're such a good learning experience!! Having a good default base to settings can be incredibly helpful and then you can adjust from there - as everything depends on your venue and the band you're photographing. This is where things like Auto ISO can help you...you can note what your camera is normally recommending for that setting and then try that in your manual settings next time. Hope your next show is amazing!!

[@bigbrownmab189]

Keep rockin stay blessed !!

[@BostonSchulz]

Thanks so much for watching & your kind words!!

[@CptCoitus]

Thank you! I've been struggling with my band photos lately and I will try your settings in the future. And is that a Shaun Cassidy album in the back?

[@BostonSchulz]

I hope they work for you! Best of luck!! 📸✨ And it's a Tom Petty vinyl cover!!

[@mleachphoto]

An amazing video from a legend!!!

[@BostonSchulz]

You're so kind!! Thank you!! 😎

[@zetacrucis681]

I thought Nikon full-frames going back to D600 (my main camera) or maybe even earlier are pretty much ISO invariant from about ISO 800 up, so you can brighten them in post with no penalty and also preserve more highlights by shooting at lower ISO (as long as it's not lower than 800). That seems to be the case in my limited experience, but I'll have to do some more rigorous tests with my camera to see if I've been mistaken, because this lady's photos are no joke, completely on another level.

[@BostonSchulz]

This is so interesting - I've never heard this. Thank you for telling me - I'm going to do some testing on this too!! I'm pretty confident in saying that adding 'exposure' in post will add more grain than properly exposing in camera with a high ISO. But now I wanna do a true test of this. I appreciate your comment and kind words. 📸✨

[@CarlosAlvarGonzalez]

HI, great info. What settings you recomend on shooting concerts with led screens, for them to look good and without stripes. Thx

[@BostonSchulz]

Hi Carlos! There's not an easy settings fix for that as my understanding is LED lights are all going to be different from one light / show to the next. Do you have a DSLR or mirrorless camera? Which camera are you working with? Do you have the option to switch it to mechanical shutter in those situations?

[@RoseyLand]

Thanks for this great video 😊

[@BostonSchulz]

Thanks so much for watching!!

[@kai_san_live]

Shooting in a lot of super dark venues, having the aperture as wide open as possible helps but it's less than ideal when trying to get multiple subjects in focus. Then again, I started on a f4 24-120mm so I'm used to making up for it with higher ISO. Don't think I ever took anything I liked at f1.4 so I"m thinking I should have just gotten the f1.8 50mm instead... Definitely not a fan of shooting at a lower ISO and "fixing things later" because I like being able to see what I took right away in case I need to change the settings. Can't comprehend using like ISO 400 for an indoor basement venue.

[@ericsande5345]

I've tried taking photos of musician friends with an 85mm f/1.8 and you really can't shoot wide open. I've found that the main advantage to 1.4/1.8 lenses is that by f/4 your getting into the sharp zone.

[@BostonSchulz]

Agreed! I don't think I've ever taken a concert shot at f1.4 and liked it. But I have taken a ton at f1.8 that I've loved...but I think my 1.4 lens is sharper at 1.8 than my 1.8 lens was at 1.8, so at least there's that. And definitely - if trying to capture more than one individual in an image, the fastest I'll go is 2.8, and with that, I know one of them is going to be blurry. I've definitely heard from people 'scared' to crank up the ISO trying to shoot a dark venue at 320 ISO and asking for help fixing their images. It happens - someone somewhere must have taught ISO as a dirty word. 😂 Thanks for watching and commenting!! I appreciate it!!

[@BostonSchulz]

@ericsande5345 - I've definitely shot concerts at f1.8!! I'm mostly just focused on one individual (instead of interactions or a group), but I haven't had any artists complain about those images and I definitely needed the extra light. It's doable, just depends on the style of shot you're looking for!

[@neilholmes152]

for me, aperture used would depend on what distance to subject is and what depth of field I want. shooting a full band with all in shot from next to the stage would need even f8 sometimes. fast lenses for shooting individual or maybe two musicians but for anything more isn't 1.8 too shallow?

[@BostonSchulz]

@@neilholmes152 Absolutely! Once you're comfortable with all your settings, moving up to f8 to get everyone in focus is a great idea if it's possible! That being said, I definitely shoot a lot of bands on stage together at f2.8 and have never had an issue with it. But most of the time if I'm shooting at f1.8, it's when I'm isolated on one person. Let me see if I can dig up some examples!!

[@amoricanseth8320]

any tips for videographers? anything to say about lens selection?

[@BostonSchulz]

Since I don't do a lot of video work, I wouldn't want to speak on any recommendation there. But most of my video work that I do is just handheld with my 24 - 70. ✨

[@chrisw443]

great video!

[@BostonSchulz]

Thank you so much for watching, Chris!!

[@petekutheis3822]

HAve to do 8000 in the almost no lighting clubs here in the ATX.

[@BostonSchulz]

ISO of 8000 is totally fine. If your images look grainy and you want to reduce it, I swear that Lightroom's Denoise AI works wonders. But yes, these settings are just a "starting point" and you'll have to adjust for each unique setting, but they're what I recommend as a baseline. Your baseline is different than mine! I do get lucky with most of my venues.

[@TechnikMeister2]

If you record the music, its a breach of copyright. Specially if its posted on a KZbin channel thats monetized.

[@BostonSchulz]

Hey Steve! What’s this in reference to? I don’t talk about video settings or recording music in this video. Let me know if I’m missing something!

[@TechnikMeister2]

@@BostonSchulz If you download a video of someone performing, and play it on your channel, and you are getting paid by KZbin for views, then you are in breach of the performers copyright and you have to pay a royalty back to them.

[@BostonSchulz]

@@TechnikMeister2 I understand that. How does that pertain to this video or my channel? My apologies, I don't understand why you're telling me about this. I just want to make sure I'm not missing something?

[@colinreidcr]

ayoooo

[@BostonSchulz]

LET'S GOOOOO!

[@Kinadnuf]

Cheers love, thanks 👍

[@BostonSchulz]

Happy to help!! 📸✨