Concert Photography

Nifty piece by Jeff Spirer about Photographing Bands and Musicians on photo.net. It's full of really good tips and tricks that you can find out by yourself by shooting a few dozen shows, but if you're just starting out it might save you quite a bit of time.

I was (pleasantly) surprised at how close his gear list recommendation matches my own:

• DSLR (either a Canon EOS 1DMkIII or Canon EOS 40D)


• 35/2


• 50/1.4


• either a 20/2.8 or 85/1.8


• 580EXII flash


• spare camera battery


• extra rechargeable batteries for the flash


• memory cards (at least 8GB)


• business cards


• earplugs


• clear lens filter and lens hood on every lens

I have the "old" 1DMkII, and I substitute 24/1.4 and 100/2 for his 20/2.8 and 85/1.8, but apart from that this is pretty much my list. Except I really need to get some business cards.