Getting great concert shots is all 
about research, says gig photographer

SINGAPORE — The concert calendar here is packed. Rock legends Guns N’ Roses are set to play Saturday (Feb 25) night, while heavy-hitters from Britain’s Coldplay to Emeli Sande and K-pop megastars EXO are performing in the 
coming months.

Concert-goers would undoubtedly want to document the most dynamic moments at these shows, and gig photographer Rueven Tan says that leaving your photos to chance is not good enough. Conducting extensive research on the act in question will help any amateur photographer in scoring that killer shot, he said.

“You have to watch all (of the band’s latest concert) videos, and you have to notice how and when they move,” Tan, 29, told TODAY. That is how he prepared for the Metallica gig at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in January this year.

Research will help you anticipate, for example, when someone in the band is going to do a jump, and you can be ready for the moment, said Tan, who has also shot the likes of Nine Inch Nails and Rob Zombie.

You will also be able to gauge how the music will flow and how the band will respond so you can get ready with your camera, he added.

Since the Guns N’ Roses concert will be attended by some 50,000 people tonight, Tan said he would also concentrate on taking photos that portray the lively atmosphere. “If I were near the stage, I would try to take (photos of) the crowd enjoying the band, and compose the (shot of the) band with the crowd,” he said.

Tonight, when you are aiming your camera at the stage, also be aware of what the lighting situation will be, said Tan. Guns N’ Roses’ recent Australian and Japan tour videos will help photographers get an idea of what they will be facing. This is a crucial sticking point for any amateur photographer armed only with a smartphone camera, since once you get a shot with bad lighting, you will not be able to edit it later, warned Tan.

BRIGHT LIGHTS


Tan recommends not taking photos when there are red, pink or purple lights shining on stage.

“It’s the same with certain DSLR cameras. Those colours are too harsh, and you lose a lot of details in faces (in photographs),” he said.

“If you see yellow or white light, that is a good time to use your phone to snap a photo.”

His other hot tip is to get acquainted with the burst mode on your camera, because capturing good photos is sometimes about luck.

“I am always waiting for the right moment ... When you see the musician coming forward, use burst mode (and take as many photos as you can),” he said.

Tan also recommends using high ISO at gigs. A high ISO number increases the sensitivity of a camera to light, and comes in handy in low-light situations to help minimise the graininess of your photos. He himself pushes the ISO to 3200 or 6400.

But graininess, he added, can also be a good quality. Try not to overthink it, he said.

“Some think, ‘My camera is a point-and-shoot, and (my photos) will turn out quite grainy’,” he said. “But ... if the moment is there, just shoot. You need to be fast.”

In order to know how your phone will react, research is also key. Explore its functions ahead of time, said Tan.

“You can manually control the aperture, exposure compensation and white balance, instead of letting your phone take control of what you are shooting,” he said.

Tan started his career in photography, and concert photography in particular, by shooting at small venues and gigs as a hobbyist with a beginner DSLR camera.

He was gradually introduced to editors at the now-defunct Lime Magazine and Malaysia’s Junk Magazine, who hired him to shoot gigs.

Tan, who now takes photographs for music publication and start-up Bandwagon, says festivals are perhaps the hardest gigs to shoot.

He has documented Baybeats, Laneway Festival Singapore and Singfest. He uses a Nikon D5 camera with Nikon 24-120mm F4, Nikon 70-200mm F2.8 and 14-24mm F2.8 lenses when he covers gigs.

Ultimately, said Tan, it does not matter if your photos come out perfectly clear. Stay in the moment and be alert for those high-impact moves from the band you are shooting.