In your opinion...which is more difficult?

[DJRobin]

Indoor sporting events or indoor concerts?
Seems they'd be similar due to lighting issues and movement...I am struggling so badly with volleyball...then,
my son that lives in Vegas calls me last night (yes, there's another kid...sigh) and says "hey mom! My band is stopping in Dallas on the US tour! You have to come take pictures of us playing!!!"

uhhhh....

Will I have the same issues? Are they similar in difficulty?

[Daniel Bates]

Not that I have shot much of either...

Indoor sporting events are probably harder. Concerts will be better lit, and the subjects aren't frantically dashing to and fro. (They might even stay in the same place! Drummers tend to, at any rate. )

[DEMDeepEllumMusic]

Daniel you are so wrong!
In sports you have a reasonably consistantly, though poorly for photography, lit area and you can sortof predetermine where the players are going. (Volleyball-towards the net or ball: Baseball-towards the ball or the next base: Football-towards the quaterback,ball, ball carrier, or goal line: Basketball-towards the ball or goal: Hockey-towards the puck or goal, etc.

During a concert-we are talking rock and roll- you have people going in unknown directions (Unless you regularly shoot the same band and semi-know their style and what to expect), the light levels change constantly (either the lightman is changing levels or the performer is stepping into and out of spot lights). In Concerts you generally have a crowd around you that may not give a hoot about you and your camera unless you are in a larger venue with a photo pit and to be honest there are just a handful of those in the DFW area and probably fewer in Austin/San Antonio which means that you have people bumping up against you or walking in front of your shot though to be honest a lot of people will give you some leaway. Lighting conditions is probably one of the hardest things to overcome in concert shooting and generally with the angles offered to photographers you have to worry about lights above the performers creating hot spots in your shots.

Now if you are talking about a Folk Singer setting on a stool during an afternoon shoot outside with the sun beaming into their face then you have an easy shoot.

BTW where will they be playing at? You may have to get some clearance paperwork to be able to shoot the show even if you walk in the stage entrance with the band and have an all access VIP pass (those are not photo credentials).

[DJRobin]

Well, Mr. Deep Ellum...it will probably be in Deep Ellum. They're a young screamo band (he'd die to hear me say that)...I didn't ask where. First album/tour...guessing your neck o the woods...

[DEMDeepEllumMusic]

If it is in Deep Ellum here is a breakdown of the Best Lighting to Poorest (Your results may vary)
Curtain Club
GYPSY Ball Room
Gypsy Tea Room-pretty much flat and static
Club Dada-pretty much flat and static though I have not been in there since it was reopened.
Tom Cats- keep upgrading their lighting
Texas Tea House- Static-evenly lighted
Club Clearview- Usually hit or miss-tends to be darker than most other clubs
Galaxy-have been talking about improving the lights there now for almost 2 years
Renos Chop Shop-may have recently upgraded since the guys involved had a second club that closed up and they may have moved some of the lights to it.
Red Blood Club- Low but club has great atmosphere since the stage is only a couple feet above the floor.
Can't think of anywhere else off the top of my head other than the Sons of Herman Hall and that tends to Country and Folk and it is pretty much a static light set up and then there is Adairs which is a small stage, static light and Country Music.

There is an offchance that they could be at the Bar of Soap over by Fair Park and the lighting there is just what is in the Bar and the neon from the window. Really no stage-just space in the corner by the entrance windows.

Only club that could give you hassles would be Gypsy and Galaxy but they are usually pretty cool.

Good Luck.

[Jake]

I would say indoor sports. You can give someone 3 songs to shoot at a concert and they will come back with a few great shots, you give someone 15min at a indoor sporting event and you will probably get about 1 good shot.
I'm not saying either one is easy, but I would rather shoot at a crappy club then at a crappy sporting venue.
You don't have to have 1/500 sec for a good concert shot.
Of course it depends on what band and what sport so there is no easy answer.

[babybluetx23]

I would say concerts, depending apon the lighting and how much the band members move, Good example:

the first one was taken at a club here in Arlington called Monte Carlos (I HATE Shooting at this place!!)

And the second one was taken at Firewater of a band called Back in Black:

Both are rock bands who move around A LOT!

[Wil_Bloodworth]

While I generally agree with Paul, I have to completely disagree with him on this on. I mainly shot concerts and night clubs for the past 20 years and I've been doing indoor sports for a while now (not doing concerts anymore). Indoor sports is much more difficult than concerts. It's not even a close comparison. The ONLY connection between the two is the low light.

- Wil

[Daniel Bates]

As a camera operator, I have found that actors and speakers and musicians usuallly stay in their "zone" (for a drummer, that's his throne; a bassist--a small circle in front of the bass amp; a guitarist--half the stage usually, but generally in front of his amp). Plus, with luck you'll get a small stage crammed full of amps and gear, and the musicians won't be able run around much at all! This is where an IS lense or camera (Minolta/Sony) is worth its weight in platinum.

[NathanJK]

I feel your pain on volleyball, I keep getting my butt kicked by it! Since the gym I've been shooting in is FULL of skylights I just try to make it to games that start earlier so I can take advantage of the natural light also, once it goes out it gets BAD. Even with good lighting, volleyball is still so erratic and unpredictable that its very difficult imo.

[kenw]

each has it's own issues:

Concert: hard shadows, and lots of 'em. Not as fast moving? HAH! try a decent punk concert in a borderline economically viable teen club, a pro concert in a major venue is a whole 'nuther animal....heck, you could probably shoot what passes as C&W with some f4.0 glass....but you can get close to use those fast-wide lenses. You'll need 'em.

Sports: large field-hard to get full-frame shots. volleyball may be a bit easier as the players do tend to stay local vs-football -soccer- ice rink where you have a few bajillion square yards to select from for an action shot. Long AND fast are absolutely required.

IS won't do squat for moving subjects.