Pixiq

Okay, so let’s face it: Most people don’t tote a DSLR and a lens or two when they head out for the evening to see a live performance. In fact, many performance venues don’t allow photography without a press pass. That said, I must admit that 1) I bring my camera almost everywhere, whether it’s allowed or not (thank you, large purse); 2) I don’t own an iPhone or a Droid (gasp!), negating the high-res cell phone photography option; and 3) I keep my take-along lens selection down to one handy, dandy (albeit hefty) 28-200mm zoom.

Being the daughter of an extremely talented guitar player and growing up in Cleveland, Ohio, where the music culture is akin to family, my love of photographing musicians naturally grew right along with my love of shooting. Music, all by itself, creates a visual landscape in the mind of the listener, and trying to capture that essence in a photograph is both a challenge and a pleasure.

Almost without fail, flash will ruin the ambience of a stage scene—not to mention the fact that it alerts your subjects to your presence and causes them to consider hiding behind a cymbal or mike stand, or turning their back to you. So, what can you do to get great images without disturbing the performers? Here are a few tips:

1. Wait for it. Even on the darkest stage, the performance lights will eventually fall on your subject. In trying to invoke the power of sound in an image, pictures that capture this subtle, momentary visual element—the light—falling just so on the performer can tell a story just like the music can.

2. Don’t be afraid to max out your ISO. Yes, I said it! Those high ISOs are in there for a reason. Don’t be afraid to experiment with them. Every camera is different when it comes to the degree of noise present in the final image, but as long as you are shooting at the highest quality settings, you should not hesitate to allow your camera’s capabilities to work for you in extremely low-light settings such as at a concert venue.

HINT: Psssst… Photoshop. The Clone/Stamp, Gaussian Blur, and Magic Wand tools are heaven for selectively masking unwanted noise.

3. Don’t listen to your camera. There you are, peering into the scattered darkness, waiting for just the right light to fall on your subject… and then it does, and your viewfinder’s underexposure warnings are blinking like crazy telling you you’re not going to make an acceptable shot. For those of you just starting to experiment with low-light photography, you’ll probably go through what I did and crank your shutter speed down to some ridiculously slow setting to make a “correct” exposure, or switch on your flash and go for it. The result is usually an unintended mess of motion blur or a sterile-looking freeze frame (and a blinded performer).

Fuhgetaboutit.

Creative motion blur can be a very cool thing (see #4), but an “oops” moment rarely results in a gem. Flash, too, can be a great creative tool, but lighting up your subject in a concert scenario where the light of the flash will blow out any hint of the colorful stage-lighting ambience and turn your subject into a cardboard cutout is hardly ideal. Instead, push the limits of comfortable handheld speeds, and don’t listen to your camera when it tells you not to go there.

Take a few shots at 1/60 and check your LCD monitor to see just how underexposed an image you are really getting. If it is totally unacceptable, start ticking your shutter speed down one notch at a time, examining your results with a careful eye. Remember, concert photography is all about unique lighting and playing with light and shadow. The right amount of underexposure is totally acceptable in this scenario. And, don’t forget Photoshop! I know, I know. My purist friends think it’s cheating. But what a perfect tool Curves is for keeping those shadows at their deepest while bringing highlights to life.

4. Rock out. The performers are up there doing their thing and making a unique statement, so why shouldn’t you?? Zoom your lens in or out during the exposure; shoot a static subject with a really long exposure and move the camera to an entirely different part of the scene before the shutter closes; switch to monochrome mode and capture the extremes of light and shadow in grayscale; get high or low and explore your subjects from a unique angle. Your camera is your instrument.

5. Consider capturing a sense of place. The most obvious thing to do is to capture the performers in action, but another take on the event is to capture the venue itself in some unique way. Shoot the empty stage from a far-flung spot before the concert starts; find a stable location to prop your camera and open up the shutter while the band does their sound check, or during the break down after the show—crisp stage meets busy, motion-blurred people in action; find some unique view, decoration, or item that symbolizes the venue and capture it in a unique way.

Special thanks to Cleveland rockers The Sultans of Bing for starring in the images in this article. Check out a review of the band here.