5

CHAPTER
NIGHT AND LOW-LIGHT PHOTOGRAPHY / Weddings, Concerts, and
Other Events

    ■   The direction of the movement. If the object

is moving toward or away from the camera,

then you can get away with a slightly slower

shutter speed, as the movement is actually

very small. If the object is moving across the

frame, then you will have to use a faster shut-

ter speed, as any movement will be noticeable.

    ■   The speed of the movement. You have to

actually start to judge how fast something is

moving, and that takes practice. It is easy to

think of a car going fast, but what about the

hand of a guitar player during a fast solo? The

more you photograph these types of events,

the easier it becomes to judge this.

the same. You may be surprised to find that it is
actually much more difficult to shoot in a small
venue because the light is lower and the stage is
smaller. But if you start with the most difficult
lighting situations, then as you get to shoot bigger
and better-lit shows, it actually gets easier.

When it came to photographing Billy Idol and
his band during their 2010 winter tour, the ven-
ues were medium-sized clubs with pretty good
lighting, allowing me to use higher shutter speeds
to make sure I captured every snarling minute, as
you can see in Figure 5-11.

There are some factors to take into consideration
when trying to determine what shutter speed to
use to freeze the action in your images.

ABOUT THIS PHOTO Billy Idol photographed during the opening number on the southern California leg of his 2010 winter tour. Taken at
1/320 second, f/2.8, and ISO 1600.

5-11