5

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

no camera shake. Since each show is different,

you will have to adjust the settings to match the

lighting and check the LCD screen on the back

of your camera often to see if you are getting the

effect you want.

As a concert photographer, you need to watch

the lights and look for patterns in the way they

move. This enables you to time your photographs

to shoot when the best light is on the subject.

Most stage lighting can be broken down into two

parts: front lighting and back lighting. When

done right, a combination of slightly brighter

These are great shots to work on getting for two
reasons; the first is that they can really look great,
and the second is that lighting directors really
like to see their work, so showing them that you
can capture it could lead to more work or at least
more opportunities to photograph concerts.
When working on getting these types of shots,
you will have to drop the shutter speed a little to
let the lights look like solid beams of light instead
of just capturing what the lights are illuminating.
Work with shutter speeds around 1/30 second to
keep the musicians from blurring too much, and
practice hand holding the camera so that there is

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ABOUT THIS PHOTO The lights gave the stage a great look and enhanced the show. Photographed at 1/30 second, f/2.8, and ISO 800.