Recently I photographed the Mediaeval Baebes’ Christmas concert at the famous St James’s Church Piccadilly in London. It was a beautiful and a very high standard performance in beautiful surroundings.
Photographing live music events is not an easy task. Getting the perfect focus while the artist is moving can be very challenging especially in low light (other example – alternative rock gig photography). Below are a few tricks that will help you photograph a live music event in a stunning way.
1. Focus on the artist, create different plans and compose well.
Create several plans in your frame: focus on one model and create a blurred background or foreground. That will make the observer focus on the part of a picture you want. Add good composition and voilà.
Remember that photography is not only documenting the world but it’s showing your personal perspective. So make each picture a piece of art!
2. Photograph with a wide open aperture.
A deficiency of light is always a problem. Be sure that you set up your aperture to be wide open and let in the maximum amount of light possible. For live music photography I recommend using prime lenses with 1.4 or 1.8 aperture.
great photos!!!
Thank you! x 🙂
Thank you for bringing me to the land of the bygone age for at least a moment. Your photographs are so fairy-tale-like and picturesque that imagining the music played in St James’s Church Picadilly wasn’t a problem. The photograph which made the biggest impression on me is the one with the choir having the stained glass window behind them. Not only does it show the beauty of the church and charm of the models but also the astonishing atmosphere of the event. Your photographs have influenced my imagination so much that I’ve decided to go to the next concert of the band in Peterborough Cathedral. Thank you for the tips how to photograph in low light situations without any flash lighting. I think that your thoughts and pictures can be an inspiration not only for beginners but for the experienced photographers as well. Thank you for a great artistic experience. Jarek
Thank you very much. I’m glad you like the photographs and tips. Hope you tried them out during the concert. Mediaeval Baebes’ shows are indeed beautiful.