These are some of the band pictures I've been taking lately of a band from Raleigh called Jam Pain Society. Please check' em out.

I feel that taking band picture should, for the most part, be done without a flash. You will need a very fast lens when shooting with just the stage lights. These shots were  taken with the Canon 50mm f/1.8 wide open at ISO 800 with a Canon 40d. This is a great camera for this kind of shooting. The noise level at this high ISO is minimal and only required a little noise reduction in Lightroom. You will want to adjust the exposure compensation to underexpose the photo almost a full stop. This lets you take the photos at an acceptable speed and keeps the photo from overexposing and losing the mood of the stage lights. I find that 1/50th is about the slowest speed you can use and still get sharp pictures.

Some of the problems you can run into when shooting bands with just the stage lighting is that the colors can really blow out in the highlights especially on the face. I was able to bring back a lot of detail with the recovery slider and adding a little clarity. You might have to back off the "vibrance" a little too to recover some of the blown out highlights. Especially if your subject is mostly illuminated with red spots.

Shooting with such a short lens means you will need to be up in at least the third row depending on the venue. This was taken at the Lincoln Theatre in Raleigh and you are able to stand right at the stage so you are able to really fill the frame and not have to do much cropping.

Be sure when shooting live bands to always enjoy the music and, always be ready. Things happen fast at a concert so you need to be ready all the time or you will miss some very magical moments. I usually keep my camera on burst mode in order to keep up with the action of a lively band like Jam Pain Society. Knowing how to adjust you focus points on the fly is critical when there is a lot of movement happening on the stage. Don't trust the camera to pick what needs to be in focus. Remember the eyes should be the sharpest point in the image. Plus when shooting with such a wide open aperture you are looking at a very thin depth of field so you want to be sure you are focusing on what YOU want to be in focus not what the camera thinks should be in focus.

Well this is just a small sampling of some of the live band pictures I've been working on lately. Hope some of the tips I've given will help you the next time you get the chance to shoot a band you love.

Peace