Review: Concert and Live Music Photography

Hands up if this has ever happened to you: Your favourite band is playing on stage. To capture the moment, you whip out your camera to take a picture. But when you press the shutter, it is a blurred mess.

Taking good photographs in a live music or concert setting is extremely challenging. The lights are dim, the spotlights are constantly flashing, and your subjects are always moving. This book will help you nail that shot.

However, your trusty point-and-shoot will not be relevant here. As any concert goer will tell you, shooting on pure "auto mode" just does not cut it. So get out your DSLR or at the very least, a camera with manual settings.

Written by seasoned photographer J. Dennis Thomas, Concert and Live Music Photography walks the reader through the basics of shooting at a live music setting, including composition and framing, photo editing, etiquette and obtaining that all-important photo pass.

Aimed at budding gig photographers and professionals, you get "pro tips from the pit". Thomas starts with getting the right gear (lenses, camera body, etc) before covering topics like how to achieve the right exposure, aperture and shutter speed in mostly low light conditions.

Other chapters offer practical tips on how to shoot in various locations -- from small bars and clubs, to larger venues like stadiums and arenas -- to composition and framing your subject. Sharp images aside, Thomas teaches shutterbugs how to make their shots more compelling by capturing the energy of the band, the emotion of the singer, or that special connection between the performer and audience.

The book is peppered with full colour shots of Thomas's work, complete with settings used to produce those images. From Metallica to Green Day, there are plenty of inspiring examples to admire.

Interestingly, Thomas goes beyond the f-stops and other technicalities to offer useful, real world advice. In fact he devotes two entire chapters dealing with etiquette, and credentials and marketing. Yes, even a photographer needs to know how to sell his work.

Even if you have no desire to turn pro and simply want to take good photos for the memories, this book will offer plenty of handy tips. After all, there's nothing like taking a great photograph and calling it yours.

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