3rd Oct Gig Photography report

Imagine trying to produce quality photographic images in a very dark environment which is so crowded it's difficult to secure a spot from which to achieve an acceptable composition. It's very noisy and the crowd is by no means calm and peaceful; this makes it difficult to concentrate and somebody may well bump into you and spill their drinks on your camera. Multi-coloured lights are flashing, and your various subjects are often moving unpredictably and at great speed. Just to add to the mix, smoke machines are sometimes deployed. 

Welcome to Paul Dunn's world of Gig Photography! On Thursday 3rd October Paul, one of our long-standing members, presented many of his excellent images to us and explained the challenges of gig photography. He outlined the equipment you need to take a good shot under these conditions and the equipment he uses at the gigs he attends for bands and artists who are not normally household names. It is important to secure images where something special is happening on stage, such as the striking expressions and poses of the singers, guitarists and drummers. It is essential to find the optimum spot for a good composition, to choose an appropriate lens and to select the appropriate aperture, shutter speed, ISO, white balance etc. You don't want to interfere with the views of other paying members of the audience but, at the same time, you want to avoid the many mobile phones which they are pointing at the stage. The gig photographer wants to produce a sharp image in circumstances where minimising image "noise" is a real challenge. Composition is key and this means determining how far you want to be from the stage, using an appropriate lens, positioning yourself to the side of the stage (Paul tends to go to the left of the stage as right-handed guitarists tend to turn to the right towards Paul's position) and learning and anticipating the likely movements of the different artists. It's not easy!

Paul's talk and images were very much appreciated by our members, and we gained a greater understanding and respect for Paul's photographs and the work of other high-quality gig photographers.
 
Ray Barnes
CCC Programme Secretary  ​