Rock Photography Get the Exposure Right Stage lighting can be tricky, so you have to get your exposure right or you’ll wind up with beautifully composed, crap shots. A camera that allows for clean high-ISO images is a huge advantage as higher ISO settings allow you to keep your shutter speed relatively high, reducing camera shake and better allowing you to freeze action. Watch the Performers Now that you’ve got your exposure sorted, watch the performers. No, I mean really watch the performers. Analyse their performance. How do they move on the stage? Where are their favourite places to stand? What are their idiosyncrasies? Facial expressions? Favourite postures? Signature moves? How do they express emotion? Pyrotechnics, a leap off a speaker stack, entry of a stage prop – and you can plan for these, too. Anticipate Once you know what you’re looking for, anticipate it. If you’ve noticed that a guitarist bends a certain way during emotional moments in his solos, anticipate it, compose for it, and be ready when the moment comes. If a singer leans away from the mike a certain way during soulful pauses between song lines, pre-visualise your shot, get set up for it Compose for form People, instruments, objects on stage and even the glow of stage lights create shapes and lines in the frame. The beautiful lines of a guitar, for example, generally look better from some angles than others, as do the combined lines of the guitar and its player. Photograph Example: http://digital-photography-school.com/rock-concert-photography-%E2%80%93-9-tips-on-how-to-get-the-shot