When photographing bands during a live performance I default to the Tungsten white balance setting. It makes sense to me as most lights on the performers are tungsten even with gels and filters on the front of the light. This has always worked as a great starting point for my concert images. Most stage lights are quite bright.

 

You will want to shoot at a high enough shutter speed to freeze the action as they can move pretty fast. In this shot, I set the shutter speed at 1/400 sec. In order to shoot at that high of a shutter speed, you need to bump up the ISO to a level that gives you a bright enough image, in this case, I set it to ISO 1600.

 

Because I was right up against the stage I used my Canon 24-70 f/2.8 L series lens. This image was captured at 34mm at f/3.2.

 

As you might imagine performance venues do not want you to use flash. Plus, without the flash, you have a greater sense of really being there.

 

This brand is a famous all-girl metal band from Japan called Aldious. You should go to YouTube and check them out!

 

P.S. Don’t forget your earplugs.