Shooting my first music gigs with the Leica M10 and Sony A7
This year I got the opportunity to shoot my first music gig at my local live music venue, The Gallery. I have taken the odd candid shot of street musicians before but having the chance to photograph a whole gig was something was something that I had wanted to try out for a while.
This year I got the opportunity to shoot my first music gig at my local live music venue, The Gallery. I have taken the odd candid shot of street musicians before but having the chance to photograph a whole gig was something was something that I had wanted to try out for a while.
The act were a cockney singalong band called “Harmonica Lewinsky”. They performed a range of classic cockney knees-up tunes and Chas & Dave covers.
I used the Leica M10 with 28mm & 50mm lenses as well as the Sony A7 with an 85mm. Having the ability to freely move around the venue let me bring out all the strengths of these focal lengths and provided a nice mix of perspectives. Being a small venue however, I was always conscious of being in people’s way, so I tried to stay discrete and take as many pictures as I could from the front row seat that I had been given.
One thing I would have done differently after reviewing the images, is ask the lead singer to lose the portable fan attached to his microphone for a couple of songs. It bothered me at the time, and I know the full body shots of him would have looked a lot nicer without the fan covering his lovely guitar.
A couple of months later I brought my camera to a gig by the band “Missing the Ferry”. It was another great night at The Gallery, with the packed house signing along to Irish folk tunes. I tried to capture the jovial spirit in my informal photos, which the band were very appreciative of and ended up sharing on their social media.
I enjoyed trying my hand at music gig photography and need to find some more small venues to give it another go.