This example of Band Photography in Chiang Mai demonstrates one of the things that I enjoy so much for relaxation as a photographer which is taking pictures of bands. Here in Chiang Mai there are some great music venues for live music. My favourites are Papa Rock, Boy’s Blues Bar and The Brasserie where you will often find some very high quality musicians getting together for jamming sessions as well as the regular house bands. For me, in these small venues it’s all about getting up close and personal so I tend to either use my Sony A7ii with 35mm lens or my Fuji X100 which has the equivalent of a 35mm lens. Also, if using the Fuji I am shooting the images as JPEG files as it is always my intention to get exposures and settings right in camera. With the Sony I shoot in Raw but again will just convert to JPEG and post the images.
The secret is knowing how to shoot in these situations using manual settings so, for any aspiring photographers wanting to shoot bands I’d suggest starting in a small venue where you can get up close to the stage or even on to the stage! For me, I like to shoot with my lens wide open, my ISO will be somewhere between 2,000 and 6,400 and I leave my white balance on auto. It works for me but get out there and experiment as this will lead you to your own style.
