There’s often the tempation when shooting in poor light to get the fastest lens possible, and up the ISO, to ensure fast shutter speeds.

Actually, sometimes solid support, and slower shutter speeds are better. I was lucky enough to shoot at a small gig this week, and one of the bands there were the awesome The Rumble Strips.

The drummer was superb, and (even though this isn’t my favourite shot from the night, it illustrates the point well) I deliberately knocked down the shutter speed to capture his frenetic movement. Sure (actually it would have been tricky as I was shooting at f/2 at ISO 1600) I could have got the shutter speed faster, but it just wouldn’t have had the same mood.

Even if you can’t shoot at a gig like this, find a local pub which has a live night, and ask to shoot - no unsigned band will say no to the opportunity of getting some decent shots of them performing, then keep the shutter speed up, but just not too fast!