Inside the small, dark room that almost feels like a country bar in an old western, Laz Smith stands at the front of the room, showing the music film clip he was working on.
The video stops abruptly. The crowd hesitate. The room is packed, but enough space is between everyone to allow breathing room. Like cells in a petrie dish, everyone rushes the Fujifilm hire desk when Laz states, “Now we finish the video together!”
Grabbing their instruments, stage lights flare as they take the stage. The small crowd spin around, and study the exposure settings Laz was explaining.
The weight of cameras in my bag had been screaming for attention a few hours by this stage. This was exactly the right moment to move.
Energy wasn’t contained. It was free. Reaching out from the stage to the crowd. Movement was plentiful and as photographers clambered around, I sought shapes and gaps in the group to shoot through.
But, how to choose your exposure settings in this moment?
The heart knows. The heart always knows. I took a moment to listen; to feel.
A shallow depth of field could be the go. Blur out the crowd in the foreground and get just the talent in focus. That almost always feels right. Unless it doesn’t.
Is that going to show how that moment felt? Like, is that going to scream like the music did? With an ISO of 800, at f/2, the shutter wanted 1/250th.
That’ll freeze any motion. It’ll be clear, but is that the vibe?
It didn’t feel like it. Not that time. The band drew the audience in, engaging with everyone in that room, reaching out and connecting intensely.
Frozen motion felt cold, still, lifeless. F/2 was great at separating the lead singer from the rest of the band, but they played an important role, too.
F/10 felt better. At f/10, the stage lights flared beautifully, offering their stars in my lens and forcing me to slow the shutter down to 1/8th of a second.
That was the sweet spot. And boy was it sweet.
In the foreground, a Fujifilm camera is poised. The singer looks directly into my soul as I make my photograph. His hand blurs as he strums the guitar while the sway of the bassist behind shows a clear blur.
This is what the moment felt like. Like, really felt like.
The layers are all there. The crowd, the band, the videographer filming the final piece to his puzzle. But most importantly, the feeling like you’re there, right in that moment. It’s right there.
Can you feel it, too?
Don’t rush in. Speed isn’t always your friend. Let the moment decide.
