Live on Stage Challenge

Available-light photography represents the quintessence of carefully considered photography: first, give it some thought, then shoot. There are few places where this form is applied as effectively as on or in front of a stage. In addition to a high-speed lens, taking pictures at concerts, at dance or theatre performances, demands a large degree of camera control. Unpredictable lighting conditions, moving subjects, and being under constant time pressure, force the photographer to work fast and in a flexible manner. Considering these demanding conditions, it is always a fine art to find a compromise between shutter speed, aperture and ISO value. To be able to take a successful picture, it is important to familiarise yourself with the camera settings before you begin – you are rarely given a second chance.

For our Live on Stage Challenge, we gave our readers and gallery users the chance to upload live, event-related images in the lfi.gallery. From among the numerous submissions, we would like to present some of the most exciting ones here. So that viewers can get an idea of how the pictures were taken, we are also publishing details of the equipment and the camera settings used.