Due to being a hobby musician for many years, I had a weird feeling, when I went to a session without my guitar but with a camera and some lenses. As I mostly shoot manual lenses it’s not easy to bring the always moving musicians into focus, but at the same time you get a lot of very cool portraits because people concentrate on their instrument instead of staring at the camera.

Session-time

Another nice experience I got, when I was asked to take some pictures of a band during a recording session.
The main problem with shooting musicians: somehow they are always playing in dark rooms. Shooting without a flash, you have to struggle with the problem of getting too high ISO settings while keeping the shutter time at a level that prevents blurry pictures. My favourite lenses under these circumstances are Sigma 24 f/2.8, Voigtländer 40 f/1.4, Minolta 58 f/1.2 and a Navitar 75 f/1.3, trying to get as near as possible to my subject.

Bandshooting

Jazz Club