This is Chad Edwards – an awesome country singer that happens to be a good friend of mine.  He’s the real deal – the chaps he’s wearing on his CD cover actually got used to break horses in northern California.  Okay, northern California isn’t the most country place on the planet – but Chad spent a pretty good chunk of his 20′s in Nashville living his dream.  Chad is focusing on playing in public more frequently – and we were able to catch him in Buffalo last weekend.  Be sure to check him out if he’s in your area!

Shooting live music boils down to two simple rules:

1. No flash.  Ever.
2. Catch a moment.

The no flash rule can be a real challenge since clubs tend to be very dark.  Fast lenses and high ISO is the only way to fly.  For these shots, I used my 135mm f/2L and my 50mm f/1.4 cranked wide open.  I had my 5D Mark II set at 3200 and 6400 ISO in order to get a high enough shutter speed to (sort of) freeze action.

Vital Stats:  Canon 5D Mark II w/Canon 135mm f/2L   ISO 6400, f/2.0, 1/250 sec.