Working Around Lasers

If you are getting more into concert photography, you will eventually have to deal with an unspoken enemy, laser lights.

As cool as laser lights are and can highten the concert experience, they are not always camera friendly. Which is why, as us photographers, it is important that we have some basic knowledge on working with laser lights at shows so we can make sure no harm comes to our cameras.

For starters, your camera sensor is a chip that records light data captured through the lens as your lens concentrates on the light and helps filtering it in. Laser lights shoot off laser ray beams which are highly concentrated beams of light. However, due to the high (and often intense) concentrated beams, when it hits the sensor in your camera, it can damage the sensor by either fragmenting your photos/videos from then on (imagine a busted, static TV) or destroy your sensor altogether by burning the pixels out (which is pretty much camera death).

The question we must ask, is how do we avoid camera damage? Here are a few tips I have picked up over the years that hopefully could help you.

1. Talk to the person who is running lights for the show.

   Usually before the show or tour, the laser lights are checked by a certified technician. However, that's not always the case in some situations. This is why it's important to ask if there will be lasers used. Sometimes this person can be part of the tour package or works directly with the venue.

   
   

2. Get an idea of the angle of the lights.

   If you followed step one and confirmed if there will be or will not be laser lights, the next step I always encourage others to do is to personally look at the light setup and get a good general idea of their movements. Some light fixtures are stationary while some can actually move around. There's also the chance that the lights aren't properly setup and nobody has any clue what direction the beams are going. So it's important to get a decent understanding of the light movement because you want to find a "safety line" where you can find angles and pit spots so you can still be able to take photos, but not get hit by a laser beam due to poor angles or shoot directly into one.

   
   

3. Use a slower shutter speed

   Another way to protect your sensor, but do it at your own risk, is make sure you shoot at a lower shutter speed and possibly higher aperture setting depending on the venue. Often times, the intensity of the beam and with it constantly "fast scanning" across the crowd and stage, your sensor will try to pick it up pretty quickly. However, with a slow shutter speed and high aperture, you can slowly draw in the light data without too harsh of a quick shock to the sensor. Again, I advise this method with super caution.

I hope these basic tips help for your upcoming concerts. Happy photo taking!