This was my 3rd or 4th year photographing the Just for Laughs festival, and the first for the actual organizers. For a second year, I was at the Ethnic show and had such a blast. I always love shooting comedy. For starters, it’s damn funny. The light is always really nice as they often have video running or filming for TV specials, so none of this low light stuff I’m used to doing in concerts.
This year’s Ethnic show lineup, hosted by Maz Jobrani, was pretty fun. Some great moments and great laughs. Shout out to Mike Marino who had one of the better sets of the night (in my humble opinion).
The keys to shooting comedy shows:
– Get the festival logo in some shots.
– Mix of close up shots and full body shots
– Wait for that one moment when the comedian makes a fun face or gesture… it adds way more impact to your shot
– Move around (if you are allowed) to cover different angles. As most musicians, comedians have a certain stage presence and you need to read it to see where they will be and what would make a good shot. They say that if you see the image in your view finder… you missed it. So watch, learn, wait, shoot. 🙂
