it is a bit easier to take a pic of a candle since the candle's flame doesnt move (that much). A singer moves his body, his feet, and plays the guitar with his hands so u have to be careful not to blur his motion too much. A little motion blur is good in some areas but not in this case.

so in effect, i had to keep the shutter speed faster than -about- 1/30 to 1/50. usually it is easy, but because there was extremely low light and I didn't want to use the flash (and i wanted the background to expose as well), the aperture size of the lens as well as ISO really came into play.

Usually ISO greater than anything over 800 is grainy, but in this case, it actually works FOR the picture as it creates the right atmosphere so i didnt have any concerns using ISO 1600.

with candles, u basically spot meter the candle and compensate the ev to about -2 ev. then adjust to suit. u also have the luxury of using a tripod or table at home, so ISO doesnt come into play and u can keep the grain away. there's enough light there for most lenses to handle with ease.