Advice Theatre photography

Noodles

Noodles

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Adam Partridge
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Hi I was hoping someone might be able to give me some advice /tips I am going to be photographing the local Amdram stage production of Jekyll and Hyde on Sunday. It is the dress rehearsal so I have all the theatre (apart form the stage) to move around in. The photographs are just for the people who are in it including my wife. (And as she helped to fund the purchase of my camera and lenses the “condition” was I would come down and shoot their productions)

If any one has any experience in shooting in a theatre and has any advice then it would be much appreciated
 
What equipment do you have available, Noodles? That will help us tailor the advice to your situation. (No point recommending an 85mm f/1.2 if you don't have one...!)
 
Will They Let You Use Flash?

stewart, i would assume he would be using the kit listed in his profile
Main Camera:
Canon eos 40d
Lens #1:
Canon EF-S 17-85mm f4-5.6 IS USM
Lens #2:
Canon EF 75-300 f4-5.6 IS USM
 
I would be a little worried about getting anything with those lenses. I have done a couple of dress rehersals and presuming no flash then you will need a faster lens.. I used f2.8 lenses and a nifty 50.. My local is a small not well lit place.. yours might be big and bright.. and it will need to be..

Have you access to better glass?

f2.8 at shutter 125 and iso 800, no flash of course
play.jpg
 
right, i do a bit of theatre photography.

if its a 'proper' stage with painted scenery flats with plenty of reflected light from them you can get good shots by upping iso to maybe 400 - 800 and using no flash. 17-85IS would be best.

if its plenty of black drapes with minimal set you'll need to up ISO further.

if its in the round with lights high up punching down to the floor then you'll need to up ISO and use camera wide open.

Shoot in RAW on Av mode. Set white balance to tungsten and it can be tweaked later. Use specific focal points as DOF will be fairly narrow. You'll need the IS but some photos may exhibit motion blur on hands. Take advise from wife / director / SM about key points in the script.

If the lighting operator would give you a bit more light then that would be good, but as its final dress, it will be running as a proper run, so maybe you won't be lucky.

I don't bother with flash - firstly I'm not very good with flash, secondly it can wash out dramatic effects from the lighting man.
 
Ah. I didn't think of looking at his profile! :cuckoo:

The main issue is that stage lights really aren't very bright compared with daylight. Neither of your lenses is very fast, so you're probably going to be looking at using a high ISO and slow shutter speeds.

The IS in your 17-85 and 75-300 will help you maintain a slow shutter speed without too much camera shake, but of course it won't help you freeze any movement on stage. That would probably require a flash, but the onboard flash doesn't have much range and if you rely on it you could end up with pictures where the back of the stage is dark simply because the flash can't reach there. Personally I think it would be preferable to try to use the available light if at all possible for this reason.

Exposure could be very difficult to get right if the lighting is uneven, and you might want to consider using AEB and firing off three frames each time.

White balance could also be tricky, and shooting in RAW will allow you to correct it if necessary when you get back to the PC.
 
andrewc said:
Shoot in RAW on Av mode..
Click to expand...

RAW yes because of the WB and lighting.. But AV? If the stage has a bright light here or there then wouldnt that play havoc? Considering you have no option but to go as wide open as possible.. You know the minimum shutter speed so the only variable left to change is the iso to get the right exposure.. Manual would be best indoors I have found..

I havent done as much theater as you andrew so its more a question than a statment :)
 
The lights are normally reasonably high up and out of sight

I don't have an f2.8 lens yet, so I tend to shoot wide open at f4 (24-105L f4) on a high ISO. Unless there are lots of lighting changes I find Av is easiest as I can concentrate more on the play, rather than making sure the exposure is perfect. I'm looking to maximise shutter speed, anything over 1/30s is good as the IS system starts being effective. I'm just saying Av works for me.

Often I'm shooting in the round - play in middle with audience on all 4 sides, so effectively 4 performances at one go from different perspectives (so I have to scoot round the floor lots of times) In this case monopod tends to get in the way a bit & a tripod would be worse.. I tend to use the neck brace as a shoulder sling to minimise camera shake. One of those string braces from your boot to tripod strap could be helpful, or a conventional monopod.

The results - generally a good percentage of keepers to rejects. f2.8 would help. I often use a nifty fifty as well, and in that case I tend to use Tv.

At some point I want to get a f2.8 lens and a 2nd body. Shame there isn't a 24-105 f2.8 as that would be ideal.
 
Wow thanks guys for all the information, posted my message went to a meeting come back and got loads of info. :thumbs:

What equipment do you have available, Noodles? That will help us tailor the advice to your situation. (No point recommending an 85mm f/1.2 if you don't have one...!)
Click to expand...

Fletch is right, that’s all the equipment I have am new to this photography lark so adding bits as I go. haven't got access to anything else

if its a 'proper' stage with painted scenery flats with plenty of reflected light from them you can get good shots by upping iso to maybe 400 - 800 and using no flash. 17-85IS would be best.
Click to expand...


It's a proper theatre holds about 800 people with quite a large stage hired back drops and well lit. I can use flash.

I'll take on board all the points you've made, will have a word with the wife about the various scenes (she is also the Choreographer for the show) so I can prepare a bit. It's two ours long so I should get some shots :thinking:

Thanks again I'll post some pics here should I get some
 
All good advice, had a quick scan of the above and would add a few things (sorry if they have been mentioned)

Spot Metering - I have found, with my limited stage photography, that spot metering was usefull for not blowing out faces. I was using my 40D with 70-200 on and 350D with 17-40 and a good deal of my 350D shots (with no spot metering) meant blown highlights somewhere, the camera just couldnt get a happy medium with the black flats etc and the bright on stage action.

ISO 1600 - With my 40D I shot on 1600 ISO for pretty much all the shots. I dont have many photos online as they involve children etc, but the shot below is one shot I caugh with the 70-200 on the 40D with 1600 ISO and I was and still am impressed with the lack of noise at 1600 :)
2255026149_db4b4668de_o.jpg


Chimp Like mad - keep checking your shots to make sure they are coming out as you want, I didnt check my 350D for the first scene and when I looked I discovered I was getting a load of motion blur, so upped the ISO etc. I am just glad I did it then and not right at the end :p

Watch the background - I tried a few shots from different angles and ended up with odd hands etc in the wings visable, was too bust concentrating on the action to check the background properly.

Thats about all I learnt in my short experience of doing that sort of photography :)

also remember to have fun :p - and good luck :thumbs:
 
Yes I'll be there at the start for there pep talk pre-warm up of "chicken tikka mango chuckney and a pint of larger" song!! always makes me smile. I'll also get some time with the performers on teh stage sfterwards to possible set a few posed shots. There will be a pro from the local paper taking shots too but not of the perfomance.

I was hoping to get a shot of the guy playng Jekyll/Hyde and do one of those shots where he appears in the same photo a number of times. (photshp it) So I could have him as Jeykell and as hyde. But I don't think I'll get chance
 
Agree with chimping - histogram / motion blur. I don't mind motion blur on hands and feet - in fact I think in some cases it adds atmosphere, but shots where the main subjects face is blurred is an instant delete.

If you've got plenty of cf cards, delete afterwards. You can review others during the interval.

If a raised stage you need to try and get level with the stage otherwise you'll get a lot of shots of peoples nostrils and that isn't flattering.
 
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