been asked to take some pictures, would love some advice!

Carlo

Carlo

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Carl
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Not sure if correct thread but here i go anyway.
First off, i'm only a very enthusiastic amateur, but i have been asked by a friend of my wife if i can take some pictures for him.
He runs a disability led theatre group in Manchester and has seen some of my pics via my Mrs posting them on facebook/Flickr and has been impressed.
What he'd like is for me to come down to a rehearsal and take some shots of them rehearsing the play, and also do some portraits of each of the cast, all for the programme.
It's non paid work which i don't mind at all, as i know him and some of the group, but more importantly, i'm not 100% confident in this type of photography yet!
That's why i'm posting this here! need help, advice or tips of any kind.
What i know i will do is gather together as many theatre programmes to see what kind of portraits are taken, but will still need advice on set up etc, as i don't want to be experimenting on the day!
I've got Scott Kelby's guides, but they're not too in depth.
I also need to see if using flash will be OK with some of the cast, as some might react badly to it! and i've only had my flash for a few weeks and only used it at one gig to moderate success! (more fluke that knowledge!)
My kit is;
7D, 24-105 F4L, 100mm f2.8 macro, 30mm f1.4, 70-200mm f4L, 10-20mm, Metz 52AF-1, tripod.
Thanks in advice.

ps, it's on 21st March so not much time to practice!, oh, and my wife co-wrote the play!!
 
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For rehearsal shots and programme portraits you can either use natural light, or if they have access to the theatre lights, use those with only a bit of fill in flash if required.

If you're going to take photos of the production itself, maybe final dress rehearsal, I tend not to use flash, but this tends to mean with amateur productions having to use a fairly high ISO, a fairly wide aperture and a shutter speed dangerously low!

For the portraits, normally just a head and shoulders against a plain background is required, but talk to the programme designer.
 
Thanks Andrew
I'm really looking forward to it and panicking at the same time!!
From what i've read, a 100mm focal length seems to be what's needed for portraits?
which of my lenses would be best?
 
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The 100f2.8 will be pretty good to use for head & shoulder shots or the 24~105 depending on what type of shotting distance you can get? Is there a seperate small room you could do this so to avoid any distractions from the other people ? The Metz bounced off the ceiling should be fine, have you a reflector at all to lift the light a little under their faces? You could make one out of polystyrene board or cardboard with tin foil if need be.

Shots of the show i'd only use fill in if absolutely necessary and just use the ambient stage lighting to get some atmospheric scene shots. You'll need to bump the iso upto around 2000 depending on the lighting to maintain a good handheld camera shake free shutter speed again the 100 pretty wide open will be good here and the other longer telephoto for extra reach.

Spot or centre weighted metering will normally work better than any matrix especially if the subject matter has lots of darkness round them - which is often the case in stage spot lighting etc...
 
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Carlo said:
Thanks Andrew
I'm really looking forward to it and panicking at the same time!!
From what i've read, a 100mm focal length seems to be what's needed for portraits?
which of my lenses would be best?
Click to expand...

Carl, we can met up for a practice if you like, I will glady try and help you and give you some advice. I am based on the Manchester side of Oldham so not too far away. Just pm if you fancy a day/night out.
 
tiler65 said:
Carl, we can met up for a practice if you like, I will glady try and help you and give you some advice. I am based on the Manchester side of Oldham so not too far away. Just pm if you fancy a day/night out.
Click to expand...

That's a lovely offer Tom!
I'll have to see what nights the wife is out from now until the day of the shoot.
She's a playwright and usually goes out as i get in! (have kids so can't be out at the same time) so i'll get back to you as soon as i can organise a night/day.
Have to warn you i'm one of those 'all the gear, no idea' types :cuckoo: (i'm not that bad, but certainly no expert, and as stated only just bought a flash)
anyway, thanks for the offer, hopefully we can sort something.
Carl
 
Thanks for the posts Andrew and the pics / info on your site. Got an invite to local theatrical's Kiss me Kate final rehearsal tomorrow 70-200 2.8 and 5DIII should be OK. Looking forward :)
John
 
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