Experience with Theater Photography?

[DGMPhotography]

Hello!

I was wondering if anyone had some experience with theater photography they'd like to share! I love shooting events like plays and concerts and the like, and was hoping for some advice from those with experience. I will be doing some more in the future.

What do you like about it? What do you not like about it?

What are some things to look out for, what equipment do you recommend?

Is this a good lens for it? Nikon | Imaging Products | AF-S NIKKOR 24-120mm f/4G ED VR (5x)

This is a article a read about it which gave me some ideas... 9 Essential Tips to Shoot Classic Theater ? Photography ? Tuts+

Thanks!

 

[Juga]

Do you definitely want a zoom?

 

[ste77]

I found essential the stabilization because it permits to you more options. I used a 70-200 f/4 IS and it was necessary, because of the low light, to shot often at 1/80. If I had not the stabilizer many images would have been ruined by the shake. An other obvious suggestion is try to get there early and get in a good position

 

[KmH]

As far as equipment needed, understanding the fundamentals of how the camera, lens, photographic lighting, and a digital photography work form the foundation needed to effectively do photography in any setting.

A photographer in a theater setting is generally not going to have control of the lighting.
Most venues will prohibit using flash. If you are just an audience member, a venue may have restrictions on the type of equipment you can use.

Stopping motion is usually a critical need.
So, maintaining sufficient shutter speed will likely be a requirement.
To stop the motion of a walking person's hands and feet, or the arm of a person playing a violin or a guitar, a shutter speed of 1/250 or more is needed.
That and the lighting will factor into what ISO range you need to use. Noisy photos are generally better than blurry photos, but lens aperture will likely be a major consideration.
At wide lens apertures, depth-of -field may not be sufficient requiring stopping down the lens, which then demands a slower shutter speed and/or a higher ISO setting to maintain exposure.

Next consider access.
If you are shooting from stage side you will not need as much focal length than if you are shooting from a balcony at the back of the venue.
The further you are from the stage, the less light you'll have to work with too (inverse square law).
So access will also have a bearing on what equipment you may need.

Being able to attend rehearsals would be very helpful.

 

[wyogirl]

^^ What Keith said about going to rehearsals is a big one. I used to run a community theater. Rehearsal is the best time to photograph because you can move freely around the theater to get the shot you want, and a lot of times you will have more than one opportunity to photograph a particular scene. You usually can't use a tripod during shows, but you often can use one during rehearsal.

 

[deeky]

Most shots of the theater are not actually taken during a performance or even in the middle of rehearsal. They are moments in the scene specifically set up for taking show stills. Plan ahead and work with the director to identify those specific moments in the blocking that will give a lot of visual story. This will make your time there much more efficient and they will hold a pose so you can get more than one shot of a set up.

Finally, lighting - most theatrical lighting is great for atmosphere for the human eye, but too low for photography. Having a specific photo session allows you more options to control the lighting. The lighting board operator (if they are worth their salt), can grab all the current channels for a scene and bump them up 20% or so. That will keep the same mix and look when transferred to digital image and still give you enough light to get crisp, sharp images.

 

[table1349]

Go to several rehearsals and shoot the dress rehearsals. I have never bothered to stage shots for the most part. Like sports photography, know the performance, know what you want to get, anticipate, be on/close to the stage out of the way and use fast glass to allow for the necessary shutter speed. Also, do a CUSTOM WHITE BALANCE before you shoot. Stage/production lights can range in color temp quite a bit. You may even need to do several custom W/B's depending on the lighting setups. A good light meter can also help if you have one.

 

[Virgil]

If u want a zoom, a 70/200 2.8 might do you well.

 

[DGMPhotography]

Wow, thanks for the advice here! Fast glass is definitely a priority. For now I will have to make do with high ISO but once I'm making the big bucks I'll probably get a fancy lens.

And I definitely agree with dress rehearsals, though I didn't even think to photograph them instead of the actual event! It would certainly help with the picture taking, but does anyone else feel like it might be dishonest?

 

[Derrel]

Hello!

I was wondering if anyone had some experience with theater photography they'd like to share! I love shooting events like plays and concerts and the like, and was hoping for some advice from those with experience. I will be doing some more in the future.

What do you like about it? What do you not like about it?

What are some things to look out for, what equipment do you recommend?

Is this a good lens for it? Nikon | Imaging Products | AF-S NIKKOR 24-120mm f/4G ED VR (5x)

This is a article a read about it which gave me some ideas... 9 Essential Tips to Shoot Classic Theater ? Photography ? Tuts+

Thanks!

Well...I took some naughty, naughty pics of an amateur actress one weekend, wayyyy late in the evening....oh...wait, that's probably TMI...

24-120 f/4 VR? It has a reputation as a slightly-average Nikon made zoom. It's an f/4 lens, if that makes any difference. It DOES have a decent range of focal lengths in one, single lens barrel. ANd the range on FX is pretty useful...24mm is wide-angle on FX< and 120 is a decent medium tele focal length. Now that we've moved into the era of uber-high in-camera ISO's with Hi-0.2 and High 0.7 and so on being in the six-digit zone, an f/4 lens is far from being the albatross that it once was. You'll have the ability to do wide shots, as well as some decent semi-close shots from one, single camera posityion, without futzing around and changing lenses all the time.

 

[Steve5D]

I've shot one play in my life: My Fair Lady back in high school in 1978. I used a Canon TLb and a Vivitar 70-200mm lens.

Concerts? Those I shoot. I don't really shoot local clubs anymore, so lighting is less of an issue. I use f/2.8 lenses (and the occasional f/1.8), and both full frame and crop bodies.

I would imagine that shooting a play wouldn't be too different, but that's a guess. The only concern I would have would be that plays tend to use lighting much more to create a mood, which could make it a bit more challenging...

 

[robbins.photo]

Well...I took some naughty, naughty pics of an amateur actress one weekend, wayyyy late in the evening....oh...wait, that's probably TMI...

No, I think we could stand to hear a little more..

lol

 

[Steve5D]

I found essential the stabilization because it permits to you more options. I used a 70-200 f/4 IS and it was necessary, because of the low light, to shot often at 1/80. If I had not the stabilizer many images would have been ruined by the shake. An other obvious suggestion is try to get there early and get in a good position

I'm going to disagree with this.

Image stabilization allows you to shoot at a slower shutter speed by mitigating the movement of the camera. That's great for stationary objects, but not so much for actors and/or musicians. It does nothing to compensate for a moving subject...

 

[Estevam]

I use center-wheighted metering, what are You using?
I shoot my kids with other kids around on dance presentations, using the 50mm f:1.8.

 

[DGMPhotography]

I use center-wheighted metering, what are You using?
I shoot my kids with other kids around on dance presentations, using the 50mm f:1.8.

I actually haven't experimented much with metering. I usually leave it on matrix metering and if I don't like the results I just ignore the meter and change stuff till I like it.