Take Better Photos - Performance Photography

Anyone who has ever tried to take photos during either a dramatic performance or a sports game probably knows how incredibly difficult it can be. Your subject is constantly moving, lighting conditions are usually less than ideal and using your flash is often a huge no-no.

So today I decided to share with you my Top Five tips to help improve your performance photographs; next week we can talk about sports photographs - however many of these tips will translate very nicely from the stage to the stadium.

Here we go!

1. When possible, check out a dress rehearsal or two
   Getting a feel for the rhythm of a show can make all the difference in the world for your shots. You will also become familiar with the more dramatic moments of the show, which can sometimes become more difficult to photograph because of heightened movement and lighting changes. A little practice goes a long way.
   
   
   
2. Scope out the lighting
   Are there darker portions of the stage where the actors might be in partial shadow? Sometimes, even when you think you might not have enough light, you may find that you get a very interesting play of lights and darks.
   Are there areas of the stage that are brightly lit? You may have to compensate by stopping down so that your image doesn't get blown out. That means you may have to make your shutter speed faster or your aperture opening smaller.
   
   
3. So let's talk settings
   How you actually photograph a performance is going to vary based on the kind of performance you are viewing.
   There have been shows I've seen where there is enough light that you can shoot at an ISO of 400. Earlier this week I was photographing Macbeth, using an ISO of 1000. So what does that mean? Yup, Macbeth has a lot less ambient light.
   Now depending on your camera, you might get a lot more digital noise or grain at 1000 vs 400. However, the benefit of shooting at an ISO of 1000 is that you can shoot at a faster shutter speed than at 400 and still let in enough light.
   
   In general I like to shoot with a relatively wide aperture. One reason is that you let in more light (are we seeing a running theme here maybe?), and another is that you get a shallower depth of field. So what does that mean? Well, the depth of field is the portion of a scene that appears acceptably sharp in the image. So a shallow depth of field means that only a small part of your image will be in focus - the benefit being that the eye will instantly be drawn to the portion that is in focus. This can create a sense of atmosphere and mood in your photos.
   
   
4. Move around
   Here is another reason to try to check out a dress rehearsal! It's just a tad harder to get shots from various angles in the middle of a performance. However, if you can only make it to a production night try scoping out couple of empty seats. You can switch up your location during intermission and try to capture the show from a couple of different interesting perspectives.
   
   
5. Vary your composition
   Do you have a zoom lens? Or maybe there is an empty seat right up in the front row? When you get closer to the action you have the opportunity to get some really nice character shots. If you can sneak to the back of the audience, you might be able to get some wide shots of the ensemble and the set.
   
   
   So what do you think? Do you feel more readily prepared to photograph the next school show? Are there any other concerns or questions you have about performance photography? Let me know!
   
   

Have a great Thursday!

Best,

Jen