White Balance -- Ballet Photos

<p>I have been volunteering time taking photos for the local ballet group. Normally I shoot a couple thousand shots at the first full dress rehearsal. <br>

The lighting provides significant challenges because it is low and it constantly changes -- not only in intensity but also color -- from scene to scene.<br>

I shoot jpegs with a Canon 40D with white balance set to auto. Normally, because of the motion and low lights, shoot wide open at high isos (800-1600).<br>

I am not totally happy with the color casts of the pictures -- but am unsure how much of that is the reality of shooting under colored stage lights and how much is a function of the white balance setting on the camera.</p>

<p>Because I need to shoot a large number of pictures to get a suitable number of keepers, I am reluctant to shoot RAW.</p>

<p>Any of you have any advice on camera settings or post-processing tricks I should consider?</p>

<p>Thanks</p>

<p>Monte</p>

 

<p>You need to shoot RAW. </p>

<p>Memory cards are cheap, shoot Raw. </p>

<p>+1 for RAW. A couple of 4Gb cards will cost you possibly about $50 and take around 300 shots each. Far easier to correct later than try to adjust for changing color and levels of lighting whilst shooting. Auto white balance is never that reliable either. If you want to set a balance go for one of the presets or colour temp settings, try a few shots first and adjust to best possible on preview then fine tune later.</p>

<p>Shoot raw and at processing I usually put WB at tungsten and adjust from there. I never find it an issue although exposure is much more of an issue due to spots, dark backgrounds etc. I do a lot of spot metering with exposure locking.</p>

<p>Shoot RAW. That is the only solution that will work well for changing colors. I always try to set the color balance using a spot of the photo that is supposed to be while. Most dance companies costumes have something that is white and I pick that, and then add a bit of the color back since otherwise they look too blue to me most of the times. Also If possible I like to have a photo of the costumes taken in Flash before or after the dance so that I can try to match to that color for the main photos if possible.</p>

 

<p>I shoot ballet all the time. First three rules:<br>

1. Do not use flash. <br>

2. Do not use flash. <br>

3. Do not use flash. <br>

Ever.<br>

The rest:<br>

Shoot RAW. You will want the extra exposure latitude. To make it easier, use Tungsten WB. Do not find something white and balance for that. Under a colored gel, that white thing is *supposed* to be colored. Shooting tungsten compensates for the color temperature of the incandescent source in front of the gel. You can then 'tweak' it in post if you have a RAW file. <br>

Your 40D should provide good results at ISO1600 and ISO3200 if you don't print too big. LR3 or NoiseNinja do a good job of cleaning up images up to 8x10 size.<br>

Set the camera in Tv mode and enable 'Safety Shift' in the custom functions. Set the shutter for 1/250 (faster if you can). Safety shift will use that shutter speed as a floor until you run out of aperture, then it will start to slow down as things get dark. When they lighten up again it'll speed up. You also should use a fast lens at least f/2.8. <br>

Set the exposure mode to Evaluative. I've tried them all on the 10D to the 5DmkII and I've found that the evaluative mode delivers the best results. BUT... you DO need to learn to use exposure compensation and recognize when to use it. I usually keep it at around a -1/3... but many times I'll go as low as -2 and if I could go further I would. Just like any digital exposure, you try not to blow out the highlights. Given the time of year, I suspect you're shooting a Nutcracker? The Snow scene will probably be a -1 to -1.5. The scene where Clara is running around in her white nightgown right before the rats appear can be a -2 EC. Use the overexposure alert and histogram as an aid.</p>

<p>Like everybody else has said, shoot RAW and adjust the white balance later on. The camera always collects RAW data. But if you decide to keep the jpeg only, the camera processes the RAW data and saves it as jpeg and then disgards the RAW data. <br>

Memory cards are cheap and there shouldn't be any good excuse to not shoot in RAW nowadays. If you pick up a 32Gb card, you should be able to store about a 1000 shot without a problem.</p>

<p>Shoot RAW+JPEG and enjoy the best of both worlds. Memory cards are huge and cheap. If your JPEG WB is hosed you'll have a RAW file to tweak for a natural look.</p>

<p>That was an awesome writeup Dave</p>

<p>Dave, just curious as to why no flash, to not disturb the performers?</p>

<p>@Mark:<br /> You are correct... there is a real chance that the flash will distract or even momentarily blind a performer (if they happen to be looking right at it) and this can be very dangerous for a dancer. Most dance performances prohibit flash at all times. I've witnessed parents and even a pro photographer from the newspaper being asked to leave for taking a flash photo. High ISO and fast lenses are required.</p>

<p>It also screws up your WB as the flash color temperature is around 6500°K and the incandescent lights are around 2500°K. Not to mention that it overpowers the colored gels.</p>

<p>Lastly it can create harsh shadows that look weird on the dancers. And unless you have a powerful strobe like the 580EXII you have to be pretty close to the dancers. Then you'll lose the background and it will look like they are dancing in front of a black cave. To really do it right you need to balance the strobe with some ambient lighting for the background. Then the strobe really becomes a fill light. I did do this a few times when we were making promotional photos and needed more fill light to lift some shadows. But it was a controlled situation, posed, and the dancers knew the flash was coming.</p>

<p>RAW all the time.</p>

<p>I use a 40D and do a lot of low light work, I Shoot Raw Only (I don't need it in two formats, only wastes memory card space), and I have found just using Digital Photo Professional to make any needed adjustment to the raw if needed then save as a Jpg, and in that format will open it in Photoshop CS3, to do any cropping or tweaking.</p>

<p>I think the RAW vote wins. It really will give you the ability to make more adjustments if the exposure and balance were off because of fast changing light levels during shooting.</p>

<p>Fast lenses really help also and is a must for low light work. There was a lot of good advice given here.</p>

<p>I've been shooting performances of a Ballet Company for over 14 years -- digital since 2003, now with a Canon 50D. Some thoughts:<br>

- Never use flash -- blinding and dangerous aside from the fact that you don't get artistic shots and you mess with the dancers. Major No No.<br>

- I've tried different metering modes but keep coming back to evaluative for best results. Also, because of dark backgrounds, I underexpose from 2/3 to 2 stops, depending on the overall lighting. In Nutcracker, the party scene might be -2/3, and the mice would likely be -2.<br>

- I set color temp to Kelvin 2800 and adjust from there<br>

- I routinely use ISO 1600 - I still get good 12 x 18 prints<br>

- A 2.8 lens is a must. My workhorse ballet lens is the Canon 70-200 2.8 L<br>

- I shoot with a ball head to get stability with the best freedom of movement to follow key dancers.<br>

- Sometimes I will shoot from the wings of the stage. It can be wild, often shooting into stage lighting on the other side, but I have some terrific shots from there.<br>

- Shooting RAW gives the best results. A 32 gig card is a great investment. A full performance can easily be 1000 - 2000 shots<br>

- After that, it is a matter of getting to know the performance and the dancers, learning to anticipate and capture key moments. <br>

Best wishes</p>