Shoot at a dance performance - need help!

[ania_nadybska]

<p>Hi all! I am a beginner in photography, and I just got an amzing opportunity of shooting a contemporary dance performance at a local theater.<br>

Having said that I am looking for advice and tips on the best settings and techniques for shooting that kind of an event. The light is usually pretty dimmed...<br>

I will have a friend to help, and our equipment will be<br>

Canon Rebel XTi<br>

Canon 30D<br>

2 tripods<br>

Clicker<br>

External flash (just got it - no idea how to use it yet - any tips?)<br>

Lens:<br>

18-200mm<br>

10-22mm<br>

16-55mm<br>

50mm1/8f<br>

and 28-270 (i think)<br>

Any advice would be much appreciate it! Thanks so much!<br>

I am so excited about this opportunjity and hope to have some amazing shots!<br>

Thanks so much!!!</p>

 

[Wouter Willemse]

<p>Are they OK with flash? Usually, in theatres, they're not huge fans of flashes going off. It may also be very distracting to the dancers and other visitors.<br>

So, let's assume for now you need to shoot with available light. Because of the motion of the dancers and the dimmed light, it will be hard to get slow shutterspeeds... so the fastest lens of them all sounds like the most useful (the 50mm f/1.8). I'm not familiar with all lenses you list, but most 18-200 have too slow apertures, and 28-270 would be the same deal. Ideally, you need lenses with low aperture values like f/2.8.<br>

Next, the camera will probably be on a high ISO value (800, 1600 if that does not compromise image quality too much). So, with a big aperture (low f/ value) and high ISO, you can get reasonable shutterspeeds with relatively little light.<br>

Use a tripod if/when you can, but it will mean quite static images (composition wise).</p>

<p>I don't know if people will depend on your pictures in any way or whether it is pure hobby; but it is tricky to bring devices you do not know very well (ie. the flash); you should not try to learn how to use it at times you really do need it. So just as a word of warning, to avoid missing shots while you're figuring out how something works.</p>

[ania_nadybska]

<p>GREAT advice - thank you!<br>

I got the flash early so I will be playing arund with it so I can figure it out. The shoot is a month from now, so I hope to get some practice prior :)</p>

[lex_jenkins]

<p>Here are a few recent discussions on photographing live performance arts:<br>

Lens and Settings for Theatre Shoot: http://www.photo.net/nikon-camera-forum/00TQmw<br>

Please help ! What's the best way to shoot in theatre: http://www.photo.net/beginner-photography-questions-forum/00SjfM?unified_p=1<br>

Theatre/Event Photography on a Shoestring Budget: http://www.photo.net/nikon-camera-forum/00U7ax</p>

[ania_nadybska]

<p>Awesome! Thanks</p>

[john v.]

<p>The posts above all give good advice. One other thing I would advise is be sure you have a big storage card, or at least several smaller ones. Then, take a lot of pictures. If you're shooting a dance performance, there will obviously be a lot of movement and it will be difficult to capture a shot without blur even with the best equipment (i.e., a fast lens). Even with all the movement, there will be momentary slowdowns and/or pauses in the movement. Ideally, that is when you want to take the picture. This will be difficult to time, unless you know the dance routines. So, you best bet is to take lot of pictures - you eventually get lucky and capture the slower moments. So, have a big enough card so that you don't run out of storage space. The picture below is an example. It was my daughter's (on the right) Christmas recital. The stage was dimly lit and all I had was a Canon G2, set at ISO 200 (pretty noisy on that camera). With that setting, I could get my shutter speed as fast as 1/40 sec., and still get a usable amount of exposure. Most of my shots had blur (some pretty bad), but by the sheer volume of shots that I took, I was able to get some decent shots.</p><div></div>

[jeff_higdon]

<p>I have a fair amount of experience shooting dance recitals and rehearsals.<br>

Here are some quick thoughts.<br>

Rent a lens. Preferably the Canon 70-200 f/2.8 with or without IS (preferably with the IS).You should be able to rent it locally for something reasonable like $30 or $35 USD.<br>

The only lens you will have success with in your current arsenal is, as stated above, the 50mm. But unless you are going to be moving around the venue quite a bit, the 50mm will limit you significantly. I have had that lens in my bag for the last twenty nights of shooting and hardly used it all. It was just too limiting, even though it's plenty fast.<br>

Be prepared to take alot of shots. For that reason, I hope they will let you shoot the rehearsals where your constant clicking will not bother the other folks in the audience.<br>

Even using a fast (OK, 2.8 is not really all that fast) long zoom you will appreciate a monopod maybe even more than a tripod. The tripod can be a little restrictive but do take it anyway.<br>

Unless it's a real bright venue, be prepared to use nothing but 800 ISO or 1600 ISO.<br>

Try to get plenty of shots when the dancers are not moving. The IS will be of great help for such shots and they will probably turn out to be the best, at least the sharpest.<br>

It's doubtful you can use the flash at the actual performance. It's usually considered dangerous for the dancers.<br>

Take extra batteries for each camera and extra cards.<br>

If you are allowed to shoot at the rehearsals, try to get plenty of candid photos also - i.e. when the dancers are sitting alone mediatating or whatever. These can be the most interesting and among the sharpest you might get.<br>

Back to the lens selection - I use the 70-200 f/2.8 IS for close to 90% of my shots. I also use an 85 f/1.8 which has some of the same issues as the 50 f/1.8 but it's a great lens and you might want to rent that as well. Shooting from the back of the theater for some of your shots can give you some nice wide angle shots even with the 70-200.<br>

Good luck and please report back with your results.</p>

[jeff_higdon]

<p>A couple more things.<br>

I assume the 16-55 is the 18-55 kit lens and not the f/2.8 16-35 or the 17-55, also 2.8. They might be useful if you are right at the stage. Most stage dances are a bit far from the audience even if you are right at the stage - unlike rock concerts. Thus, wide angle and short zooms (as well as primes like the 35/2, the 50/1.4 etc.) would be great for pros shooting concerts at or on the stage, they are not so great for dance performances - again unless you like very wide shots of the entire group.<br>

Second, since you are a beginner, you might not be using the M (manual) setting on either of your cameras. If there are not alot of light changes (and, at dance performances there normally are constantly changing lights so...), using the manual setting (once you have determined the best shutter speed and aperture) can save you alot of trouble because you set it and forget it. But if the light changes alot as it should, just use the AV setting and set to the f/2.8 setting or whatever wide open setting your lens will allow (usually about 4 to 5.6 for the lenses you have) and let the cameras set the shutter speed. Also, start with 1600 ISO and see what kind of results you are getting.</p>

 

[john_liberty]

<p>You're probably going to find all of your lenses are too slow except for the 50 1.8, so go w/ that one. In situations like this you want the fastest lens you can find or you are going to have problems w/ blurred people or too much noise in your photos. Or both.</p>

<p>Pay attention to your shutter speeds and try to use at least 1/125 if there's any movement. 1/250 would be better but may not be possible w/o faster glass unless your lighting is really good.</p>

[dan_south]

<p>Yep, good advice!<br>

(1) High ISO (1600 or so)<br>

(2) Noise reduction on<br>

(3) Large aperture (the smallest f-number that a given lens provides).<br>

(4) Shoot RAW if you have software that can open RAW files.<br>

(5) White balance may be tricky. If your camera has a way to customize white balance for given lighting conditions, you can use this, but this is a tricky process, and you should practice it before the big event.</p>

<p>Here's a simpler method, albeit a less accurate one. It should get you close, and if you shoot RAW you can always change White Balance settings later.<br>

(5a) Set your White Balance to Auto.<br>

(5b) Take a shot.<br>

(5c) Review the image in your viewfinder.<br>

(5d) If your image looks VERY YELLOW, try the Incandescent white balance setting. Otherwise, leave it on Auto.</p>

 

[fabiopazzini]

<p>- Dance and theater (plays) = NO flash! (please) :-)<br>

- If the background is black (it usually is, with some scene objects), turn your exposure to -1 point at least. Or be close to that if you're shooting manual.<br>

- Try, and try. Take lots of shots. Count on the LCD as a guide, don't just trust on it (and maybe dimming the light of the LCD).<br>

- The 30D is good up to iso 1600, and ok up to 3200. The Rebel is good up to iso 800, and ok on 1600 on emergencies.<br>

- on both cameras, there's a way for you to autofocus not on the shutter button, so that you keep the same focus for several pics. It's a bit tricky to learn, but it's veeeery helpful on stage, so you don't have to be focusing on every shot on a sequence. Go on the menu 'custom functions'; then to the 'Shutter button/AE lock button' function; set it to 3:AE/AF. no AE lock (it's #3 on the Rebel, not sure if it's the same on the 30D); then use the '*' button on the back to focus (usually, it's the Exposure lock button). Try it, it's helpfull. It helps a lot when you focus on a subject, and then move the camera a bit to change the composition.<br>

- good luck, and be happy. :-)</p>