Sega dance photography

[anda_m]

Hello, we'll be attending soon a sega dance performance (in low light and with a brighter background- AT THE BEACH) and I'd like to have the dancer's face sharp in focus, while her dress will be blurred in a rotating movement, something like here, <a rel="nofollow" href=" target="_blank"> My idea of doing that is to use shutter priority (I think 1/30 would give me a good dress blur), ISO 600 and whatever aperture camera suggests, focusing (auto) on her face. Would this be the right approach? Because of the brighter background, shall I meter off of her face as I don't want her face underexposed? Shall I use continuous mode? Also to composition, shall I compose tighter than in the example image?<br /> many thanks.<br /> Anda</blockquote>

[mariosforsos]

<p>I can't see the image you linked, but if I were in this situation, I'd go full manual rather than have the camera decide anything for me. 1/30th should work (but you MAY have to go even slower, depending on the rhythm of the dance), that however is not your problem. Your biggest problem will be to pick a dancer who can maintain the head relatively still (or completely still, as some can) while moving their hips AND hold your camera perfectly steady while keeping the shutter open for 1/20th of a second - not the easiest task. A monopod might be a good idea OR a heavily focused flash (maybe even snooted) and shoot adjusting your camera to fire the flash at the rear curtain, something which would allow everything to move and blur while the face, which will be lit by the flash, gets frozen.</p>

[anda_m]

<p>Marios, thanks so much! I haven't thought of the flash and I have that honl strap that I've never used... Let me summarize see if I understand correctly and I have 2 questions, at the end:<br>

1. I chose f/5.6 and 1/20 shutter speed in Manual Mode<br>

2. I put the honl strap on my SB-600, orient it towards her face and fire it at the rear curtain<br>

3. Shoot in single mode<br>

Questions:<br>

1. How do I chose the apperture and the shutter speed? From where do I take the meter reading? Do I just use the aperture and speed that I'd like and then only adjust the flash output?<br>

2. If I use the flash, wouldn't her face be lit while the rest of her body too dark even if I use rear curtain sync? How about the background? Can I also have a nice sunset beach scene well exposed ?<br>

3. Would a gel help? Which one would be best?</p>

<p>Thanks again! Asking questions here is better than taking a workshop!</p>

<p>(</p>

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[jtk]

<p>Part of the answer is here somewhere...</p>

<p>www.strobist.com</p>

 

[dbcooper]

<p>Sounds to me like you're on the right track. Just a thought...you might also consider a few shots in manual to hold both shutter speed <em>and</em> aperture (for depth of field), and let the camera adjust ISO to suit the exposure.</p>

<p>Marios' idea about using flash would really 'pop' the colors of the dancer's dress - it looks dull in the photo you linked to, and her face is hard to see. I think at least some fill flash would have made the photo look a lot better. If you use a flash, you could also balance the overly-bright background at the same time. Using second-curtain sync or slow sync might yield some good results, and might look quite compelling around sunset.</p>

<p>As far as the head goes, dancers often hold their head still at some point while they turn their body to 'anchor' the spin (e.g. 'spotting action' with ballet pirouette). If you watch for a few moments, you may be able to anticipate when a dancer will be holding their head relatively still. A flash would help 'freeze' that moment as well. Some strength of CTO gel would warm the flash, and would be appropriate to balance the flash's color against ambient as it gets later in the day; I'd go warmer toward sunset. After sunset, CTO would tend to match firelight better than no gel, but coolness from not using a gel might be better depending on the sky color and surroundings post-sunset. Experiment.</p>

<p>I would at least try spot metering the dancer's face, being aware of compensating exposure according to the skin tone...the meter may be 'tricked' into overexposing with darker-skinned people. I think the meter in the photo was tricked into underexposing because of the bright background (especially the water). I wouldn't continuously meter if skin tone and hair color are very different - it could throw exposure readings all over the place. I would use single-shot auto-focus (not continuous), select a single focus point in the camera (the center one), and lock metering and focus then recompose and shoot when the moment is just right. If the light is poor (very dark skin + shadows) or contrast is low on the focus point (the face), the camera may have difficulty getting focus lock reliably using continuous auto-focus. I would shoot raw in manual mode, and adjust all in-camera jpg settings to be as neutral as possible beforehand since the jpg settings are applied to the LCD review. I would chimp a lot and adjust exposure and flash as needed, especially if light conditions are quickly changing around sunset.</p>

<p>As for composition, the photos on your home page look well-composed to me. Trust your instincts. IMO you have a good eye. If in doubt, I'd shoot a little loose and crop later in post. Cropping in post is easier than adding in post if the shot is too tight, for sure.</p>

[anda_m]

<p>Thanks, D.B. COOPER, always helpful! Indeed another good idea, let the camera chose the ISO, but I will limit the max to 1200. You have anticipated my next question: indeed, the dancers are dark-skinned, thus underexposure . So, I'd add a step 0 above:<br>

0. In manual mode, spot meter her face, -underexpose a bit-, lock exposure.<br>

I tried something similar here: <a href=" I was on a tripod to shoot the sunset, when this girl playing with fire appeared. I would have liked her face sharp, while keeping the streaks of fire and the sunset colours. I only had one shot and I didn't manage to get that, I didn't have time to think...I guess I should have used the flash to freeze her head.<br>

Thanks for your time and help! Thanks for watching my pics.</p>

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[dbcooper]

<p>Check out the <a href="http://www.joemcnally.com/blog/2009/02/22/its-doneits-real/">cover shot on this book</a>. I have a copy and it's an excellent resource for hot shoe flash use. In case you haven't heard of Joe McNally, he's a photographer for National Geographic, Newsweek, and other publications. The strobist blog that John mentioned is very worthwhile to follow, and there are excercises you can try in the Lighting Archives there. Actually, the strobist guy, David Hobby, and Joe McNally are on a workshop tour together around the US right now called 'The Flash Bus' that's all about hot shoe flash. Hobby is more about manual flash and McNally is a Nikon CLS guy, but there's loads of useful information for everyone at their blogs.</p>

[anda_m]

<p>Thanks so much! I wanted exactly something like this in my shot, but I am only a total newbie and that girl really came unexpectedly! I've read McNally's " the Moment it clicks", but I didn't like it so much so I didn't buy this one. Such a workshop would be super, if only...I were in the States...if only...Thanks again</p>