Needs Suggestions on a Theatrical Shoot

[TxPhotoShooter]

I have been asked to shoot a dress rehearsal. Stage has good lighting which drops off along the sides. I don't think I will be able to see any of the rehearsals before the shoot. My camera is a Nikon D700. And I had planned to use my 70-200VR. I can use the left and right thirds of the front of the stage and any position off stage.

The only lighting I have is a SB600 and a custom bracket. So should I try to use this for some fill light? Or set my exposure and just clean up what I can in LightRoom? My thought on not using the speedlight is that there my be low light scenes and thus their lighting effect would be lost with the flash.

Man, out of my element but excited about the challenge.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

[HotHolly]

The lighting for plays is usually better than the lighting for weddings. They also may not want you using flash. I would bring it, for some fill, but working with the ambient light will look more dramatic...which is awesome!

Also, plays are pretty long, so you'll have several chances to nail the key characters. Make sure you know if you are supposed to be shooting every character, key scenes, the curtain call, etc. That will clue you in as to what you need.

What play is it?

[acymc]

It would be great if you could manage without flash so the actors don't break character. May not work depending on what kind of shots they want. Your angles are gonna be off unless you are on the stage or on a platform/ladder. Come on guys, surely someone else has some experience to share.

[Dobick]

about ten or fifteen rows back will give you a vantage point that should be about even with the stage (or maybe slightly above)

You might also go to the balcony if one exists and shoot from a high angle. If you have a long lens that will provide some very personal interaction shots allowing you to isolate leading characters.

[TxPhotoShooter]

Originally Posted by HotHolly

Also, plays are pretty long, so you'll have several chances to nail the key characters. Make sure you know if you are supposed to be shooting every character, key scenes, the curtain call, etc. That will clue you in as to what you need.

What play is it?

Thanks for the comments HotHolly. This is a high school 2 act play of Beauty and the Beast. The performance should be very good. The school won the Class 4A OAP last year. The director wants shots of every cast member on stage and any thing else I can get.

[TxPhotoShooter]

Originally Posted by acymc

It would be great if you could manage without flash so the actors don't break character. May not work depending on what kind of shots they want. Your angles are gonna be off unless you are on the stage or on a platform/ladder. Come on guys, surely someone else has some experience to share.

Appreciate your suggestions acymc. I think you are right about using the flash. Even though they would be schooled about not breaking character, it would be tough for the newbies. I hope I can go to at least one rehearsal to note lighting and the key scenes.

[TxPhotoShooter]

Originally Posted by Dobick

about ten or fifteen rows back will give you a vantage point that should be about even with the stage (or maybe slightly above)

You might also go to the balcony if one exists and shoot from a high angle. If you have a long lens that will provide some very personal interaction shots allowing you to isolate leading characters.

Thanks Dobick. We don't have a balcony. I thought about setting up 2 short ladders in the front of the stage. Or a very solid table/desk. Like you noted, just for some elevation.

[janikphoto]

I've shot plays and musicals for major newspapers and magazines for years. It is not hard. There are often plenty of great visual moments to capture and the lighting in decent-sized theaters is just fine. You won't have a problem. Shooting professional performances at a nice theater is almost like shooting ducks in a well-lit barrel.

[DEMDeepEllumMusic]

Catch a rehearsal and mentally note their "stops/marks" on the stage-where they place themselves so the lighting guy already has them spotted without having to do excess work and then try to figure out where you should be set up for that act or part of same-if they tend to be stage left forward for 5 minutes you don't want to be standing stage right when they hit their marks. Lighting with that body hould be the least problem-no need for fill flash.

fOLKS many times if everybody is set up you can "stage" shots after a performance wth extra lighting gear if you don't need to have audience members visible in the background-extra lighting can be from the theatres own lighting people.

[HotHolly]

Originally Posted by TxPhotoShooter

Thanks for the comments HotHolly. This is a high school 2 act play of Beauty and the Beast. The performance should be very good. The school won the Class 4A OAP last year. The director wants shots of every cast member on stage and any thing else I can get.

That play is GREAT! It has wicked cool costumes - no doubt they will want shots where you can see the actor's face AND the costume. The lighting should be pretty good most of the time too. If I recall correctly, they use blue lights when they transform the beast in that one, and it gets pretty dark.

Have fun!

[brewercm]

I had gotten a tip to set my WB to 3200K if just using the stage lights for dance recitals where flash was not allowed. On my D90 the closest setting was 3150K but it was just about spot on for getting the shots using the available light which was much more dramatic for the images.

It was explained to me that although the light filters used constantly changed colors the actual light from the stage lights was still a constant 3200K.

[Arcusmedia]

I shoot ALOT of Theater Here in Dallas. Most of them maybe all of them do not allow flash. The Secret is to Crank Your Iso up to 400 - 800 and have a shutter Speed of 60 - 100. I think I said that right. You have to use what lighting you have and I know its not easy.

Best of luck!

972-467-1123 if you need anything else!

[TxPhotoShooter]

Thanks everone. I have jotted down some notes and I hope to get in the theater before the shoot so I can ckeck some things out.

[bobcool]

David,

I have shot a LOT of dance recitals and competitions when my daughter was in competitive dance. Since this is a dress rehearsal and not the actual play, I would also suggest to bring a monopod at the least and a tripod if you have one. I have the exact same setup as you - D700 and 70-200 2.8 VR - what a sweet combination and perfect for this type of photography. Depending upon how much you want to freeze the action (this is a musical play, right? Beauty and the Beast?), crank up the ISO until you get a shutter speed of at least 1/400 when dancing - otherwise you will get movement blur. Here's a checklist for you:

1. Enable Auto-ISO and set the minimum shutter speed to around 1/200 with a Max ISO of 6400 (or higher if you feel the need)
2. Set your exposure metering to Spot Metering - very important if you plan on shooting in Aperture priority.
3. If you plan on shooting manual, start out at 1/200 and raise the shutter speed when a dance sequence begins.
4. Use a tripod or monopod.
5. Make sure your focus setting on the lens is set to 2.5m to infinity
6. Pick a spot about 10 rows back so you can get most of the stage but still zoom in to get closeup shots.
7. Unless you'll be dragging the shutter, turn VR off - it delays focusing sometimes and you may miss a nice peak dancing move or jump.
8. Shoot RAW so you can recover blown highlights or bring up shadows more cleanly than shooting .jpgs.

Hope this helps!

[TxPhotoShooter]

Once again, thanks to all for their suggestions. I believe I was able to get plenty of good shots although I have not really begun to process all of them yet. I did select a few to process because I was curious to see some results. I have posted them in another thread. All your help was invaluable.

David