Joe Gray's Ten Tips on Photography and Shooting Local Theater
Photographer Joe Gray offers ten tips on how to correctly shoot theater performers.
Article rating: 8.50
1) Get there early
"If you can, get to the know the lighting director because, he or she can let you sit there and watch them run through the lights that they're going to use during the show. It's very important so learn where the light is coming in. or where you might find some shadows to catch in your shot. You want to see where people are going to be standing, and what kind of backgrounds and props you'll see in your shots. Do some research, especially if it's a play or a dance, so you can know ahead what you're going to see on stage."
2) Pack the right equipment
"It's very important to have a telephoto lens; 70-200mm is really great for staying out of the way and shooting. A 50mm lens is great for close-up shots. Try to get lenses that have image stabilization. If you have to shoot from a distance, shoot form a tripod, especially with a telephoto lens. It does move on you, because it's heavy."
3) Get the program book
"Learn the names of who you're shooting, so you can identify the images, and know the story, so that you really know what it is that you're shooting."
4) Use the right light settings
"You have different light settings on your camera: bright day, cloudy, tungsten and so on. I use the tungsten setting since a lot of theaters use tungsten lighting."
6) Read the total environment
"Something in the spotlight means that it's important; use that fact. And when a person is not in the spotlight, whatever light is on the person's face is there for a reason. Think about the background: If your kid is in a play about flowers and there's a painted backdrop of flowers, you want to have that background in some pictures. Sitting in front of the stage, looking up at the performers, is really good. And then also make sure you get some shots from afar, encompass the whole stage."
7) Shoot the building
"Get the marquee, the lobby area, some backstage shots, get inside the dressing rooms. Shoot some of the building interior, to give people a feel for what it's like to be inside."
8) Don't use flash
"You want to capture the light that's there. Flash sometimes gives you the wrong light at the wrong time, and it'll wash out a subject. That's why it's important to get to know your aperture, your f-stop, your ISO. And also, flash distracts the performers, and it's annoying to other people around you. In high school [and other informal] settings, maybe you can shoot flash, but don't get in the habit of it. Always try to use the light that's available."
9) Stay in focus – or not
"One way to keep two people [at different planes] in focus is to find something they're both touching, like a piano that they may [variously] be sitting or standing at. I would point my camera at the piano, focus on the closest part of the piano they're both touching, bring the camera up while holding the shutter, and when they're in frame, clicking the shutter. But sometime, having one person out of focus works in a particular shot. When I first started shooting [people on stage], a lot of my shots had out-of-focus backgrounds. And that bothered me, but then I began looking at professional photo sites, and I saw how some of those photographers used out-of-focus backgrounds deliberately, to sort of focus attention on one thing and one thing only while still giving you a sense of other things on the stage."
10) Avoid taking "postcards"
"When I go to my son's football games, I look for what's out of the ordinary, like the logo on the bass drum with the stick hitting it, or the center's hand on the football just before the snap. You don't always have to look for the wide shot of the guy running. I've gotten a shot of the kicker just before he kicks the ball, with his arms out and his foot approaching the ball. If I see photographers in one spot, I'll go across the field – I'll go to a different spot, just to see what I get. And get audience shots – people watching, deep in attention, people looking at the program book. Don't worry about not shooting the usual thing."
I really enjoyed this article. What an amazing life Mr. Gray has led. I have already done some theater photography for our local English community theater here in Geneva, Switzerland. I appreciate the tips for more emotional and non postcard like shots. My photography was much appreciated by the theater group but I'm going to work on wowing them next time. Thank you!
Posted by: Renee Nov 4, 2009 @ 12:37 PM EST
The Photographic work of Mr.Joe Gray is well done.
