Comments on: How to Photograph Dance Performances: A Practical Guide

By: Genesis Now

Genesis Now — Thu, 18 Jul 2024 09:48:45 +0000

Absolutely love this in-depth guide! Especially the advice on choosing the right seat. Having the essentials like a zoom lens and a camera that handles low light well will definitely make a big difference too. Can't wait to put these tips into practice!

By: Ray Toh

Ray Toh — Tue, 05 Dec 2017 05:13:00 +0000

In reply to Barani.

Great work keep it up.

Stage Performances (low light) shooting are huge challenges for many photographers (even those tutor level photographers) as anticipation and observation is very important apart from controlling your camera and many failed.

Still remember in most shooting I have to control 5 devices in one performance (2 camera s on my shoulder, one behind the back curtain (with just the lense exposed) via iphone and 2 Gopro….

By: Barani

Barani — Tue, 05 Dec 2017 04:26:00 +0000

Nice article. I almost did most of the points except attending the rehearsal as I couldn’t do last time. I managed with my APS-C in a show. You can visit my photos at instagram.com/gbarani

By: Ian Manning

Ian Manning — Tue, 09 Aug 2016 17:49:00 +0000

In reply to Denise Edmondson.

It’s always going to be a compromise but there are a few tricks.

First it will depend on whether you have control over the dancers and lighting.

if you do then you will want a shutter speed of 1/500 or 1/1000, you can choose the aperture to give your depth of field as it will depend on which way the dancer is moving relative to the camera. Across the lens you can get away with a wide aperture and shallow depth of field. Towards or away from the lens and you will need a larger depth of field and so a smaller aperture. Then adjust your lighting to suit and keep your iso low.

If you don’t have control over the Dancer or lighting which is the normal situation things get more complicated. Speed and low light are the problem and don’t go well together. 1/500 should be good for stopping the motion, you will probably have to use your lens on its maximum aperture to get enough light then let your camera sort out the ISO. Yes that’s what I said let the camera sort out the ISO, unfortunately if you don’t have the luxury of getting the dancers to do it multiple times and the lighting is changing form moment to moment guessing at your ISO just doesn’t work most of the time. If you need a bit more depth of field then drop the speed to 1/250 and close the aperture one stop you may get some blur at the extremities, fingers and feet but with dancers this can look ok as it shows the movement. I have got away with 1/125 before because the dancers aren’t actually moving very fast in the middle of the leap, they often keep their arms and legs in one position.

Shoot raw so that you can play with a shot that is a little too dark. Normally the histogram looks horrible at a dance show (compared to what most are expecting) so if you get the chance review the good shots you get to see what the histogram looks like and that way you will be better next time.

Go to the rehearsals if you can.

Good luck

Ian

By: Richard Taylor

Richard Taylor — Sun, 07 Aug 2016 06:57:00 +0000

In reply to Denise Edmondson. Yes, with older bodies. With new bodies that are ok at ISO 6400 or higher f2.8 lenses used wide open may be OK (nowdays I am using a pair of bodies, one a 24-80 (equivalent in 35mm terns) f2.8 zoom and an 80-300 (equivalent in 35mm terns) f2.8 and shooting at very high ISO (6400+) values.

By: Denise Edmondson

Denise Edmondson — Sun, 07 Aug 2016 06:01:00 +0000

In reply to Ian Manning. If you had a dancer in a leap & and a little dark, what would your camera settings be on when your using manual mode? F stop, shutter speed, iso.

By: Denise Edmondson

Denise Edmondson — Sun, 07 Aug 2016 05:56:00 +0000

In reply to Richard Taylor. What are you talking about? Lens that at f2?

By: stina3246

stina3246 — Mon, 13 Apr 2015 17:39:00 +0000

Great info thank you. Attending the rehearsals is one of the best pieces of advise. I have done photos for several dance troops and I always go to the last rehearsal. If they are doing a dress rehearsal you can often get the best shots then! Normally no one minds if you move around, you often have the seats to yourself and can even use a flash if needed. During some dress rehearsals they have even let me on stage to get great angles. Then during the actual show I can concentrate on getting the shots with what ever lighting they are using and I already have a good idea of where to train my camera in order to catch the leap or spin. Works out great.

By: Sayuri Yamamoto

Sayuri Yamamoto — Fri, 10 Apr 2015 23:23:00 +0000

I loved taking this Picture… and many others!

By: Ian Manning

Ian Manning — Fri, 10 Apr 2015 10:27:00 +0000

Another tool that I find invaluable at the rehearsals is a small 3 or 4 step, stepladder. You can place it in the gap between the front row of seats and the stage (which is usually larger than any other row) You can now stand at eye level with the dancers but as you are not actually on the stage you do not interfere with the performance. An added bonus of this is that as you are now so visible to the performers you tend to get a lot more eye contact.
A common problem with dance shows is the use of a single colour lighting to add drama to a particular dance and not even raw can cope with this. If you are able to chat with the lighting director you may be able to request that they do not saturate the stage with a single colour during one rehearsal. Simply leaving the white lights on over the stage and now turning the single colour (often Red) up to full power will not affect the dancers but will allow you to get your shots. I often attend multiple rehearsals so that I can identify those impossible lighting times, then take an example photo with me to the next rehearsal so that I can work with the lighting director and my client to get what we need.