Lights, Action, Camera - its show time
The adrenalin is pumping; a thousand butterflies have taken up
residence in a hundred stomachs, and tonight is the night. In a
few minutes the curtain will rise and the performers will strut
their stuff before the assembled throng. Its show time. This is
what makes live performances so appealing and what the
photographer wants to capture, that magical moment when the
performer and audience are as one.
Be it the end of year ballet school recital or grand opera there
will be these moments in every performance. This is when every
photographer becomes a street photographer because no one can
predict when these moments will appear. The set up and rehearsal
shots just don't cut it, these shots can't be manufactured, they
just happen. The street photographer's mantra comes in to full
play here, travel light and have lots of film.
When shooting live shows your film speed will become your
greatest friend. If you shoot digital learn to switch between
the ISO settings of your camera with a few thumb clicks, if your
shooting film have several cameras each loaded with a different
speed film. As a rule of thumb 400, 800 & 1600 should cover most
situations, just remember the higher the speed the greater the
grain. Another advantage of using a range of ISO's is you can
leave the aperture and shutter settings to the camera. Which 9
times out of 10 will be quicker and more accurate than either
you or I could ever hope to be. This can be fast paced stuff, so
much so that at times focusing can be problematical.
Using your flash to compensate for the lack of film speed is a
no, no for several reasons.
Using your flash will gain you no friends with your fellow
patrons and the down right ire of the production staff. They
have spent several hours getting the scene to look just right
only to have it ruined by the Joe in the third row with their
bloody flash. If you are close enough for your flash to actually
work, the scene you wanted to capture won't be in the camera .
Using your flash is the best way I know to get the tap on the
shoulder followed by a request to leave from the really big
Usher.
Using your flash is dangerous for the performer. A performer
momentarily blinded by a flash loses concentration and
orientation. Imagine a trapeze catcher momentarily blinded just
before a catch. The dancer spinning on one toe, flash, wobble,
wobble, crash. It could be a real show stopper, literally. Now
you wouldn't want that on your conscience, would you?
Rest assured, in the majority of cases the stage lighting is
more than adequate for photography purposes. It does, however
tend to be uneven and the best light is when the subject is
being lit by spill rather than in a direct beam of light. Taking
several shots as the subject moves about the stage should
produce at least one good one, remember lots of film. This is
where, outside of sport, the continuous drive mode on the more
expensive cameras comes in handy.
The down side to these cameras is their several auto focus
points which can be a real pain in the proverbial. Never too
sure which part of the scene the camera has decided to focus
upon. Switch it off and just use one point, set your focus and
recompose the picture as desired.
Likewise a tripod is more of a hindrance than a help, awkward to
lug about and set up. Your fellow patrons are just as likely to
knock it at the crucial moment if you're in an open venue and it
will cost you an extra couple of seats if you're in a seated
auditorium. Better to shoot hand held and if your budget will
stretch to it an IS lens is an added advantage. It is comforting
to know that any motion blur is from the performers rather than
the photographer.
Fortunately there are medium telephotos that come with image
stabilization. This is my preferred lens for this kind of
shooting, especially if static in C22. A medium telephoto will
give you the greatest range of possibilities, fiddling with
primes is very difficult to get right before the moment is gone.
Although if you're in an open venue they can work, just remember
Robert Capa's words of wisdom "If your pictures aren't good
enough, you're not close enough."
In an open venue such as hall, a night club or a bar your
freedom of movement will be an asset to getting that great shot.
You can shoot from the side, from the front, up the lead
singer's trouser leg or from the balcony. Do resist the
temptation to climb on the speaker stacks. Sound engineers take
a very dim view of this and more than likely will dispatch the
biggest and meanest roadie in your direction with orders if not
to kill, to at least maim seriously.
In the more formal environment of a tiered auditorium you should
be far enough back so you can see something of the stage floor.
You don't want the performers in all your shots to be cut off at
the ankles. Also get your seats as central as possible. It is
usual for the production values of a show to be set from the
centre of the auditorium. The director, the lighting designer
and the stage designer will huddle together there making the
final adjustments to the look of the show and the performers
will instinctively direct their performances at them.
But before you start implementing any of the above pearls, do
get permission not only from the venue and organizers but also
the performers. You are photographing on private property, even
if owned by the local council, and will at least require the
venue manager's green light. The organizers, producer, band
management, whoever will own the copyright to the show and you
will need their permission. The same goes for your models, the
performers. Photographing your kids is fine but Mrs. Smith's
could be a very different story.
If you have thoughts of anything other than the family album,
even the internet, it would be best to get it in writing.
Property and model releases at the very least and the more
professional the show the greater the need. Getting them before
the show is the best course of action, decreases the chances of
embarrassing moments and trying to get them after the event is
very hard work if not impossible.
Then after the curtain falls and the applause fades away, you
will have some moments in your camera that will bring back fond
memories of a great night. Perhaps even earn you a dollar or two
if you have the paper work in place.