Dear photographers,
How do you take pictures inside thearters?
What's yr fave settings?
What's yr fave lens?
Lets share share share =)
Personally, I'm using a D80 with a Sigma 70-200 F2.8.
Had uped the ISO to 1600 so that I can freeze the moment but at the expense of high noise level. =/
How about you all?
I used to do a lot of theatre photography because I was studying theatre at that point in time. The rules for theatre photography are simple:
- You may be seen but not heard, try to blend into the audience and minimise operational noise (My old camera had a nifty function that allowed me to control the mirror return, enabling nearly noiseless operation). The reason behind this is that "moments" in theatre are of extreme importance. A slight cough or sneeze can completely ruin that magic pause and really throw the actor off, let alone multiple mirror slaps. In complete silence, especially during a dramatic pause, your mirror return will sound like thunder.
- No flash. Great effort is taken to light the set a particular way and you will want to capture the lighting that the lighting designer has taken so much effort to arrange. Even if the light is god-awful, avoid the use of flash to capture the mood. The use of flash will also distract the audience and the actor. Very bad.
- Try to avoid moving around. This distracts both audience and the actor. Picking a spot and staying there is the best course of action. If you find yourself missing a good angle, too bad. Knowing where to stand is part of good theatre photography as well. Consider the set and with experience you'll know roughly how the actors are going to move on it. I used to act as well, so it's a bit easier for me, but through observation you can learn as much.
*In Other Words, Photograph Without Disturbing the Performance*
Typical settings that I had to use frequently were around the region of ISO 3200, f1.4, 1/30. However, in many plays, you can often get away with ISO 1600, f2, 1/125. This is all dependent on what the lighting designer chooses to use to illuminate the actors and the set.
My favourite lens would be anything with an aperture f2 or wider. F2.8 is rather insufficient. I like a 50 or 85mm lens for small black box theatres but will prefer a 135/2 or a 200/1.8 if I could afford one for larger theatres such as Victoria Theatre. 200/2.8 can be used but doesn't always work. It's useful 50% of the time(only when lighting is good).
Noise is common, don't sweat it. Getting the moment right is far more important(know when to click and be judicious! Don't be trigger happy because it's extremely irritating for everyone.)
