My Theater Photography

[SteveF]

I'm not sure if this belongs in portraits, but I was the production photographer for my college's production of Shakespeare's The Tempest a few weeks ago, and I'm looking for some feedback. Personally I think these are some of my best work. The fact that the lighting and set design for the show were amazing certainly helped.


tempestSteveFallon-1458 by Steve_Fallon, on Flickr


tempestSteveFallon-1319 by Steve_Fallon, on Flickr


tempestSteveFallon-389 by Steve_Fallon, on Flickr


tempestSteveFallon-888 by Steve_Fallon, on Flickr

 

[CarlTN]

In my opinion, especially evident in the second image...you're letting the color temperature of the spotlights on the actors, go too yellow. If this is how it looked to your eyes and you like how it looks...and your clients like it too, then by all means, keep doing it this way. I've only shot school and church plays in the past, but to me it always looked better to bring the color temperature closer to neutral in post, even if it didn't look like that to my eye during shooting. Your eyes/brain, at a live event, can forgive and allow for a lot...that later on...eyes looking at a printed photo, or even one displayed on the web, don't care for as much. At least that's how it's been for me. Overall it looks like you're doing fine...maybe a slightly lower to the stage perspective? I know it's easy for me to say...though! Nice job overall! And welcome to Canonrumors forum!

 

[SteveF]

This is the fourth show I've shot for my school, and I actually think I went a bit too far in post in prior productions. I do want to be accurate to the lighting designer's intentions, but I will keep what you said in mind for the next shoot I do.

With regards to angle, I was alternating between being on the lower level seating and the balcony. I thought different moments looked better from different angles. It was a really fun shoot. I had my 70D on my black rapid strap with a 70-200IS II for closeups, and I had my friend's (actually the same person that is on the ladder in the fourth picture) 60D with his 24-70 2.8 for wide shots. I was running all around the auditorium to capture the scene effectively. Ended up with about 1500 pictures, 170ish of which I handed in to them.

Also, I'm not really new here, but for some reason my old account was deleted. My old posts are still there, under the same name I'm using now, but it says I'm a guest. I only had a few posts, so it's not that important. Thanks for the warm welcome though!

 

[CarlTN]

This is the fourth show I've shot for my school, and I actually think I went a bit too far in post in prior productions. I do want to be accurate to the lighting designer's intentions, but I will keep what you said in mind for the next shoot I do.

With regards to angle, I was alternating between being on the lower level seating and the balcony. I thought different moments looked better from different angles. It was a really fun shoot. I had my 70D on my black rapid strap with a 70-200IS II for closeups, and I had my friend's (actually the same person that is on the ladder in the fourth picture) 60D with his 24-70 2.8 for wide shots. I was running all around the auditorium to capture the scene effectively. Ended up with about 1500 pictures, 170ish of which I handed in to them.

Also, I'm not really new here, but for some reason my old account was deleted. My old posts are still there, under the same name I'm using now, but it says I'm a guest. I only had a few posts, so it's not that important. Thanks for the warm welcome though!

You're welcome. Sounds like you were working hard at that shoot!

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

Theater photography is fun. I produce photo books for the cast, and never use flash. The color temperature is determined by the stage lighting, it can look awful if I try to correct it, since there is often not the right color mix to produce whites.

This is a ISO 16000 image with blue spotlights on the actors as they walk thru the audience. Its very dark, but the 5D MK III did a better job than I expected. The wide open lens did produce a shallow depth of field, but that could not be helped.

 

[CarlTN]

Theater photography is fun. I produce photo books for the cast, and never use flash. The color temperature is determined by the stage lighting, it can look awful if I try to correct it, since there is often not the right color mix to produce whites.

This is a ISO 16000 image with blue spotlights on the actors as they walk thru the audience. Its very dark, but the 5D MK III did a better job than I expected. The wide open lens did produce a shallow depth of field, but that could not be helped.

Not bad, I assume the 70-200 ii?

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

Not bad, I assume the 70-200 ii?

Sorry, I did not mention the lens and setting.

Camera	Canon EOS 5D Mark III
ISO	16000
Focal Length	85mm (Canon EF 85mm f/1.8)
Aperture	f/2
Exposure Time	0.008s (1/125) The subjects were moving, so this is a slow as I wanted to go)