Lighting High School stage

[Lutefisklover]

Greetings;

I shoot a lot of theatre and dance events for my kid’s High School under typical harsh stage lighting. I’ve been able to figure out how to get acceptable non-flash photos during the event (40D, ISO 1600, fast lens' wide open, tripod), but I’d like to take the quality up a notch.

I’m thinking of trying strobes during the dress rehearsals to get a little more DOF, a little faster shutter speeds, and a little less directional lighting. However, I don’t want to impose a strong presence or interrupt the rehearsal.

I have no experience using strobes, but I’ve been reading a fair amount and I have several months before the next stage performance. I would appreciate any advice on how I might light a large stage while minimizing interference to the performers. At this point, I’m focused more on figuring out the possibilities than worrying about the cost (although cost will clearly factor into the final decision).

Many thanks,
Rick

[londonblue007]

Greetings;

I shoot a lot of theatre and dance events for my kid’s High School under typical harsh stage lighting. I’ve been able to figure out how to get acceptable non-flash photos during the event (40D, ISO 1600, fast lens' wide open, tripod), but I’d like to take the quality up a notch.

I’m thinking of trying strobes during the dress rehearsals to get a little more DOF, a little faster shutter speeds, and a little less directional lighting. However, I don’t want to impose a strong presence or interrupt the rehearsal.

I have no experience using strobes, but I’ve been reading a fair amount and I have several months before the next stage performance. I would appreciate any advice on how I might light a large stage while minimizing interference to the performers. At this point, I’m focused more on figuring out the possibilities than worrying about the cost (although cost will clearly factor into the final decision).

Many thanks,
Rick

Rick,

I just saw your post. Sorry.

As a photographer, I feel your pain. As a lighting designer... I don't feel your pain.

The lighting for a show has been designed for a very specific reason. To help give a mood, feeling, or location to the stage. You'll find it splotchy or highly directional for a reason. Sometimes it is as simple as the show is 'A Mid Summer Nights Dream' and the director wants the appearance of light coming through the leaves of trees. So, the designer would use a Gobo that only allows pinpricks of light onto the stage. Much like a real forest.

As far as the photography side... Strobes will only ruin what the director and designers have worked so hard to create. I understand the need for maybe more DoF or quality, etc, but I wouldn't recommend strobes as the fix.

You've said you already are using a tripod, and fast lenses. What lenses exactly?

Have you thought about asking the director for some time to shoot specific moments? My old high school director was always very open to staging the best moments of the show specifically for photographers. (We had a lot of photographers show up, press and others... my high school has the best theatre program in the state, borderline performing arts high school).
We would stage the "moment", and then the actors would 'freeze' their movements. The tech's in the booth (me), would pump the lights to max, and the photographers would do their thing.
Example of the lighting side. Say for a certain scene, we would normally have the master fader at 40%, we would bump the master to 100%, which would boost the light level on stage, while keeping all of the lights at their appropriate levels. (If fixture 22 was supposed to be 20%, it would then be 50%)
We did this all the time (they still do too). All the director asked in return were single 8x10 prints of the best 4 or 5 shots. (This was back in the early digital days, mostly film though, 1999/2000, now he asks for printable files for 8x10's). Most photographers were more then happy to oblige. This is why my high school has TONS of framed 8x10's hanging on the lobby walls for every show from 1991 to now (a dozen per show, 2 shows a year, 18 years).

[Lutefisklover]

Many thanks for the response. I'll check into using your approach--it sounds much preferable to using strobes.
The lens that I've used for events include: 24/f1.4; 50/f1.4; 85/f1.8; 135/f2.0; 70-200/f2.8IS; and a 300/f2.8. All of them have come in handy depending on the situation.