How much color correction is too much for performing arts pictures?

Learning to use PS and PP for photos has been fun, but has also left me with a few (probably dumb) questions expecially related to concert shots. Whenever I read about PP I always see sections on color correction and removing color casts. When shooting shows with colored lighting there is generally a cast. Should I be trying to remove it or lessen it? An example from the Chinese Acrobats show I posted previously:

1. Lots of red light during this segment. This is pretty true to what was seen:

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i think it all comes to down to personal preference (or client preference). personally, i like the 2nd one.

if there's obvious non-normal lighting (blue or green lights), i tend to leave 'em in. if it's flooded w/ red, i tend to B&W them. i do white balance adjustments, though, so i guess i tend to correct for color a lot.

Keep in mind that lighting design is part of the art being performed. Colored lighting is used for a reason. In a well-designed show, it is part of a carefully coordinated effort to integrate the lighting with the costumes, set pieces, backdrops, etc.

Our brains try to compensate for the effects of colored gels, so the image captured by the camera will often be much more dramatic than what we see live.

When I do theatre, my usual approach is to set the camera on tungsten and not mess with the color. I have plenty of other things to worry about, and I deliver hundreds of images with a few days' turnaround. There is little point in trying to make the colors look "natural" when it was never intended to look that way.

Of the two images above, I like the first one better.

A very interesting discussion point. I suspect that there is no "right" or "wrong" answer here, it's more an issue of personal preference.

There will be differences depending on what type of event you are shooting - what is appropriate for a classical ballet will be wrong for a rock concert. And even within a single show, different scenes will call for different effects. You may want to correct for excessive colour in the lighting for a love duet, where the red may well be appropriate for the scene containing the descent into Hades!

In the case you show, I prefer the second picture. But I am aware that when I take show photos and correct them for colour, I am quite often unhappy that I seem to have excessively washed-out photographs. I am hoping to get the Margulis book that Rutt recommends for my Christmas, maybe that will help me

I am very impressed with the colour accuracy of the postings that Curtis has made - were they really just shot in JPG with Tungsten colour balance? The skin tones look very good.

regards,
/alan

The lighting director/coordinator would really hate you if you presented that second one to him/her. They work really hard to get the lighting just right for the performance.

But they aim to get it right for the eye, surely - the camera presents things differently, otherwise we wouldn't need colour balance control!

regards,
/alan

alan_potter wrote in post #2440620
But they aim to get it right for the eye, surely - the camera presents things differently, otherwise we wouldn't need colour balance control!

regards,
/alan

OP said the first one is as it appeared in person.

Fair enough... But I'd still say that I would prefer to look at #2, because of the more believable skin tones.

regards,
/alan

If you see that color design of the show is consistent and supports the performance (like theater and opera most of the time) then why not put an effort to preserve the "correct" color. If you see that live light mixer just uses all the gadgets he has to create an impression of energy and movement then the light color in the actual 1/500 sec moment does not matter, what matters is that the color supports the captured image.

If client requests accurate lights then you show accurate lights.

I definitely like #2 better (the corrected one). I think the overly red skin on #1 bugs me. When the skin tones are brought back to a more normal color, I think it is more appealing.

not to be a pain lol, but i think somewhere in the middle of them both woud be cool, maybe just a bit more color on there clothes?
James...

I shoot the same as Curtis; I set the camera (or ACR) to tungsten. I find the colors are more accurate to the performance and the intent of the lighting designer. With so many lighting changes, you should choose a baseline and stick with it throughout the performance. I've found that tungsten works well to correct for the source of the light, so any gel placed in front of the source will render correctly in the camera.

when iv shot in tungsten (and this is in a night club, so i dunno if it would be the same) i found th skin color to be a very light blue kinda Zombie looking skin if that makes sence?? is there any reason why it wuld be different? as you say you shoot in tungsten.
Cheers
James....

livewire-photography.com wrote in post #2441017
when iv shot in tungsten (and this is in a night club, so i dunno if it would be the same) i found th skin color to be a very light blue kinda Zombie looking skin if that makes sence?? is there any reason why it wuld be different? as you say you shoot in tungsten.
Cheers
James....

Part of the problem is that your eye and brain are very good at adjusting white balance, so your perception of the color will probably be different from the photo. So in changing lighting conditions, what is the 'correct' color? One answer is, "whatever looks good to you". Another would be, "what the camera sees." I choose the latter. But how to identfy what "white" is? I rely on the tungsten setting on the camera. Tungsten compensates for the color of the lighting source (the actual light bulb).

Here are two examples. Both images are the extracted JPG's from a recent performance and the WB in-camera was set to tungsten. The first image had strong red lighting but the second image was taken later in the performance when the lighting changed to a bluish-white.
Both these images accurately reflect the lighting at the time they were taken. Both are straight from the camera and only down-sized for the web. These photos are from a dance entitled "Peel Session", choreographed and performed by Ryan Dean.

I "correct" the colors of my concert photos in the way I see fit for the mood and/or content of the photo. Sometimes I do extreme color adjustment by removing all the color to create a black and white photo, much like was done some hundered years ago .

To me, a great concert photo communicates something, and if I can help it by adjustment (typically color temperature, contrast/general curves adjustment and saturation), I do it.