Lessons learned while photographing my daughter's dance recital.

pathdoc · 06-02-2015, 08:44 AM

Equipment and setting: I had a K5 and a 50mm f/1.8 DA and a 100mm D-FA f/2.8 macro in an indoor theatre with artificial light only. Flash was forbidden.

Lessons:
1) Light conditions can be deceiving, even to the best sensors, and you are best off reviewing your first couple of shots immediately to check exposure. (I ended up dialling a stop to a stop and a half underexposed for almost everything). Having other acts come on before the one that's dearest to your heart is a BIG help in getting a feel for the lighting; otherwise you have to review in a hurry!!

2) You can never have enough shutter speed, especially for lively, bouncy dancers rather than graceful twirly posey ones. I wanted to stick around ISO 1600 to avoid grain/noise, but I had to give up and go to 3200 even at wide apertures (f/1.8 to 2.4) to get enough shutter speed to stop the action and get crisp focus. It seems to have been worth it.

3) Program mode can do odd things. I went from P to Aperture Priority, dialled in apertures around f/2.0, and the shutter speeds my K5 selected took a sharp jump upwards for roughly the same aperture range (which helped image sharpness immensely).

4) 50mm (on a crop sensor, naturally) is a good focal length for when you are right up the front and want the general view. However, the little darling was right at the opposite end of the stage and I abruptly found myself wishing for the 100mm macro I didn't have time to change over to. If this keeps up, a 50-135mm f/2.8 zoom lens may be in my future.

5) You cannot take enough shots. Once I'd stabilised on a desirable f-stop, I found it useful to rock the EV adjustment back and forth across about a 0.5 to 1.0 EV range while blazing away, ensuring that at least some of them were keepers from the exposure viewpoint, as rapid movement can take a subject in and out of the brightest lights.

The results were good enough for a first try. Sorry, no, I'm not allowed to post them.

DeadJohn · 06-02-2015, 09:20 AM

Glad you had an enjoyable experience the first time trying.

Consider using TAv mode. Set the shutter speed fast enough to freeze motion, or slow enough to get intentional motion blur. Aperture wide open in low light, or 1 stop down for sharpness if it's brighter. ISO will float wherever it needs to go; noise is better than an unusably blurry image.

From the description, I think you were shooting jpg and trying to get the exposure perfect in camera. Stage lighting is tricky. Learn to use DNG format and processing to tweak exposure later. It's more effort but used properly it can transform a good photo into a great photo.

**crewl1** · 06-02-2015, 09:22 AM

For dancers I need a bit more depth of field so usually go with F4.
Shutter speed 1/400 minimum for me, what did you shoot at?
ISO has to be up but on a k-5 sensor the shots are easy to fix with noise reduction software.
I use TAv or M depending on if the light is steady or they are moving from spotlight to unlit areas.

I shoot HS dance competitions in gym lighting that plays havoc with white balance.

The 50-135 is an awesome lens for this and even better if you convert it to screw drive AF.
I use a Sigma 70-200 in the gyms to get some close up portraits as well.
For the wide shots I use a Tamron 28-75 2.8.

---------- Post added 06-02-15 at 09:26 AM ----------

Here is a thread I started for folks to post dancer shots.
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/26-mini-challenges-games-photo-stories/28...c-dancers.html

pathdoc · 06-03-2015, 05:23 AM

Originally posted by DeadJohn

Consider using TAv mode. Set the shutter speed fast enough to freeze motion, or slow enough to get intentional motion blur. Aperture wide open in low light, or 1 stop down for sharpness if it's brighter. ISO will float wherever it needs to go

I haven't as yet had cause to use TAv mode, even though I know of it and consider it interesting and convenient. I guess it being lil' poppet's first recital and my first time shooting one, I wasn't in the frame of mind to consider something unfamiliar. How well, if at all, does it work with exposure compensation dialled in?

Originally posted by DeadJohn

Learn to use DNG format and processing to tweak exposure later.

Alas this is not an option. Life is busy and I really, truly don't have time or opportunity to do post-processing, especially on large numbers of images. It's jpeg or it's nothing for me, I'm afraid.

---------- Post added 03-06-15 at 10:00 ----------

Originally posted by crewl1

The 50-135 is an awesome lens for this and even better if you convert it to screw drive AF

Agreed, but then I went and saw the price, and I think I'll wait and see what happens with her performing career before I splurge on that one! Right now, I can't justify it - 99.9% of the shooting I currently do that requires a medium-telephoto zoom is done in much brighter light, and my 18-250 will cope with that.

06-02-2015, 08:44 AM	#1
pathdoc Pentaxian Join Date: Mar 2015 Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 6,381	Lessons learned while photographing my daughter's dance recital. Equipment and setting: I had a K5 and a 50mm f/1.8 DA and a 100mm D-FA f/2.8 macro in an indoor theatre with artificial light only. Flash was forbidden. Lessons: 1) Light conditions can be deceiving, even to the best sensors, and you are best off reviewing your first couple of shots immediately to check exposure. (I ended up dialling a stop to a stop and a half underexposed for almost everything). Having other acts come on before the one that's dearest to your heart is a BIG help in getting a feel for the lighting; otherwise you have to review in a hurry!! 2) You can never have enough shutter speed, especially for lively, bouncy dancers rather than graceful twirly posey ones. I wanted to stick around ISO 1600 to avoid grain/noise, but I had to give up and go to 3200 even at wide apertures (f/1.8 to 2.4) to get enough shutter speed to stop the action and get crisp focus. It seems to have been worth it. 3) Program mode can do odd things. I went from P to Aperture Priority, dialled in apertures around f/2.0, and the shutter speeds my K5 selected took a sharp jump upwards for roughly the same aperture range (which helped image sharpness immensely). 4) 50mm (on a crop sensor, naturally) is a good focal length for when you are right up the front and want the general view. However, the little darling was right at the opposite end of the stage and I abruptly found myself wishing for the 100mm macro I didn't have time to change over to. If this keeps up, a 50-135mm f/2.8 zoom lens may be in my future. 5) You cannot take enough shots. Once I'd stabilised on a desirable f-stop, I found it useful to rock the EV adjustment back and forth across about a 0.5 to 1.0 EV range while blazing away, ensuring that at least some of them were keepers from the exposure viewpoint, as rapid movement can take a subject in and out of the brightest lights. The results were good enough for a first try. Sorry, no, I'm not allowed to post them.

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06-02-2015, 09:20 AM	#2
DeadJohn Pentaxian Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: New York Posts: 4,834	Glad you had an enjoyable experience the first time trying. Consider using TAv mode. Set the shutter speed fast enough to freeze motion, or slow enough to get intentional motion blur. Aperture wide open in low light, or 1 stop down for sharpness if it's brighter. ISO will float wherever it needs to go; noise is better than an unusably blurry image. From the description, I think you were shooting jpg and trying to get the exposure perfect in camera. Stage lighting is tricky. Learn to use DNG format and processing to tweak exposure later. It's more effort but used properly it can transform a good photo into a great photo.

06-02-2015, 09:22 AM	#3
crewl1 Site Supporter Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Los Angeles, CA Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 9,807	For dancers I need a bit more depth of field so usually go with F4. Shutter speed 1/400 minimum for me, what did you shoot at? ISO has to be up but on a k-5 sensor the shots are easy to fix with noise reduction software. I use TAv or M depending on if the light is steady or they are moving from spotlight to unlit areas. I shoot HS dance competitions in gym lighting that plays havoc with white balance. The 50-135 is an awesome lens for this and even better if you convert it to screw drive AF. I use a Sigma 70-200 in the gyms to get some close up portraits as well. For the wide shots I use a Tamron 28-75 2.8. ---------- Post added 06-02-15 at 09:26 AM ---------- Here is a thread I started for folks to post dancer shots. https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/26-mini-challenges-games-photo-stories/28...c-dancers.html

06-03-2015, 05:23 AM	#4
pathdoc Pentaxian Join Date: Mar 2015 Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 6,381 Original Poster	Originally posted by DeadJohn Consider using TAv mode. Set the shutter speed fast enough to freeze motion, or slow enough to get intentional motion blur. Aperture wide open in low light, or 1 stop down for sharpness if it's brighter. ISO will float wherever it needs to go I haven't as yet had cause to use TAv mode, even though I know of it and consider it interesting and convenient. I guess it being lil' poppet's first recital and my first time shooting one, I wasn't in the frame of mind to consider something unfamiliar. How well, if at all, does it work with exposure compensation dialled in? Originally posted by DeadJohn Learn to use DNG format and processing to tweak exposure later. Alas this is not an option. Life is busy and I really, truly don't have time or opportunity to do post-processing, especially on large numbers of images. It's jpeg or it's nothing for me, I'm afraid. ---------- Post added 03-06-15 at 10:00 ---------- Originally posted by crewl1 The 50-135 is an awesome lens for this and even better if you convert it to screw drive AF Agreed, but then I went and saw the price, and I think I'll wait and see what happens with her performing career before I splurge on that one! Right now, I can't justify it - 99.9% of the shooting I currently do that requires a medium-telephoto zoom is done in much brighter light, and my 18-250 will cope with that.