Assignment: Dance Performance

Nikkor 80-200mm at f2.8 1/125 ISo 800, Nikon D700


One of my recent assignments was to shoot a dance performance during the pre-show rehearsal and because it was a rehearsal, I was allowed to set my own lighting and go on stage apron.

The main problem facing the photographer during a stage performance is the lighting. The performers are already lit by beautiful stage lights but the latter are rarely bright enough for a fast shutter speed required to freeze dancing motions. The are few ways to attack this problem.

First, you could raise your ISO and use a fast lens (Nikkor 80-200mm f2.8) in order to achieve a correct exposure at shutter speed of 1/500 sec or less. From my experience, the ISO range for this situation is usually 1600 and above. Unfortunately, this is usually an issue for most cameras. You will get a lot of noise. If you can't go that high, I would suggest you time your shutter release carefully and shoot in burst mode. Time your shots when the dancers are still and not moving too much, like at the end of a motion with their arms gracefully extended out. If they are jumping, make sure you time your shutter release at the apex of the jump where the dancer is motionless in the air (the hang-time).




Nikkor 80-200mm at f2.8 1/80 ISo 800, Nikon D700


Second, you could bring your own lights. For this performance I used a small Sunpak 383 clamped on a railing on the side and triggered wirelessly. The secret with using a flash here is to NOT destroy and overpower the beautiful stage lights. Instead, you will need to balance it with the stage lights and that means using a warming gel (stage lights are often tungsten) and a low enough shutter speed to let the ambient lights in. What you will get is a motion trail where the dancer move and a clear defined image right on top where the flash shoots.