This past weekend I had the privilege of capturing the new work of six inspiring San Francisco Bay Area choreographers as the official photographer for ODC’s 69th dance pilot program. Because the six pieces differed substantially in their style, content, dance technique, lighting, and staging, this dress rehearsal shoot makes a good case study in live performance capture techniques. In today’s post I share some favorite images of each of the pieces along with some brief notes about how they were made.
“Ofrenda” by Carmen Roman:
Performing arts photography need not always show the performers. Sometimes it adds depth to a performance capture to include some images of costumes, props, venue, or lighting without the performers. This image shows the altar-like centerpiece, including the Peruvian folkloric masks, before the dancers entered.
This piece was performed outdoors on the street in front of the theater. It was natural to use some street photography techniques, such as waiting for the people to interact with the setting in an interesting way.
Because it was held in near-darkness, I had to use some flash to capture the piece. In these situations, I use an off-camera speedlight, handheld, and attached to the camera with a flash cord. I nearly always dial down the flash output by one stop so the lighting appears more natural.
“work/force” by Katelyn Hanes:
Try to capture moments when dramatic tension peaks. In this image, the viewer can feel the conflicting pull that is central to the piece. Using a fast shutter speed is essential with fast-moving performances, and since lighting is usually dim and available light must be used with no supplemental lighting, it is helpful to use a fast prime lens at a wide aperture and a high ISO setting on the camera.
In post-processing, I look for aspect ratios that best tell the story for each image. Sometimes that means changing from a landscape to a portrait orientation or vice-versa, and/or cropping to a non-standard aspect ratio.
“Engineering Ephemeral” by Alexandre Munz:
There can be drama in stillness as well as in motion. This emotional piece had some contemplative moments that tell the story as well as the more active portions.
Dance is about gesture and facial expression, too. This image captures the choreographer/dancer in a reflection of emotional pain, which to me speaks to a strong storyline.
“Interbeings” by Carly Lave:
This piece treated the interaction between a human and an artificial intelligence, so I wanted to document their initial encounter. The dramatic lighting of a single spotlight splits the frame into portions of light and shadow. To capture the image I had in my mind, I had to move to the center of the stage (made possible because this was a dress rehearsal, not a live performance with an audience) and to lie down on the floor to get a low shooting angle.
Most of the time, performing arts images should be tack-sharp, but for artistic effect it is sometimes desirable to give a sense of the motion by blurring the performer using a slow shutter speed. To make this image, I switched to a slower ISO setting and a narrower aperture in order to obtain a very slow shutter speed (1.6 seconds). Because it was shot handheld, I had to hold the camera very steady so as not to blur the background too much.
“Confab” by Arina Hunter:
I’ve worked with Arina several times before and so I have a good feeling for her style. To capture her new piece, I knew I’d need to have two camera bodies at the ready, one with a 50mm lens and the other with an 85mm lens, so that I could switch between expressive close-ups and exciting action shots. This image hightens the drama by combining a moment of tension with beautiful lighting and a clean black background.
The best technique for capturing exciting, fast-moving performances is to shoot plenty of images. I shot a series of images in rapid succession to catch this perfect moment in one of them. A very fast shutter speed is required, so I used a high ISO setting and a fast prime lens at a wide aperture.
Arina’s gestures and facial expressions are varied and compelling. To obtain this personal perspective, I shot from her level flat on the floor, and to ensure sharp focus on her whole body I used a moderate aperture setting (f/2.8), requiring a very high ISO setting (6400).
“ReeLs” by Dana Genshaft:
It can be a challenge to capture multiple dancers moving rapidly in a small space. Rather than always compose so that the performers are all lined up in a single row like a picket fence, I like to compose images where they are layered. This image creates a sense of the tension between the dancers by showing the foreground dancer in fast motion, slightly blurred, offset against the background dancers in an instant of stasis.
This image is composed with the dancers all in a row, but the composition works well because the lines of the performers’ bodies leads the viewer’s eye from one side of the frame to the other.
So, there you have it. It was a true joy documenting this ODC dance pilot program and getting to know the talented choreographers and dancers. I’ve described a number of different techniques that can be used, among others, to capture images as vibrant and varied as the performers themselves.
Now it’s your turn. Please share your favorite techniques for capturing live performances at home or while traveling.
Remember that you can see any of these images in a larger size on my website by clicking on them and that they all are available for purchase there.
Want to read more posts about photographic techniques? Find them all here: Posts about techniques.
