Stage Dance Photography for Joo Chiat CC

Earlier this month I photographed a dance show for Joo Chiat CC Dance Classes, and they cover a wide range of dance genre, from classical ballet to modern dance, and tap syllabi.

If you do take up any stage performance assignment, here are some points that may be of use to you.

Focus on the Objectives
The major objective of photographing a dance school show is for parents and for archive. Many photographers do too many close-up shots of dancers but not enough group and general shots, and that's typically frowned upon. What I do is to take general stage shots on Day 1 of actual performance by positioning at the last row of the venue, then do close-up shots on Day 2 by positioning closer to the stage. Along the way, grab those artistically-styled images.

If you have more than one photographer hired for the event, you can then cater for more range of styles. Photographers should be assigned to different positions and to focus on shooting different things. Make sure that each photographer covers different areas, or else you end up with duplicate images.



Framing Close-up Subjects
If the dance item is a solo or a couple, it's quite easy to zoom in and grab the subjects. The challenge comes when it's a mass dance item, which is mostly the case for dance school performances. Who do you shoot? How do you frame? Whatever you do, you risk missing someone out in the frame. Students who are dancing at the back rows will not get photo coverage. As a photographer, I try to observe and frame groups of dancers logically. But if the dance item does not allow me to achieve that, then I will simply zoom in and shoot in sections. Parents will buy the photos as long as the faces of their children appears in it.


Rehearsals
Even a photographer should rehearse the shoot! By attending rehearsals, you are more likely to get better photos because you can anticipate the dance formation and highlights. Shooting rehearsal is just as rewarding as shooting actual performance. You have greater freedom in shooting at inaccessible places, like shooting towards the audience, or on stage near to the dancers. If you take up assignments for any stage performance, be sure to attend the rehearsals to increase your chance of getting good photos and delivering satisfaction to your clients.



Metering
Shooting for stage performance with constantly changing lighting effects is horrendously challenging because you cannot rely on your in-camera exposure meter. I say this again: NEVER use your in-camera auto metering for stage photography. The only way to achieve correct exposure is to constantly change the exposure manually. the camera will always over-expose because the dark areas occupy the major bulk in the frame, which averages out to be interpreted as underexposed.


My workflow is: take a photo, check the LCD, then quickly adjust the shutter speed and carry on shooting. Even if you get the correct exposure, you still have to continually adjust the exposure depending on lighting changes. Use your intuition: when you see lighting is dimmer, reduce the shutter. When the lights get brighter, increase the shutter. Do this constantly, depending on how frequent the lighting changes are. Shoot in RAW allows you to recover lost highlights in the event of an over-exposure within 2-stops.

No Flash (and that's fine)
Flash? Don't bother. You never need flash for stage photography, because the stage lightings are sufficient to give you ample exposure. Even if the lighting is dark, your flash will not help to boost unless you are in close range. And remember: your flash adds another light source to the stage lighting, and what turns out in your frame is not a representation of what is being presented. After all, if a dance scene is meant to be dark and in silhouette, then you should reflect that same light intensity.

Presentation of Photos
After 5 days of shooting during rehearsals and actual performance, I captured 2500+ photos, and eventually processed 1000 photos. Photobooks are popular, efficient, and a unique way to showcase the photos. I compiled all the 1000 photos into a 200-page book, and instead of using a generic contact sheet template (meaning, each page shows fixed 3x5 photos like a photo album), I arranged the photos such that group photos are larger sized (so that the faces can be seen clearer). I even did a 2-page spread on the finale shot, and it really look great.
Cost-wise, it's certainly cheaper than printing 1000 4R photos at 20-cents. This 200-page softcover photobook was printed for less than S$100 using Blurb, an overseas on-demand print vendor.


To see more photos of the event, visit the album at Facebook.

Nikon Announces D300S, D3000, 18-200mm VRII, 70-200mm VRII

Nikon officially announces the D300S, the D3000, and 2 upgraded lenses, 18-200mm VRII and 70-200mm VRII. Here's a brief summary of what's important and what's enhanced - in some cases, what's unchanged.

D300S: features that are new from Nikon
- HD video recording 1280x720 at 24fps with external stereo mic-in and AF during recording, using contrast-detect. AF will make sense if you use external mic, or else the motor sounds could be heard during recording.
- quiet drive mode, but don't expect silent operation like compact digicams
- CF+SD card slots, a rare feature for mid-range semi-pro DSLR to have dual card slots and of different formats.
- 7fps without vertical grip, another boost to the mid-range semi-pro DSLR and another step ahead of all the competitors

There are minor GUI and hardware button changes based on existing Nikon models. For instance, virtual horizon, Live View and Info hardware buttons. I do notice that the card slot door no longer has a lock like D300, and I don't like it because when I was using D700, I had the tendency to accidentally slide-open the card slot door.


D3000 is a replacement to the entry-level D60, including inheriting fundamental limitations to justify the low price.
- 10.2 mega pixel, same as D60
- 3fps, same as D60
- 3-inch LCD screen, although still at 230K
- 100 to 1600 ISO, with boost to 3200 ISO, same as D60
- 11-point AF system, similar to D5000
- 3D AF tracking, the first entry-level Nikon DSLR to have this feature
- only supports lenses with bulit-in AF motor, certainly the most damning limitation that prevents me from recommending Nikon to beginners. No doubt Nikon has released AFS prime lenses, but there is always this high possibility of legacy lenses not able to work with D3000, thus confusing beginners when looking for cheap third party lenses.


18-200mm AF-S DX VRII f3.5-5.6
A welcoming enhancement is resolving the zoom-creep issue with a zoom-lock, as well as new coating to reduce flare. VR II claims 4-stop benefit.


70-200mm AF-S ED VRII f2.8
Shorter but heavier than the original 70-200mm, the lens can continue to AF even if the focus ring is being handled, using the A/M mode.

The earliest date that any of the above products are available is September 2009.

Mayenne: Animated

Haven't blogged about Mayenne since her 2nd birthday. Photos do no justice to document her growth, so I'm sharing some video clips here.


One of my most favourite clips, it shows how she attempts animatedly to read a storybook.




An antic that till now we still haven't figure out what she was trying to do, she will hit the drum a couple of times, run to the mirror, and blabbers something, ending with a 2-syllabi "bae-bae". I suspect she was trying to imitate The Little Einstein.




Mayenne now plays (or tries to) every single piano key, in varying strengths too.




And here's a video of her imitating herself on the earlier "Mayenne Reading" video.

Pasta Festa by Mien

A new pasta stall has just opened at the Tanjong Pagar Plaza Market. Pasta Festa is managed by Jack and June. Jack took apprenticeship with Mien, whose stall resides at Bukit Timah Food Centre.

Barely opened for a few days, they asked me to do food photography for their menu items.

The stall is at #02-01, and though it's situated at a corner, it is easily spotted from outside the food centre with the huge red signboard. All the items in the menu are going for $3.90, and do not contain MSG. I tried the Aglio Olio, and it's actually quite good. The taste is very rich and the bites are generous. If you are a pasta lover, I think Pasta Festa will make your taste buds (and your wallet) very happy.

MENU:
1. Ala Matriciana
2. Al Fungi
3. Aglio Olio
4. Carbonara
5. Laksa fusion

Opening hours:
Mon - Fri: 11am - 7pm
Sat & Sun: 11am - 2pm

Huirong: Bridal Editorial

This is my first solo outdoor shoot with Huirong, despite knowing her for nearly 4 years (my previous shoots are all group shoots, except the one test shoot done last month). She is so accommodating and carried out all the requested poses and at uncomfortable locations despite being bitten by bugs or scorched by the late morning sun. It's heartening to learn that some people have the right attitude and professionalism to go all out to create beautiful images.

Same credit goes to the equally beautiful make-up artist Lynette (Huirong asked me why I did not do a photo session with her), who is actually a night owl. But because of my morning shoot, she ended up not able to sleep. But she still put in her best effort by agreeing to go on-location with us.










Huirong's bridal editorial shoot is the last of the 3 bridal series that I've planned for a very long time. Each bridal shoot attempts to create a different style for my portfolio. Zoe's on indoor fashion. Sindy's 2-styled on soft photostory-like and edgy stronger fashion. Huirong's very mainstream. Already I have requests for more bridal theme shoots, and so I have to think of other different styles. Meanwhile, I'll be taking a break.

For more of Huirong bridal editorial series, visit my Flickr set at http://www.flickr.com/photos/chestertan/sets/72157620843826167/ or my Facebook album at http://bit.ly/uTj5k

Rumours: Nikon D3000 and D300S

Rumour has it. Nikon should have 2 new DSLRs announced by end of Q3. And it's probably the most unexciting announcement in years (surprise me, Nikon).

Why?

If rumours are accurate, the D300S will be no different from D300, except with video (most likely HD) recording and supports SD-card. Some sites claim it's a dual card-slot, so the other slot might remain as CF-card. What I would hope is better high-ISO quality comparable to D700.

The D3000 will be a lower-end D5000, so it'll be a replacement to D60. Possibly no video recording.

That's it from Nikon? Over to you, Canon.

Olympus E-P1 Compact Interchangeable Lens Camera

Has someone come up with an acronym for the compact cameras with interchangeable lens? Maybe, say, DILC? Because the world has now another of such product in the market. Olympus PEN E-P1 follows Panasonic Lumix G1 and GH1 to be the next compact camera using the Micro Four-Thirds lens mount.

I had a quick play at Playworks/T3 office, recently shifted to Sunshine Plaza. Nifty biometric fingerprint security, so no worries about losing the pass, unless...

Generally, it feels like a compact camera, with the advantages of manual lens control and faster AF and shutter response, no different from the Lumix G1 that I reviewed extensively a few months back. The E-P1 supports up to 6400 ISO, and the highlights look rather clean. What's lacking is the articulated screen and built-in flash. What I like is the Art Filter mode which you can select effects like Pop Art, Soft Focus, Pale & Light Color, Light Tone, Grainy Film or Pin Hole to capture great arty images. It makes image capturing a lot more fun.

I think compact interchangeable lens camera is the way to go. You get the compactness of a digicam and the responsiveness of a DSLR. The price may be prohibitive since a compact digicam costs half the price, and the E-P1 is priced not any lower than the lowest-end DSLR. So for now, such format camera will be a companion for the serious photographers and early adopters.

Quick specs:
- 12.3 megapixels Live MOS sensor
- 3" LCD screen
- HD (720p) video recording
- 3 fps