Concert Photography Tips

[NikonNellie]

I have been asked by the Musical Director of the College that I work at to take some shots of a dress rehearsal for our upcoming musical production of "Fiddler on the Roof".

I did the same thing for our last musical two years ago and while the images were ok and had some printed in the program, I would like to make them even better this time.

I have done very little of this type of photography and was wondering if anybody has some good tips for me? Do I use a flash or will this ruin the coloured stage lighting?

I will probably use my 50mm, f/1.8 and a telephoto lens 70 - 300mm, f/4 - 5.6

[NikonNellie]

Doesn't anybody have any tips for me? :)

[Scotty72]

Hi,

I've done a fair bit of school auditorium stuff.

Obviously, the faster the glass the easier. But, other than that, use high ISO (obivious) as a bit of noise is better than underexposure.

The flash question? Well, it all depends. Try to set the camera for the ambient light then, use a subtle setting (depending on distance) to highlight the players subtly.

But, if you have to use a flash, an off camera one set to a very low power near the players is better than an on camera one set to stun from far back - even then, any colour weirdness is better than under exposure.

Scotty

Here are a few I took a while back - no flash - but the stage lights were pretty good :)71532715337153471535

[NikonNellie]

Thanks Scotty - that was very helpful. Last time I had ambient light coming in through a stage door but this time it will be dark when the rehearsal commences. Should be a good challenge. :D