Any tips on Shooting Ballet shots?

[10dedfish]

Hey everyone,

I was recently asked to shoot my daughters' dance class before their recital in June. I know I have several months, but I like to be prepared going into something. I had not planned on charging anyone a sitting fee or the like, as I am definetely not a pro, nor am I trying to make money off of it. Im using a canon XS, with a kit lens, a F4 55-250, and a F1.8 50mm, and a tripod. I have tried to shoot in the room yet, so I dont know if i would need any flashes or external lighting.

I was planning on trying 3 poses for each girl, with the mirror as much as possible, but am open to suggestions. I was also planning on getting a standard account at smugmug and letting the parents use that to order prints.

Any tips, hints, or the bitter voice of experience that you guys could pass along would be great.

Thanks,

Matt

 

[IndyShutterbug]

Hey everyone,

I was recently asked to shoot my daughters' dance class before their recital in June. I know I have several months, but I like to be prepared going into something. I had not planned on charging anyone a sitting fee or the like, as I am definetely not a pro, nor am I trying to make money off of it. Im using a canon XS, with a kit lens, a F4 55-250, and a F1.8 50mm, and a tripod. I have tried to shoot in the room yet, so I dont know if i would need any flashes or external lighting.

I was planning on trying 3 poses for each girl, with the mirror as much as possible, but am open to suggestions. I was also planning on getting a standard account at smugmug and letting the parents use that to order prints.

Any tips, hints, or the bitter voice of experience that you guys could pass along would be great.

Thanks,

Matt

Hi Matt,
Sounds like fun! When doing portraits, lighting is the key to success. Using a flash, off camera if possible, if ideal. Everyone will have different ideas on portrait work, but I will give you an idea of what I would do.

Background - I always try to find a blank wall that I can use as a temp. background. Have them stand far enough away from it so it blurs a little. If you rent a fast enough lens, you will be able to do this easily.

Flash - I LOVE the Gary Fong light-sphere, but some people don't. It's 40 bucks, and it is the closest I have been able to get to strobes without actually using strobes.

Lens - I would use your 50 1.8 and you will see it is perfect for portraits. I would stop it down a bit, but you will get the bg blur you need. It's sharp stopped down as well.

Focus - I would select center or top(in portrait) AF and lock on the eyes, then recompose. Just remember if you are shooting wide open, if you recompose too much, the depth of field will work against you.

White Balance - I would pick up a cardboard grey card for 5 dollars and take a shot with it in the frame. Then in post, you can select it as your WB point and assign to all in that setup. I also use expodisc, but I kick myself for wasting money on it now.

RAW vs. JPEG - I always shoot raw in portraits....just so I can fix the shots easier if they are off.

Posing - For this session, I would allow them to choose what they are comfortable with.

Also, don't forget to shoot the performance as well. It is great practice since the lighting changes so much.

Here is one of the local club that we shot a dress rehearsal for.

 

[10dedfish]

Thanks INdy,

I appreciate the feedback. The shoot itself is nothing fancy, its mostly younger kids 5-12 range, so I will probably rely on the instructor for any posing ideas.

I was thinking about using the mirror on the wall with the stretching bar as the backdrop, but shooting at angle so I dont show up in the shots. The DOF on the 50mm would be nice there as well.

Thanks once again. If you can think of anything else, please let me know.

Matt

 

[photo_chick]

Put the 50mm on and get shots of them in class at the barre and of them just doing what they do in class. As a dance mom those are my favorite shots.

If you are planning on getting reflection shots, make sure the mirrors have been thoughroughly windexed before you shoot. I didn't do that once but you can bet I do now.

Letting the instructor pose them is a good way to go. Dancers know the best way to position dancers.

 

[Daisy14'sDH]

This is a great thread, I've been trying for weeks to get good shots of DD's Ballet class! Thanks OP for bringing this up!

And to all the people replying!

 

[10dedfish]

Thanks for the Info guys, I plan on doing a few test shoots in the studio, and I will post some of the pics when I can.

Matt