Best setting for stage show? - Success! Pic added

[PoohJen]

Hola! Going to see DS is in school production tonight and wondering what is the best setting to use for this type of low light, no flash picture?

I'll be using my Rebel XT w/ Sigma 18-128. Don't think we are too far back ("L" row). Might try to use zoom (Sigma 75-300).

Any recommendations appreciated!

 

[ducklite]

I do stage photography almost exclusively.

I would use my 80-200 zoom at f/2.8 on Aperture Priority, with an ISO of 400-800, depending on the lighting.

Anne

 

[MICKEY88]

Hola! Going to see DS is in school production tonight and wondering what is the best setting to use for this type of low light, no flash picture?

I'll be using my Rebel XT w/ Sigma 18-128. Don't think we are too far back ("L" row). Might try to use zoom (Sigma 75-300).

Any recommendations appreciated!

unless you have a 2.8 lens to follow the previous advice,, I would suggest the following, whichever lens you use, set the camera to aperture priority....open the lens as far as it will go...start with an iso of 400 take a shot, view it, then decide if 400 works or if you need to jump to 800/1000/1600...whatever it takes to get a sharp pic..., odds are you will have to shoot 800-1600 to stop the action....

 

[tinksdad]

I don't recognize those lenses, but using the fastest lens you've got is the best bet.
I agree with Anne! I have the Nikon 70-200m f/2.8 which works ok at low light levels. Use up to 800 ISO and try to get them at a still moment. The The dance shows that I've done are tough with all that motion and low lighting.

 

[boBQuincy]

This is where all the compromises come into play, stage show photography can be very difficult.
Do you set the camera for the widest aperture and let shutter speed fall wherever, or do you set the camera for the slowest acceptable shutter speed and take whatever aperture comes up? Is a little noise and some motion blur more acceptable than no blur but more noise?
For a well-lit stage show (Beauty and the Beast, Lion King, Tarzan) I usually go with ISO 800 and a 70-200 f/4 lens as my compromise.

A fast lens is the best way to start but sometimes we have to go with what we have, often a variable aperture lens. In this case the wider apertures are at the shorter focal lengths, get as close as you can to get the widest aperture.

A monopod helps a lot with the longer focal lengths but doesn't do much for subject motion.

I like to watch the show first to get a sense of the movement, so I can time some of my shots for when the performers are more still.
Take a lot of photos, it's amazing how many funny expressions the performers make during a show, and not all of them are flattering.

 

[MICKEY88]

definitely a game of tradeoffs, I personally would opt for the noise...with my software it's easier to clean up noise than eliminate blur..

unless of course you want more depth of field in a situation where your DS may be near the front of the stage and you also want someone further back on stage to be sharp also, then I'd close down my lens as far as I could without losing a good shutterspeed..

 

[handicap18]

With the 2 lenses you have, the more you zoom in the smaller the aperture becomes which leads to less light being able to be captured thus slowing down the shutter speed to compensate.

Best bet is to use the 18-125mm and sit as close as possible so you can use the widest focal length you can, which with these lenses gives the widest aperture available for the lens. You'll probably want to stay around the 50mm length which will get you somewhere around f/4 which isn't to bad (at the widest, 18mm, you'll get f/3.5 which is the widest available on the lens, you'll get that f/stop to about 25mm max, then it goes up from there). If you notice that your getting pretty fast shutter speeds (ie: 1/125th and higher) then you can probably get away with zooming more, but in aperture priority the aperture will close as you zoom closer so your shutter speeds will get shorter to compensate for the loss of light. If the shutter starts to get around 1/50th or 1/60th then try and time your shots to when you know or think the kids will be in as still a position as possible to avoid any motion blur. Your also probably going to have to use ISO 1600.

Good luck and enjoy the show.

 

[PoohJen]

Thanks all! Good to know AP is the setting I want to start with.

I know how to bump up the ISO, but am embarrassed to admit I don't know how to change/read the shutter speed.

Hopefully I'll get a few less-than-horrific shots to post here!

 

[mabas9395]

Sounds like an excuse to buy the Nifty Fifty. A 50mm f/1.8 which will work great in low light. I got mine for only $69 at amazon.

 

[ukcatfan]

Thanks all! Good to know AP is the setting I want to start with.

I know how to bump up the ISO, but am embarrassed to admit I don't know how to change/read the shutter speed.

Hopefully I'll get a few less-than-horrific shots to post here!

***WARNING*** ***WARNING***
Please step away from the camera. You have violated the terms and conditions of your DSLR user contract. The ISO police will arrive shortly to confiscate the DSLR and issue you a brand new A520. Please do not resist or they will be forced to instead issue you an ISO 100 disposable film unit. Thank you for your cooperation.


Don’t be embarrassed about not knowing where to change it. As far as I know, that is not an instinct that humans are born with. I do not have a Canon, but I am pretty sure that you set it to either shutter priority or manual mode and use the wheel to change it just like you change the aperture in aperture priority mode. I do not think that your model has multiple wheels, so there is probably a shift button that allows the wheel to change either shutter or aperture when in manual mode depending on if it is pressed while rotating. The setting selected should be displayed in your viewfinder and/or on the LCD screen.

I hope I helped.

Kevin

 

[ducklite]

Sounds like an excuse to buy the Nifty Fifty. A 50mm f/1.8 which will work great in low light. I got mine for only $69 at amazon.

Eh, I disagree. You lose all your depth of field and have a very small focus area if you are at any distance with this lens. I'll use it in smaller clubs where I can get into someone's face and sometimes just to play if I've shot the band 80 bajillion times already (can you say Shinedown and Staind )

It's fine for up close, but for 50 feet back, no way.

Anne

 

[ducklite]

One other thing--amber stage lights are your friend. Deep blues and reds are your enemy. Try to get your shots when there is a lot of amber light.

Keep an eye on your white balance if they are using followpots. I will set to incandescent lighting in that situation.

If you look at the photo's in my signature, you'll see how Lacey is difficult to see through the red lighting--although in a larger/higher res image she looks much better) and yuo can see the shine on Aaron's head from the spotlight.

Those photo's were both taken using no flash and with the settings I described above. Aaron doesn't move much, but Lacey moves around alot (she's a bouncer).

Anne

 

[PoohJen]

ooh, good heads up on the lighting color, Anne. Although I broke into sweat when you mentioned white balance.

and yeah, i've fiddled with the wheel thing before, but not "getting it"; just a matter of not spending enough time playing w/ my camera.

sniff, Kevin, I'm trying, Man! Typically I learn best by reading, but I swear, until I find a human photog around here to guide me, I can't seem to get the basics down! No worries, I'll get there....just taking the long, round about road.....

And my camera bag is way pretty. Does that count for anything?

 

[mabas9395]

I'm not sure, but I think that there is a hefty fine involved as well.

But seriously, when you are in Av mode, turn the little wheel on the top right side right next the the shutter button. That will make the Aperture change when you turn the wheel. Then the camera will pick the correct shutter speed to give you a good exposure (based on the ISO you've picked). When you put it on Tv (which stands for Time Value which means the time the shutter is open, IIRC) then when you turn the dial you set the shutter speed and the camera will pick the correct Aperture to give you a correct exposure. When you are in M mode (and you really, really should go out and practice with your camera in M mode, its the best way to learn), then the dial will change the shutter and to change the aperture you must hold down the "Av +/-" button in the upper right hand corner of the LCD screen while you turn the dial. This is the same button you use to change your Exposure Compensation (if you don't know what that is, there will be another fine imposed - jk).

Both the shutter speed and aperture can be seen on both the smaller LCD panel (the one above the larger one where your pictures show) and through the view finder. Your numbers will be the shutter speed first and then the aperture. Something like "40 5.6". That means your shutter speed is 1/40 of a second and the hole in your lens that lets light in (the aperture) is open to a size of 5.6 (remember that a smaller number means a larger opening and more light is hitting your sensor - so 5.6 lets in more light than 8.0 and 1.8 lets in more light than 5.6).

For a school production with low light, you want to make sure that your shutter speed is fast enough to stop the motion. If they are just standing there singing, you only need something like 1/60, if they are dancing you might need 1/250, if they are really running around, you might need 1/500. In order to get shutter speeds that high you usually have to open your aperture wide open (smallest number) and boost up your ISO. If your aperture is too wide, you could end up with a shallow depth of field. If your ISO is too high, you could get noisy/grainy pictures.

There are plenty of people around here who can clear up all the misinformation I've just laid out, but the jist of it is pretty close.

 

[mabas9395]

Eh, I disagree. You lose all your depth of field and have a very small focus area if you are at any distance with this lens. I'll use it in smaller clubs where I can get into someone's face and sometimes just to play if I've shot the band 80 bajillion times already (can you say Shinedown and Staind )

It's fine for up close, but for 50 feet back, no way.

Anne

I'm no expert but I thought it was a pretty well accepted fact of photography that the depth of field increases as the distance to your focus point increases. At a focal point of 50ft you should have a DOF of about 25ft or more (1/3 in front of focal point and 2/3 in back). That should be enough DOF for a school stage production

And I think I can say Staind, but I'm not sure that I'd want to.

 

[ducklite]

I'm no expert but I thought it was a pretty well accepted fact of photography that the depth of field increases as the distance to your focus point increases. At a focal point of 50ft you should have a DOF of about 25ft or more (1/3 in front of focal point and 2/3 in back). That should be enough DOF for a school stage production

It will give you a depth of field, but with no capabilities to zoom and the smaller focus field, I dont know how well those photo's would come out--you might as well be using a P&S, because thats basically where you are going, using a prime at that distance.

And I think I can say Staind, but I'm not sure that I'd want to.

Anne

 

[MICKEY88]

I do stage photography almost exclusively.

I would use my 80-200 zoom at f/2.8 on Aperture Priority, with an ISO of 400-800, depending on the lighting.

Anne

I must respectfully disagree, most of your pics I've seen are individual band members, for that I'm sure the 80-200 is great..but having shot dance recitals and HS musicals for years, I'd go with a bit wider lens, if you just want closeups of your child, sure the zoom is good, but if you want full stage shots to show that it was indeed during a hs production then something like my 28-75 2.8 is much better...

 

[ducklite]

I must respectfully disagree, most of your pics I've seen are individual band members, for that I'm sure the 80-200 is great..but having shot dance recitals and HS musicals for years, I'd go with a bit wider lens, if you just want closeups of your child, sure the zoom is good, but if you want full stage shots to show that it was indeed during a hs production then something like my 28-75 2.8 is much better...

Keep in mind that the OP is going to be about 50-70 feet from the stage in her seat. From that distance I could easily shoot the entire stage with the 80-200, and it would still give the ability to zoom in on the individual performers.

If she were right up front, I would absolutely agree with you, the only way I can shoot the full stage with the 80-200 from the photopit is a cross stage shot on a full arena size stage with a deep pit. But from that far back I'd want the flexibility the longer lens provides. JMHO.

Anne

 

[MICKEY88]

Keep in mind that the OP is going to be about 50-70 feet from the stage in her seat. From that distance I could easily shoot the entire stage with the 80-200, and it would still give the ability to zoom in on the individual performers.

If she were right up front, I would absolutely agree with you, the only way I can shoot the full stage with the 80-200 from the photopit is a cross stage shot on a full arena size stage with a deep pit. But from that far back I'd want the flexibility the longer lens provides. JMHO.

Anne

I stand corrected I missed that part about sitting so far away,

I'm used to going early to school events to get the front row...

 

[mabas9395]

An 80-200 f/2.8 lens would without a doubt give the OP more versatility to frame the shot how she wanted. However, I chose the $100 option vs the $1,000 option when recommending a low light lens. Its all a give and take when it comes to lenses and now the OP knows the pros and cons of both.

I partially threw the nifty fifty out there because I think (IMHO) that every Rebel owner should have one.