Photographing Ballet

[ranger9]

Google alexey brodovitch ballet photos, they’re very nice and unconventional (a mentor of Robert frank)

He was ahead of Frank. He was ahead of everybody. Too bad all the art boards for his book got burned up, so it's impossible to produce a facsimile edition.

 

[Pentode]

Sorry, I had to jump in here because ballet and modern dance are practically the ONLY things I photograph! (Yeah, the fact that I'm the marketing director of a professional ballet company has something to do with that, but I was doing it a long time before that!)

The main things I want to do are tell you not to worry and to assure you that you're going to have a wonderful opportunity! The best thing you can do is put away all your preconceptions and get ready to be an alert, astute observer. A few specifics:

— The equipment you have is PERFECT for photographing a dance performance from backstage and in the wings. I can't think of a better setup than a rangefinder camera and the lenses you've got. (Technically, ‘backstage’ can mean everywhere in the working end of the theater, including dressing-room area, costume shop, etc., while the ‘wings’ are the draped areas at either side of the actual stage. Both areas offer lots of great photo opportunities.)

— Don't worry about showing what the performance looks like from the house... if people want to see that, they can buy a ticket! You're getting the opportunity to show a side of a performance that most people DON'T see. No 300mm lens required!

— Don't worry about anticipating what the company might want. Presumably, the fact that you've been granted backstage access (that's a big deal; be proud!) means they're interested in what YOU observe.

— Even though you've got permission, it's a REALLY good idea to find a few moments you can talk with the stage manager before you get started. The stage manager is the boss of everything that happens backstage. Of particular importance, s/he will be able to tell you areas that it’s important to stay out of (because of the dangers of moving scenery, flying bodies, etc.) and where you can stand without being visible from the house.

— During the performance, things move very fast backstage: dancers have to run off and make quick costume changes, people are going from one side of the stage to the other, they have to find props, emergency costume repairs need to be made, etc. This can make for exciting and authentic images, just make sure you DO NOT GET IN ANYONE'S WAY EVER! What you're doing is important, but the show is still top priority.

— Shoot a lot, because you'll have a lot of duds. Metering is going to be hard because of the varying lighting conditions you'll encounter — the stage is bright, farther back in the wings it's dark, the shop and dressing room areas are a mixed bag. When I'm in the wings I love to shoot straight into the lights and let the lens flares fall where they may, but it's almost impossible to get a meter reading that makes sense, so just take your best guess and then bracket!

A few seasons ago I shot an entire performance of “Giselle” almost entirely from the wings, and I just threw a bunch of those photos into a Flickr album in the hope that it will get you enthused about this opportunity:

https://flic.kr/s/aHsmKVYZzH

Final thought: Everything you think you know about ballet is probably wrong! Let go of your preconceptions and see what's there!

Having spent several years on the road with professional dance companies I can tell you that Ranger9’s above post is 100% right on the money! The only thing I can possibly think to add is that a very big part of dance lighting is sidelight, which, if you’re shooting from the wings, will be at eye level and pointing right at you. One of the ways I dealt with that was to try to shoot when the dancers were between me and the opposite lights - not always so easy.... they move around a lot! Also, those sidelights can be pretty blinding at times making it easy, as Ranger9 points out, to get flattened by a 95lb ballerina speeding offstage for a costume change so stay aware of your surroundings. Most importantly, have fun!

 

[Rob-F]

Backstage? Are you shooting "Behind the Scenes" photos?

Those lenses will be mostly worthless for shooting ballet actually happening. You'll want an 80-200mm f/2.8 and maybe a 300mm f/2.8 . . .

I've never shot ballet, nor done stage photography. So you can take this with a grain of salt. But I will say I am surprised by the recommendation for an 80-200 or a 300. Somehow I can't imagine trying to manage such long and heavy lenses in such a rapidly changing situation. No one would ever ask me to do this; but if they did, I would feel comfortable having my 35mm lens along, and would probably try to use it. I think I'd try to use the 50 as well. A nice fast 35 or 50 seems good for the purpose. I guess I wouldn't rule out having a 75mm or 90mm Summicron along, but I could see myself deciding, the hell with lens changing, it's all I can do to keep up with one lens. I find myself wondering how Alfred Eisenstadt would have handled this assignment: would he have used more than one or two lenses? Maybe two, on two bodies. But no more, I suspect. I think He'd keep it simple.

 

[jawarden]

Have you done it? Any tips? I will have a 50, a 90, and a 21, and I will be backstage.

You've got the perfect setup as far as equipment goes so just get in there with some fast film and have a ball. It's good that you'll have some time before the performance starts to get acclimated and perhaps introduce yourself so the performers aren't unnerved by the photography when they need to focus.

For the past few years I've been photographing friends as they rehearse and perform modern dance and it's been a ball, using a Holga, Hasselblad, 35mm wide angles, telephoto, whatever.

It's dance, and dance is good. You can't go wrong.

Have fun!

 

[Richard G]

In reverse order of importance: lovely shot Corran; trust your own skill LC, and the 50; and wow Ranger9 blowing us all out of the water. Sounds spot on.

 

[Corran]

I've never shot ballet, nor done stage photography. So you can take this with a grain of salt. But I will say I am surprised by the recommendation for an 80-200 or a 300. Somehow I can't imagine trying to manage such long and heavy lenses in such a rapidly changing situation. No one would ever ask me to do this; but if they did, I would feel comfortable having my 35mm lens along, and would probably try to use it. I think I'd try to use the 50 as well. A nice fast 35 or 50 seems good for the purpose. I guess I wouldn't rule out having a 75mm or 90mm Summicron along, but I could see myself deciding, the hell with lens changing, it's all I can do to keep up with one lens. I find myself wondering how Alfred Eisenstadt would have handled this assignment: would he have used more than one or two lenses? Maybe two, on two bodies. But no more, I suspect. I think He'd keep it simple.

Let me reiterate that this is in MY experience, where the intent was to get good images of the ballet/musical happening and I was to not disturb the performance in any way.

My standard was D800 and D700 with 80-200 and 300 as stated, with a 50 f/1.4 on occasion. The 50mm would get the entire stage. I was behind the audience.

You can use whatever to make images to your liking, but this was my task. BTW, I have also fooled around shooting Fujifilm "Instant" 3200 on a modified Polaroid 900 during an opera production. There are no limits to how silly you can go, if you want to do it a certain way. "Behind the scenes" images are a whole different beast, but I was under the impression at first that the intent was images of the performance.

Here's a shot from the aforementioned digital. Didn't have time to post earlier:

Oh! I found the Fuji "negative" from that opera I mentioned:

 

[jawarden]

Oh! I found the Fuji "negative" from that opera I mentioned:

That is an outstanding portrait. Beautiful.

 

[ranger9]

Yup, my advice was specifically because the OP said he was going to be shooting backstage. For front-of-house photography (pictures taken from or behind the public seating area) the lens setup you described is exactly what a lot of professionals use. (I use shorter lenses because I photograph during rehearsals and can get closer to the stage and move around as needed, but if you're in a fixed location a zoom lens is very helpful, as you suggested.) If people find this thread later looking for stage photography advice, I think we've got all the bases covered!

 

[Rob-F]

Same here. I was visualizing shooting from the wings, across the width of the stage.