How to Shoot Your Child’s Show Like a Pro!
Wayne Labat
Author Bio
I was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana. I lived there from birth to age eighteen. (That has nothing to do with photography, but you have to start a bio somewhere, right?) I got my first “serious” camera, a Canon AE1-P, in 1989 as a Christmas present from my parents. I started shooting as much as film as I could afford to get developed. My high school had a darkroom so I even learned how to do my own black and white developing and printing. I loved being able to see the images come to life on the paper.
While I was in high school learning to work with that first SLR I also found a passion for theater, both on stage and as a technician and lighting designer. I enjoyed this enough that I wound up not only working in with several professional theaters in town, but also attending an intensive three year theater arts program at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts. When I wasn’t on stage or in the lighting booth I was shooting the shows.
After high school I joined the Navy and eventually wound up in Southern California where I discovered circus arts and became a circus performer as well as instructor. I decided to combine my passions and have spent the past couple of years shooting circus performers, burlesque shows, fire dancers and theater and dance festivals in addition to some large arena concerts. I have found many techniques that work and many more that do not. I am by no means the foremost expert on stage photography out there, but I have learned a lot and I think I can give you enough information from my experience to allow you to take fabulous pictures of your children’s performances that you will be able to enjoy and share with others.
Description
“How to Shoot Your Child’s Show Like a Pro” is written for the parent who has a DSLR camera that they have been using mostly in the Program (P) mode to record family vacations, holidays and birthdays and is getting ready to try and shoot their child’s first performance and wants to know what to do. It will also help someone who has tried to photograph a performance or two and been disappointed with their results. If these descriptions are close to the mark then this book is for you. Hopefully by the time we’re done you will feel comfortable taking your camera out of the program mode and confidently using some of those dials, buttons, menus and settings that seem so unfathomable right now.
It will also help you out if you are thinking of purchasing a DSLR camera system. In addition to basic terminology and background information that will make sense of all the camera advertisements out there and let you focus on what you really need, I will also keep you from spending too much money on things that you don’t need.
If you are a photojournalist or a professional photographer who shoots live events for a living, you aren’t going to learn much from this book. If you are a professional photographer who shoots some other type of photography for a living: commercial, fashion, landscapes, etc, you will hopefully find some useful information for making the transition to shooting live performances, but you will also be bored to tears while I go over the basics and you can safely skip the bulk of the book.
Even if you aren’t planning on shooting performances, this book will help you understand all the dials and settings on your camera, and while I focus on how to optimize all those options for shooting live shows, you will gain enough understanding take your camera out of the Program mode and try taking control of your photography yourself by the end of the book.
Finally, in addition to the basics, I also talk a little bit about post processing software, managing and cataloging your photos, and introduce some more advanced professional techniques and gear.
Book excerpt
HELP- THE SHOW IS TONIGHT!!!! I DON’T HAVE TIME TO READ THIS WHOLE BOOK!
If you just picked up this book because your child is in a show tonight and you are in a panic, this chapter is for you. Stop, take a deep breath, maybe have a quick adult beverage of your choice (assuming you aren’t the one driving to the show) and read this chapter with your camera, the manual for your camera (if you have it) and your computer sitting right next to you. I will tell you how to set your camera up and how to take the pictures tonight, then you can come back later and read the rest of the book to learn the reasons why. For now you’ll just have to trust me.
It should be obvious why you would want your camera and the manual next to you, but why the computer? Because I don’t know what type of camera you have, therefore I cannot tell you how to find the settings I am describing on your particular brand and model. I use Nikon cameras and lenses- while I will try as much as possible to use generic terms for settings and features, the examples I give will be Nikon specific because that is what I am familiar with. I am assuming you have some sort of DSLR, in which case you should be able to control all the settings I am going to mention. Don’t worry if you don’t know what something means, that will be explained later in the book. Oh, and before you read any further make sure you have downloaded all the images on your memory card, then format the card in the camera so you’ll have plenty of room. Once that is done put your battery on the charger so you’ll have a full one (and hopefully a spare) when its’ time to shoot, then read on.
Now, let’s get down to business since there’s no time to waste. Here’s how to set up your camera.
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Ok, now your camera is set, let’s talk about how to actually shoot the show.
Get to the theater as early as you can. You want to be walking into the theater as soon as they open the doors so you can get the best seat possible. Which seat this is depends on how big the theater is compared to what lens you have on your camera. If you have the basic 18-55mm you will want to be fairly close to the stage and near the center of the audience. (If you know your child will only be on one side of the stage and stay there, you want to be on that side of the audience). If you have a longer zoom you have more flexibility to sit farther back. Since I don’t know what lens you have or the theater layout, I can’t give you more specific advice. One thing I will recommend is (unless you get a front row center seat) if your theater has multiple audience sections, sit in one of the aisle seats on the inner edge of one of the outer sections of the audience, this will let you shoot most of the stage without being blocked by people in front of you or you blocking the view of people behind you.