Page 11 - Cape-Camera-June-2023

June 2023 Cape Camera

Tips and Techniques

Ballet photography tips
by Kim Stevens
The South African International Dance Competition has put out • You can set your ISO for around 3200 and shoot in Tv mode
a call to all local photographic clubs to encourage their mem- selecting at least 1/400sec
bers to photograph at the sessions of the competition between • I shoot in continuous shooting (servo) with high speed mul-
24 - 26 July 2023. Please note this is not a stage show so there tiple frames and first-curtain electronic shutter.
are no sets, but a hybrid dance competition, with both local and • You can use single point or extended point focus mode or
international entries. The SAIDC is an annual ballet competition face detection tracking AF if you have the newer mirrorless
held at the Artscape Theatre. cameras. Set the AF to detect people.
The competition is split into three categories: Scholars( 9-12 • I usually spot meter off the dancer or use centre-weighted
years), Juniors (13-16 years) and Seniors (17-22 years). Each metering as you do not need to expose for the entire stage.
competitor dances both a classical and a contemporary routine. Your ISO can run from 400 to 6400 depending on the light-
There are some duets, trios and group numbers. Some interna- ing. Watch for highlight clipping especially for dancers in
tional entries are via zoom or pre-recordered videos. white costumes. You may need to underexpose in auto ISO.
The judging panel will be present so be respectful and do not • AWB or set it for Daylight WB and alter it later in post if need-
ed. The dancers tend to look quite yellow under stage light-
move around or talk during the sessions. The sessions culmi- ing and I often have to correct this.
nate in a final round and a Gala concert on the last day.
What gear to take along: • Turn your stabiliser off if you are on a tripod but try to level
your framing as you are sure to get skew shots!
I usually take two cameras, one fitted with a medium zoom
(24-70mm) for group numbers and one with a telephoto (70- Listen to the music and try to anticipate the flow of the danc-
ers’ movements…this is usually easier in the classical numbers
200mm ) lens. as the music can be predictable. In the contemporary sections
Make sure your cameras are synced as far as time is concerned the music can be discordant and the choreography difficult to
otherwise the images get very mixed up when you download predict.
from different cameras into one folder! Remember the final reverence of the number is stationary but
If you only bring one lens then I suggest the telephoto as there often yields a nice image.
is usually only one or two people on stage at one time in this Try to shoot in short bursts so as not to shoot thousands of im-
competition. ages thus saving yourself editing time.
I usually bring a tripod as the 70/200 lens gets heavy to hold
after a while, but a beanbag over the seat in front of you works Sometimes the dancers have chosen to dance the same routine
so it will become easier to shoot as you become familiar with
well too. the choreography.
Make sure your batteries are charged and your memory cards
are empty as you could end up shooting many frames during Finally you can try some artistic interpretations of the ballet by
using ICM with a slower shutter speed (start around 1/15 sec) ,
a session. putting down your ISO to 100, or multiple images with a normal
My typical settings are: or slower shutter speed.
• Shoot in RAW There is currently an exhibition of images taken at previous
• F stop 2.8 or lowest you can go . Possibly use f3.2 or f4 for years’ competitions displayed in the Artscape foyer. Take a walk
groups of people. You will be shooting from quite a distance around and familiarise yourself with the kind of shots captured
from the stage in the auditorium so f 2.8/4 is plenty DOF. as inspiration.
• Shutter speed around 1/400 sec to freeze motion.
• ISO AUTO but set to 6400 at the upper limit depending on
how noisy your sensor is at high ISOs.

11 Cape Town Photographic Society