Help with theatre photography

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Went to the theatre tonight, my son has been at acting school all week and they put a show on at the end of it.

Now im only a beginner and know the basic's but could i get a decent show, could i heck.

I could get the light right but had to use such a high iso or slow shutter speed they all came out blurry.

Where am i going wrong.

Canon 450D with a Tamaron 28-200 lens.

Matthewsshow373.jpg


Matthewsshow288.jpg


Matthewsshow265.jpg
 
First was shot at f4.6, second at f5.6 third at f5 all taken at really low shutter speeds. The blur you see is a combination of camera movement and subjects moving. To fix this you really need either a faster lens (lower f number), or a camera that can handle high iso settings. First thing I think you should do is buy a Canon 50mm f1.8 "Nifty fifty" that will allow you to shoot at f1.8 and let you shoot at much higher shutter speeds in lower light, you can get one for around £75. After that you can decide on a lens that will suit your needs more. Hope that helps!
 
The crux of it is you aren't capturing enough light. Fixes to that? Higher ISO, faster apertures. Superzooms like your Tamron don't have much of a reputation for sharpness anyway, and your autofocus is likely to struggle in the low light, making a bad situation even worse. Keep an eye on the focus.
 
Thanks for the replies, i used MF and AF and on some of the 250 photo,s taken an iso of 1600.

Yeah i took the Tamron as i thought i could zoom in a bit better, will look out for a 50 on the bay of E
 
freecom2 said:
The crux of it is you aren't capturing enough light.
Click to expand...
Disagree. He's capturing enough light - the exposures are OK. The problem is that he's capturing it in the wrong way - too long a shutter speed, which induces camera shake. He needs a faster lens and/or a higher ISO. (And/or a monopod/tripod for static shots such as #2, but that won't help when the subjects are moving.)
 
Yeah i have them exposed as much as i wanted, just couldnt get the speed fast enough.

I see Nifty Fifty's on ebay for round the £60 mark for a 1.8 but also 1.4 for around £250
 
The Tamro goes to 5.8 on full zoom which is what i had to use.

Will buy a Nifty Fifty and see how i go next time and try and get closer to the action.
 
TBH I don't think there are any easy fixes for that situation. The problem of course is the low light, and it's way too low.

You need much higher ISO and a lens with a lower f/number. But with a 50 1.8 you will not get many frame-fillers and very shallow depth of field will be problematic for a lot of shots. That's apart from technique issues of under exposure, white balance, movement blur and focus.

I did something similar recently, a school play, and managed to get at least something usable with a big flash (bounced). Luckily that was an option but the ISO was still very high, and the shots captured no atmosphere at all. Basically, they were rubbish but they showed the kids' faces and everyone wanted copies because nobody else had managed to get any kind of result at all :eek:
 
I have to admit the light was bad, very dark and they were bathed in either blue or red light most of the time.

Next year i will volunteer to take picture at the dress rehearsals as its not so dark and hopefully i will of improved a bit over that time.
 
These kind of conditions are difficult for even a top end camera that will handle 3200 iso+ without looking too bad, the secret is the lens really. I mentioned the fifty as its a cheap way to improve low light performance, but if you have the cash then you could look at wider primes like the 35mm 1.4 L etc. that will allow even more light in and be a bit less tight on the crop body. I loved using the 35mm 1.4 in low light situations as it was wide enough for handheld shooting to lower shutter speeds, the dof wasn't too shallow either compared to the longer primes and its just one sexy bit of glass!
 
Hi. I actually rather like #1, but people are right, a prime with a wider aperture is the way to go. Also useful in other situations other than low light, so worth the expense. A 50 1.4 isn't that expensive.
 
StewartR said:
Disagree. He's capturing enough light - the exposures are OK. The problem is that he's capturing it in the wrong way - too long a shutter speed, which induces camera shake.
Click to expand...

You know what I meant :P (and on my phone, the exposures do look a tad low, but it is a phone).
 
Got my nifty fifty today and im impressed with it so far, only taken a couple of shots of the daughter and the cat but will have a play later and post some results.
 
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