Paul I never like to ask too many gear questions on your work, because I know it's so much more than that. However as someone who struggles with choosing DOF vs. speed with my own dance work, I have to ask what lens and aperture you were using on 8-11. I figure you are allowed much closer to subject than I am so the separation is going to give you better BG, but the bokeh on those are really really nice.
Is the stage lighting in this event pretty constant? IOW were you able to meter for the floor and let that crazy video background do whatever, or do you constantly have to adjust your exposure? That's what I find REALLY hard - our stage lighting is always changing and I can't keep up on manual, the costumes vary so much I can't just dial in compensation and shoot AV - I try to keep up but end up using quite a bit of RAW adjustment in exposure, which especially in high ISO can lead to much less quality than you're getting.
I look forward to these every year and continue to be thankful that you share your work. I do wish the exif were there to learn from, but a million thanks for sharing
WP... 8-11 were shot wide open with a 200/2 at minimum focus distance so, what you see is what I got. There is no cropping. During the routine, I swap lenses in the middle between a 70-200/2.8, and the 200/2 to get some variety of shots for the team. You're probably thinking, why not just keep the 70-200 on camera and just stay pinned at 200mm rather than swapping lenses for the same focal length.
There are several reasons. First being, that the 200/2 is such an amazing lens, and hard as it is to believe, even better than a 70-200. Two, that lens does let in about a third more light under the same aperture. Three, I can drop down to 2.5, or 2.2, or wide open if I choose and lower the ISO. And finally, with that lens on camera, I'm not able to fall into the habit of zooming out. The goal is to shoot tight and stay tight.
Changing light is always a challenge. If you're able to rock the dial quickly for a particular area on stage, you can do so, but if the light falls off all over the place, you might as well pick a baseline and stay there. Even under the best events such as Worlds, there's still light fall of in front, but it's manageable. There have been other events where there has been a full THREE stop difference between floor and the apex of stunt toss, where a girl flys into complete darkness. You do the best you can with what you have.
It's tough to set exposures and WB before the first team comes out. You're not really going to be able to dial in off the carpet. You can get a starting point and then find final exposures when the first team comes out. Also, I find that the color of the uniform can also affect exposure. Whites, yellows, sky blues meter more light than your marroons, blacks, and dark blues.
WalnutPond, cheer shows often have multiple photographers so it's important to have consistently exposures and color coming out of every photographers camera. The lights are usually around 3100k so we start there, shoot a few test shots and if there is an adjustment it's discussed amongst all the photographers. The lighting at Worlds was very consistent with no more then 1/3 of a stop variance.
Dance lighting can be a nightmare. Since I am normally shooting alone for Dance I prefer to set a custom WB off a grey card however dialing in Kalvin works too. First you will need to find a base exposure in the center of the floor. As your shooting the dancers adjust the exposure as the light falls off with the shutter speed dial. If there is too much inconstancy with the lighting I will shoot AP priority. Shooting AP priority you have to be aware of your backgrounds and your dancers costumes. If the background is constant I will meter center weight average. I will adjust he exposure based on the costume and background. Normally I will start off around -2/3, if the dancer is wearing black I might go a bit lower and if the dancer is wearing white I may go up a bit. You won't necessarily have time to review the images as your shooting them but you can keep an eye on the shutter speed. If you know the shutter should be at 1/800th in the center when shooting Manual then just make sure when the dancer is in center your getting 1/800th shooting Aperture Priority. As the dancers move around my shutter will adjust giving consistent exposed images. If the background isn't the same color/brightness then I may choose to spot meter off the dancers costume. This is the least desirable configuration as different color costumes will effect the exposure.
A bit more info regarding Dance vs Cheer....
With Cheer it's about facial expressions, hand movements and stunts. You can get away with shooting with a 200/2 cropping off body parts. Dance is about extension and photos really need to include everything from the dancers shoes to their finger tips. The only exception would be very tight head shots.
luketrot wrote:
These photos are great but a lot of the credit has to go to the cheerleaders and dancers who are performing the stunts. They are the ones that dedicate their lives so Paul can look so damn good..
Great words of wisdom, indeed! Just like you guys, these kids are at the top of their game.
Those first six look eerily familiar! (for those who wonder, we were shooting side-by-side on that day). I'd be curious to look how close we came to the getting the same shot on #6.
Great work, as always, and even more fun to shoot with you and hang out for a few days poolside!
P Alesse wrote:
Snooz ya lose. What goes on at the pool, stays at the pool. Gerald... if you're out there, still waiting for that damn link.
I can tell you Scott was caught airing his laundry, and there was the 10 ways to open a bottle with common every day objects at hand. As well as toast's to our armed forces on Sunday night.
Ya shoulda stuck around James, it was good to meet you though, hope to see you again soon.
(for those who wonder, we were shooting side-by-side on that day). I'd be curious to look how close we came to the getting the same shot on #6.