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Archive 2019 · Shooting dancers - a question about settings with the D850

jonbauer
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Shooting dancers - a question about settings with the D850

Hi All,

Am prepping to shoot some dancers in a room that looks like this. (Studio 1 on this page: https://linesballet.org/visit/studio-rentals/)

I definitely don't want to do silhouettes and I know that those windows are gonna blow out.

So my question is... Active D or no Active D?

Thoughts?

- Thanx
- Jon

May 07, 2019 at 11:13 AM

friscoron
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Shooting dancers - a question about settings with the D850

Man, that looks like a really cool setting! TBH, I've yet to try the Active D setting. I don't think you're going to have the shadows that the Active D helps compensate for. That room is white, and there's a lot of light coming in from different directions, so I don't know if the Active D is necessary or not.

May 07, 2019 at 11:23 AM

JohnSil
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Shooting dancers - a question about settings with the D850

jonbauer wrote:
Hi All,

Am prepping to shoot some dancers in a room that looks like this. (Studio 1 on this page: https://linesballet.org/visit/studio-rentals/)

I definitely don't want to do silhouettes and I know that those windows are gonna blow out.

So my question is... Active D or no Active D?

Thoughts?

- Thanx
- Jon
Jon, will you be shooting towards the windows or away from them?
Especially if shooting toward them, I would shoot on full manual. Get your setting correct and go manual. You might want to overexpose 2/3 to a stop to eliminate shadows.
Of course the day may not be as bright on the day you shoot, such as heavy overcast!
I would try a minimum of 1/500 or higher.
Of course there's a lot you haven't told us so kinda hard to advise!
Good luck
John

May 07, 2019 at 12:11 PM

jonbauer
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Shooting dancers - a question about settings with the D850

JohnSil wrote:
Jon, will you be shooting towards the windows or away from them?
Especially if shooting toward them, I would shoot on full manual. Get your setting correct and go manual. You might want to overexpose 2/3 to a stop to eliminate shadows.
Of course the day may not be as bright on the day you shoot, such as heavy overcast!
I would try a minimum of 1/500 or higher.
Of course there's a lot you haven't told us so kinda hard to advise!
Good luck
John

Hi John,

I'll be shooting ballet dancers - I think TOWARDS the windows. I'm thinking that I'll need to use a strobe in the front - maybe bounced off the back wall - to get some light on their faces and bodies...

What else might help you to give me more advise? :-)

THANKS for jumping in! I want to be prepared.

- Jon

May 07, 2019 at 12:14 PM

JohnSil
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Shooting dancers - a question about settings with the D850

jonbauer wrote:
Hi John,

I'll be shooting ballet dancers - I think TOWARDS the windows. I'm thinking that I'll need to use a strobe in the front - maybe bounced off the back wall - to get some light on their faces and bodies...

What else might help you to give me more advise? :-)

THANKS for jumping in! I want to be prepared.

- Jon

Jon, the problem with strobes is you’ll need to be at sync and that’s pretty slow unless you use enough to overpower the sun and use the strobes to stop the movement. And that’s might be enough to blind people?!
I’ve shot a lot of dance but it’s always been ambient light and stage lighting, not near what you have there.
Will it be OK to use strobes?
is it a performance?
Will they have regular and dress rehearsals? I’ve shot during dress rehearsals and wandered around among the dancers once I know the dances from watching regular rehearsals. Just an idea?!
John

May 07, 2019 at 11:22 PM

Steve Wylie
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Shooting dancers - a question about settings with the D850

This may be a tough assignment, but it could also be very rewarding, as that location is really tantalizing. If I were shooting in it, and shooting ballet, I'd go for poses that don't require you to freeze motion. Use the corner and the windows to light your subjects. Make these ballet portraits, rather than action shots. You might be able to get away with avoiding high speed sync, especially if you're willing to let the windows blow out, which I think I would. You probably would need some strobes, or if the subject is really close to the windows, get by with silver reflectors. Joe McNally has done some recent work in this kind of environment; his results have been amazing.

The problem with freezing action with strobes in this environment is balancing the ambient with the flash. To take advantage of the incredible light in this room, you need to either open up wide, or shoot slowly enough to let that light in. Either way, you risk foot motion due to too much ambient light "polluting" your flash exposure. That's why I'd go for poses that don't require freezing action. Frankly, I think they'd be better choices in this room anyway.

Please let us know how you decide to proceed, and let us see your results. Good luck and get some great frames.

May 08, 2019 at 01:55 AM

jonbauer
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Shooting dancers - a question about settings with the D850

Hi All,

Thanks for the input.

Yeah, I think I've decided not to try and play with strobes for this shoot - JohnSil - I think you are right - there's no way I can overpower the sunlight that I think is gonna be coming through those windows. Also, I think strobes may make the room look less natural.

Gonna just use the natural light in the room. My goal is to get things that look like this: https://www.instagram.com/p/BtP8VloHQ0l/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=1h9suvrbu6lr7

I think that's the same studio.

Steve Wylie -> yeah, I agree that dragging the shutter might make interesting photos, but my goal is to get portraits of each performer - so I don't think that'd work for this one.

- Thanx again, all!
- Jon

May 08, 2019 at 08:31 AM

Steve Wylie
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Shooting dancers - a question about settings with the D850

Just to be clear, I wasn’t recommending dragging the shutter. I was recommending avoiding shots that would require it.

May 08, 2019 at 10:46 AM

jonbauer
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Shooting dancers - a question about settings with the D850

Ah, gotya. Sorry - didn't mean to mis-represent your suggestion.

- Jon

May 08, 2019 at 10:48 AM

jonbauer
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Shooting dancers - a question about settings with the D850

Thanks again all.

Here's my practice session: https://imgur.com/a/2w0Cfdn

I went with blowing out the windows... Shutter: 1/640th, Aperture: 2.8, ISO 800, Exposure Compensation: +5

I like the look of it overexposed like that - and I really don't like having the buildings behind the windows visible...

- Jon

Edited on May 16, 2019 at 01:53 PM · View previous versions

May 14, 2019 at 04:46 PM

Steve Wylie
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · Shooting dancers - a question about settings with the D850

The link doesn't work. Can you post a sample or two here?

May 16, 2019 at 01:38 PM

jonbauer
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · Shooting dancers - a question about settings with the D850

Here ya go: https://imgur.com/a/2w0Cfdn

- Jon

May 16, 2019 at 01:53 PM

ivyinvestorMA
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · Shooting dancers - a question about settings with the D850

Love them. Really great contrast between the model and the (mostly) white washed background.

On several there are some slightly harsh overexposed auras at the edges of the model’s skin. I might have deployed an assistant with a large reflector to balance the light a bit.

But this is so different than how/what I shoot that I’d take yours in a heartbeat!

May 17, 2019 at 10:53 PM

jonbauer
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · Shooting dancers - a question about settings with the D850

Thanks ivyinvestorMA! Much appreciated.

Yeah, I noticed that too. I may dial the exposure compensation back a bit when I do the actual shoot on Sunday to avoid those super overexposed areas...

Thanks again!

- Jon

May 17, 2019 at 11:03 PM

dhachey
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · Shooting dancers - a question about settings with the D850

jonbauer wrote:
Thanks again all.

Here's my practice session: https://imgur.com/a/2w0Cfdn

I went with blowing out the windows... Shutter: 1/640th, Aperture: 2.8, ISO 800, Exposure Compensation: +5

I like the look of it overexposed like that - and I really don't like having the buildings behind the windows visible...

- Jon

I think blowing out the windows works very nicely, but several of the images have a diffuse veiling flair. It could be your intent as the artist, but my preference is for a bit more contrast and sharpness. Overall, a nice series of images.

May 18, 2019 at 09:16 AM

jonbauer
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p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · Shooting dancers - a question about settings with the D850

dhachey -> yeah, agreed. Gonna make a few adjustments for the shoot. Thanks for the feedback!

- Jon

May 18, 2019 at 09:39 AM


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