Help! I need help with settings. I shot this with my 50mm 1.4 lens with the following settings: ISO 1600, f/4.5, 1/125. I chose the f/4.5 because I was sitting off to the side, and I wasn't sure if the performers would be at various depths when they appeared on stage. It's that struggle with trying to get each of those settings to balance correctly. The lights on stage are harsh, the audience is dark, and it makes the performers' faces wash out. My biggest disappointment is how washed out their faces are -- especially given how clearly I was able to capture them yesterday in http://365project.org/jyokota/365/2013-05-04
Agrippina by Handel was my first baroque opera, and I was pleasantly surprised with the instrumentation and the performance. From the first note, I was struck by how unique the sound of the orchestra was, and from my vantage point, I could easily see the harpsichord and a range of unknown-to-me but probably various baroque instruments. http://www.staatsoper-berlin.de/en_EN/repertoire/865921
I chose this photo (despite the bad photographic quality) because it best represents what I want to remember from the staging. The use of lights to create and intensify/minimalize shadows. The stage itself was nearly void of furnishings for most of the production, with only a few pieces from time to time. The mirror-like flooring intensified the use of shadows. The projection of different colored lighting in the back created mood. All in all, a production that kept me thinking throughout.
I think this isn't as bad as you describe. The colours really add mood, great reflections and shadows on the walls. You probably couldn't change your position to have a different PoV to include the stage with the full reflections.
A bigger aperture, like f/2 would increase the exposure time reducing motion blur, although I don't see disturbing amounts of that in this picture. The colour balance problems might come from a slightly off white balance setting (which is difficult to get if you have so different lights), but this you can easily adjust in post processing.
It's always difficult to get bright and dark parts on one picture right due to the high dynamic range. One possibility would be to use bracketing and assemble a HDR out of it, although this won't work well if you have moving subjects.
I agree with Endre @endrem above Junko. I don't believe that this is a bad image. I actually love the pattern play in the reflections and the shadows. The colour is great and the reflections superb. Sounds like it was a fabulous opera.
First, I would not be one to advise on settings, but I have found the higher the ISO, the higher the grain--I wonder what it would be even higher than you set it? It's worth seeing how far it can go (but I understand if your goal is to capture the essence of the stage, and it's not like you can ask them to wait while you work with the settings--sigh). I can't get an aperture lower than 4.5 on my camera I think--you have a version up from mine--can it go lower? Last, the nice thing about your shot is all of what you mention--that floor is stunning. And the characters are "moving" so if you had opened up the shutterspeed, you would not have gotten what you did get in terms of crisp lines and better focus.
I love hearing about all the performances you are attending. I spent a year in France my Jr. year in undergrad, and I took film and theatre courses--I was in heaven going to so many performances and seeing the amazing venues that housed them!
It's just a fun picture to look at. I'm on a small screen at the moment and can totally sense the opera as you describe it. The reflections and shadows are very alluring. What's up with the huge fake flower-thingy dangling?
Same question as Michael's. Re settings -- the shot to me works because of the shadows and reflections, and because of the colors. So, it's hard to think about what to do differently because I'm not sure what you had in mind when you took it. I like it!
@endrem -- thanks for your thoughtful analysis . . . and perhaps that f/2would have been just what was needed to take the photo faster so I wouldn't get that washed out blur on their faces? I was more successful on the previous day's photo on getting the performer's faces so that's why I was disappointed with this one.
@marie65 -- thanks for noting the good features of this photo! And yes, it was a good opera, indeed. There are three opera houses here in Berlin, so sometimes the challenge is choosing which one on any given night. The prices are significantly cheaper than in many other cities as a result, and the opera houses much more intimate in size.
@darylo -- you made me laugh because that's exactly the problem! I can't ask them to wait while I fiddle with settings. Therefore, I try a different setting every time, but then the conditions change from performance to performance (where I am seated, the amount of light on the stage, etc.) But we should just keep trying, right? and asking for help . . .
a year in France? Must have been an amazing experience. My junior year abroad was spent in Los Angeles!
@vankrey@taffy -- thanks for your comments. I have no idea what that flower thingy is for, except to fill in some of that open space in general? To hide the projector for the lights?
My biggest disappointment with this photo was that my previous stage photo showed the performer's faces so clearly, and this one shows them so washed out. No post-editing I did helped that, either.
I really like this Junko...fav...you have caught them very well, despite the lighting, and I love all the shadows and reflections...reminds me of Peter Pan!!
I think this is as good as, if not better than, yesterday's shot. The shadows on the wall behind the cast and their reflection in the floor are wonderful elements, and more than make up for any lack of detail in the faces.
May 11th, 2013
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A bigger aperture, like f/2 would increase the exposure time reducing motion blur, although I don't see disturbing amounts of that in this picture. The colour balance problems might come from a slightly off white balance setting (which is difficult to get if you have so different lights), but this you can easily adjust in post processing.
It's always difficult to get bright and dark parts on one picture right due to the high dynamic range. One possibility would be to use bracketing and assemble a HDR out of it, although this won't work well if you have moving subjects.
I love hearing about all the performances you are attending. I spent a year in France my Jr. year in undergrad, and I took film and theatre courses--I was in heaven going to so many performances and seeing the amazing venues that housed them!
a year in France? Must have been an amazing experience. My junior year abroad was spent in Los Angeles!
My biggest disappointment with this photo was that my previous stage photo showed the performer's faces so clearly, and this one shows them so washed out. No post-editing I did helped that, either.