Photographing Dance Rehearsals

Cardinal rules

1. No flash. Ever. If you can't turn off an on-camera flash, cover it completely with opaque black tape.

2. Stay out of the way. In the studio, take pictures from the sides and corners of the room; in the auditorium, stay off the stage and don't get in the director's line of sight. Be considerate of other photographers as well -- they want pictures of their kids, not the back of your head.

Tips

Use fast film. You're photographing fast action in dim light, so you need every bit of film speed you can get.

Suggested films

• Color print: Fuji 800 (several varieties) and 1600 speed films; Kodak Ektapress 800, Gold Max 800 and Royal Gold 1000. Fuji probably has the edge in quality here, and Kodak's "professional" Ektapress is a better bet than the "consumer" lines. If you plan to drop off your film at a Wal-Mart or similar place, stick to these and shoot them at their nominal speeds.
• Color slide: Fuji Provia 1600; Kodak E-200 pushed to 800, or 320T pushed to 640 or 800; Imation 640T (sold by Freestyle as Arista 640T) The "T" films are tungsten-balanced, and the images will not have the orange cast that daylight-balanced films usually do under stage lighting.
• Black and white: Ilford Delta 3200 or Kodak P3200 at 3200 or 6400; Ilford HP-5 at 1600 or 3200; Kodak Tri-X or T-Max 400 at 1600.

Most of these films can be found at well-stocked camera stores and at major dealers like B&H Photo.

Use fast lenses. The 50mm lens that used to come with every new single lens reflex camera is probably the fastest and sharpest lens in your arsenal, and it will handily capture a stage full of action. The zoom lenses that are standard today, though convenient, are generally very slow and poorly-suited for stage photography (fast ones are available, but they aren't cheap).

If you only have one lens and it's a slowish zoom, shoot wide open at short focal lengths.

Use a monopod or tripod. No matter how fast your film and lenses are, shutter speeds are going to be too slow to reliably hand-hold your camera.

Be patient. During tech and dress rehearsals dancers spend more time standing around while the stage crew fiddles with the lights than they do moving. Save your film for the actual dancing.

Bring lots of film.

To catch a dancer in mid-air at the peak of a grand jete, wait a beat after he or she leaves the stage floor to snap the picture.

Consider pushing your film. I.e., set the film speed dial a stop or two faster than the speed on the film package and then extend the film development times. Most films can tolerate a one-stop push (e.g., 400 to 800), and many yield good results when pushed two or more stops. If you don't do your own processing, a professional photo lab can push and print your film for you (check the prices before deciding to go this route Ñ this gets expensive fast).

If you don't get the shot you want, don't be discouraged. There'll be other rehearsals.

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