Another home theater shoot

[TObject]

My first home theater shoot turned out less than stellar results, as I had to position myself too close to actors and way off-center. However, the pictures were good enough for me to receive an invitation to photograph the theater?s new production.

Faced with the same cramped and crowded room this time I decided to stand against the wall behind all the spectators. Also, the previous time I was not satisfied with digital noise I got after jacking up the camera ISO to compensate for inadequate lighting, so this time I used an on camera flash for additional light.

I do not like how direct on-camera flash creates hard shadows, so for most of the pictures on this shoot I bounced the flash 90 degrees (straight up), against the ceiling and some of the back wall. I also used a white card to reflect some of the flash light forward, so that I get a little bit of ?sparkle? in subjects' eyes.

The main studio lighting consisted of two Home Depot halogen flood-lights assisted by regular house incandescent fixtures. So that my flash light mixed with available light well, I put a Nikon TN-A1 correction filter on the flash head. Without the filter, subjects lit mostly with flash would have appeared too blue, or the subjects lit with incandescent light ? too yellow. I set the white balance in my camera to Incandescent, 2900 K.

I used two lenses during the shoot, first a 70-200 f/2.8, and then a 12-24 f/2.4. For individual actors I was opening the aperture up, and for groups I was aiming for greater depth of the field. I set the camera to manual exposure; at 1/60 s shutter speed, 70 mm, f/2.8 I would be underexposed about one step with the available light; the flash was filling in the rest in automatic TTL BL mode.

Anyway, here are the pictures:

http://www.pronografics.com/pictures...tre_MnV_Santa/

Two biggest difficulties were:
- trying to get more of the actors and less of the audience in the pictures;
- I wanted to take pictures faster than the flash could recycle.

[Britain]

Where is this? I seen another post you did. This is cool. I'm actually awfull on in door stuff.

[ABQ TJ]

nice pics...although I was expecting to see pics of home AUDIO equipment! LOL!

[TObject]

Thanks. Yes, I absolutely dread indoor picture taking; I have a lot to learn and a lot of mistakes to make in that respect. But, these pictures turned out better than I expected.

This is at some private residence in San Diego. Started as pretty low key, but now that more people know about it these shows attract more people that can fit in the house; some have to stay outside and watch through the open door and windows.

Home theater equipment? he he he, this is real home theater, not a bunch of electronics.

[Britain]

Let me get this straight

This is at a house (Home)

Theres no famous actors

People are gathered out side looking in the windows.

What gives? Standing room only?

Way cool