Opus 100: Hey! It’s my 100th blog post. I wish I was able to post more frequently, but I’m pleased to have hit triple digits. (Isaac Asimov fans will understand the Opus 100 reference.)
This week, I was out to Riverland Community College to shoot show photos for RENT. I shot during one of their final rehearsals. They opened on Friday and will run again next weekend. Lynne and I will be out there Sunday to see the final performance. It will be good to be able to concentrate on the story rather than just the visual look as I do while shooting.
The cast and crew did a great job. Scot and the band were terrific, and James’ set is amazing. You’ll see some of that set here. He told me later how hard it was to make things look run down and grungy.
I took a ton of photos. That seems to happen more so with musicals. There’s more movement, choreography, I think, that makes me move around more, searching for the right composition to tell the story of the show with still images. Beyond the technical challenges of shooting in low light and harsh light, the real trick is seeing the image you want in your head then moving to the right place to photograph that image. Sometimes, things happen too fast and there’s not enough time to move from stage left to stage right. But when you get it right, it can be very satisfying.
While moving in tight is good, and it’s my preference, some scenes demand that you capture nearly the full stage. These images take you there and let the viewer know these are shots from a stage production. They help show the extent and art of the set.
This show presented many really nice opportunities for good shots. The blocking often produced good photographic composition. Several of my shots show almost a classic triangular composition. It’s a reminder that performing arts are visual arts, too. While they have other means to draw the eyes of the audience and focus attention, classical forms and rules still have a use. Lucky for me as I can then translate them into my two-dimensional form.
In choosing photos for this post, I had many that show one or two players up close, interacting with each other or interacting with the audience. Creating drama, emotion.
My goal is to capture that as best I can. Having the right sight-line, as I mentioned earlier, is an important piece of that puzzle.
When you get it exactly right, it’s almost magical. The actors are performing the vision of the director, so I don’t have the ability to pose or re-pose my subjects. My posing then takes the form of my feet. Moving to make the shot work the best. If it can look planned, that’s great!
RENT is a musical filled with angst. The singing is nearly constant, and there are plenty of chances to capture a cool solo performance.
Shooting a lighted subject against a dark background helps draw us to the subject. It’s sort of Lighting 101. And it produces some of my favorite shots.
And some shots combine all the elements. Emotion. Interactions. Lighted subjects with a dark background. Terrific visual composition. I press the shutter and know I have a photo I’m going to like. One that might make a great finale for a blog post!
