Ph(x)=Fn(p)

In my nonsense shorthand, this means “photography is problem-solving”. And it always is.

Take the other night, when I shot a classical concert – Händel’s Messiah, by Masterworks of Oakville. Among my challenges were:

  • Low light!
  • The required white balance is non-standard.
  • No flash allowed.
  • Close-ups and long shots both needed.
  • You do not want to get in the way of the audience.
  • Finding the right position – be close.
  • The organizers had made it known that I was not to move around…
  • The conductor had asked me not to make clicking sounds! Ouch.

As you see, I had my work cut out for me. So how did I handle all this?

  1. I used the right equipment – only f/2.8 lenses. 16-35 f/2.8, 70-200 f/2.8 and I had primes and a small camera.
  2. I shot everything at 1600 ISO. f/2.8 and 1600 ISO gave me acceptable shutter speeds.
  3. I arrived early, so I was right behind the orchestra, about 30cm from the soloists.
  4. I had three cameras. My main cameras had a 16-36 wide and 70-200 long lens.
  5. I set these two big Canon 1D4/1Ds3 cameras to “silent” shutter (a little quieter than normal).
  6. I also disabled all beeps.
  7. But I shot all shots of quiet passages with my Fuji X100, which is totally silent.
  8. I shot RAW, allowing me to tune white balance afterward.
  9. I angle shots to ensure the size of the crowd is emphasized.
  10. Shoot detail.
  11. Show all angels – choir, soloists, audience, the works.
  12. Fill the frame!
  13. Shoot the right moments. Emotion is good…

A few of the resulting images:

Masterworks of Oakville - Messiah (Photo: Michael Willems)

Masterworks of Oakville - Messiah (Photo: Michael Willems)

Masterworks of Oakville - Messiah (Photo: Michael Willems)

Masterworks of Oakville - Messiah (Photo: Michael Willems)

Masterworks of Oakville - Messiah (Photo: Michael Willems)

Masterworks of Oakville - Messiah (Photo: Michael Willems)

Final note: also shoot “establishing shots”: the venue, the show notes, and so on.

Shooting converts is fun if stressful – and using techniques like these, that stress can be handled.

 

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