Burelsque Performers, close up (?NSFW)

Tee Why

I got tired of shooting in a wider format, which shows more of the context, but a full body/half body shot, I found to be banal. I went back to do more abstract performance shots which was more appealing to me.

So I went with a 70-200mm f2.8 IS lens and sat in the front row, about 10 feet or so from the performers and shot at about 200mm, getting super tight shots. They perform on a small stage with a red velvet curtain in the background, which can often be cluttered.

However, when they move into the spotlight, the bright light allows for a fast shutter speed but that also throws the background black, so there is no context to the shot, it's just abstract headshot of the performer with a black background (which I found to be cleaner). It was tough though as you are using a very narrow field of view on a moving subject with very dynamic lighting situation but it was different and fun and I liked the different look to the shots.

1. Dolly Danger, she had a balloons covering her dress that she would pop.


2.

3. Madeline Sinclare doing a fan dance.


4.


5. Lavendar la Rue


6. Isabella Star.


7. Ali Oops


8. crazy makeup


Whole gallery is here

briandelion

These would be easier to evaluate if they were posted larger. My favorites are #5 (reminds me of Madonna!) and #8 (great the way the arms form a frame around the expressive face).

Tee Why

Thanks, I hear you about the size, but I'm a bit wary of posting larger sizes due to folks saving them and such.
Call me paranoid. Sorry about that but you can increase the viewing size to see the images a bit bigger.

reyvee61

I shoot under these conditions all the time (stage light) and I think you did a fine job on these.....
I've also thought about shooting tighter and mixing it up but it's difficult at best unless you have two bodies with different lenses.

1, 6 and 8 are my faves!

Tee Why

Thanks
The 70-200mm f2.8 IS is a very heavy lens and I didn't like holding it two hours straight .

I agree, for serious event work, you need two bodies, maybe three if you really hate changing lenses.
But this is a hobby for me so no two body set up. Plus you are sitting in a row elbow to elbow with the audience, so there really wouldn't be room for me to have two bodies.

But ideally, I think a 70 or an 85m f1.8 and a 200mm f2.8 primes would be a good set up for this so you can have one wide and one tight.

reyvee61

I shot the last event with a 70-200 and even at 50 ft from the stage I couldn't get the full stage with an FX sensor.
The new Nikon VRII was not that bad to handle

BradfordBenn

Very cool captures. Have you thought about watermarking you images and posting them larger?

Tee Why

They are watermarked, sorry if they are a bit small. I'm a bit paranoid about larger file sizes available to be taken by anyone.

Thanks for the complement though.