Dancing Girls

Bryce Wilson · May 11, 2014

Daughter was in a dance competition today. I was tasked with taking shots of her and her friends.

Never thought I would complain about not having the stage lit with spots with gels. Stage lighting for this was plain overhead incandescent. Dim and rather boring.

1.

2.

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5.

Thanks for looking!

D3Sshooter · May 12, 2014

Great set of event pictures, especially number 2. That is also my favorite , ithas it all , dynamic, energy style , color etc….

Hackbone · May 12, 2014

Color and exposure always seems to be the issue. You did a great job with both. Love these, please expla8n what you did to achieve the great shots. Iso, light temp, etc.

Bilsen · May 12, 2014

I second everything Hack just said including the request for settings. Gorgeous work.

Bryce Wilson · May 12, 2014

D3Sshooter wrote: »

Great set of event pictures, especially number 2. That is also my favorite , ithas it all , dynamic, energy style , color etc….

Thanks! I'll let her know. She likes being "favorite".

Hackbone wrote: »

Color and exposure always seems to be the issue. You did a great job with both. Love these, please expla8n what you did to achieve the great shots. Iso, light temp, etc.

THANKS!

This lighting, except for being dim in many areas on stage, was pretty easy compared to normal stage lighting for many dance venues. They didn't use side spots or gels. The entire lighting was provided by individual incandescent cans from over-head. Once I figured out the color temp, I didn't have to worry about it changing. I used the incandescent setting in camera and manually added a bit of blue and magenta until it looked right in camera. The manual color temp used was 2805.

These were shot with a Nikon D700 with a 70-200 2.8. Manual settings of ISO 6400 2.8 and SS 640. I have noticed that as my daughter and her friends age, the shutter speed has to continually creep up to be able to freeze the action of some their advanced moves. Hence the 640 SS which demanded the 6400 ISO.

These were batch processed in Lightroom with a touch of clarity and about +24 Luminance to remove noise. I metered various places on the stage and settled on an average. Depending on the stage area the shot was taken, some had to be adjusted either up or down a half a stop.

Here are a few others from the competition.

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Bryce Wilson · May 12, 2014

Bilsen wrote: »

I second everything Hack just said including the request for settings. Gorgeous work.

Thanks Mr. Hot Model Maven.

Bilsen · May 12, 2014

Thanks for the settings Bryce.

When I first saw 6400 ISO I was very much :confused. The Luminance adjustment explains it but I still envy it.

lifeinfocus · May 12, 2014

Love 'em. And thanks for posting settings. Phil

zoomer · May 12, 2014

good stuff.....3 6 7 are my favs. Nice timing.

Bryce Wilson · May 12, 2014

Bilsen wrote: »

Thanks for the settings Bryce.

When I first saw 6400 ISO I was very much :confused. The Luminance adjustment explains it but I still envy it.

You should be able to coax nice low light stuff out of your MK. Slap that 50 on it at 1.8 and use 2000 or 3200 ISO. Back before I purchased the 70-200 I used the 50 for dance with nice results. Just had to make sure and sit in the first row off to the side.

lifeinfocus wrote: »

Love 'em. And thanks for posting settings. Phil

My pleasure Phil.

zoomer wrote: »

good stuff.....3 6 7 are my favs. Nice timing.

Thanks Zoomster. I found a way to coax 8 FPS out of my D-700 without buying the expensive batteries, which makes capturing the action a whole lot easier. Really don't even need the grip to do it either although I'd be lost without it.

jonh68 · May 12, 2014

Great control over highlights and shadows. My only nit would be to crop 1 tighter to just above the knee since the rest of her leg is in the shadow anyway.

Dancing Girls

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