Underexposed

The Taming of the Shrew with pirates was shot from dusk to evening, so the light available changed dramatically from start to finish. It was no surprise that I had to increase dramatically (pardon the term) the ISO over the course of the show, from 250 to 2000 (and more for action).  Early on there was sun shining on the set, which made for some tricky exposures, such as this, where the bright sun in the back could easily darken the foreground. In fact, I should have been using a + compensation to brighten the actor and wash out the sunny part of the set:

Settings: 200mm, 1/320 sec, f/4, Mode: Av, Metering: Multi-segment, ISO: 250.

But the daylight provided so much light that I could shoot fast at an ISO of 250. Next, the whole stage was in the shade from buildings across the street. The the sky was clear, so there was plenty of diffused light.

Settings: 150mm, 1/320 sec, f/4, Mode: Av, Metering: Multi-segment, ISO: 1000.

As the dusky light faded, stage lighting came on, providing a different color palette and less light. My position, about 25 feet from the stage just behind the lights, allowed me to use the 200mm zoom lens for medium and close-ups. Since the lights were at about shoulder height, I couldn’t move closer to the actors or I would have cast shadows on the cast. Not a good idea.

Settings: 150mm, 1/125 sec, f/2.8, Mode: Av, Metering: Multi-segment, Exp comp: -2/3, ISO: 1600.

Even with the increase of ISO to 1600, I  had to use a low f-stop, resulting in the narrow depth of field you see here. (OK, the picture turned out artistic because even though the guy in the back is out of focus, you can still see his grin.) Moving around in front of the stage, as I do in other theater rehearsals, would have given me more points of view to compose my pictures. But sitting comfortably in one spot wasn’t bad either.

Settings: 85mm, 1/60 sec, f/2.8. Mode: Av, Metering: Multi-segment, Exp comp: -1 1/3, ISO: 2000.

At the end of the show, the sky was dark and the stage lighting was boosted slightly by the park lighting. I had to boost the ISO to 2000 to get up to 1/60th second exposure; about the slowest shutter speed required to prevent casual movement from blurring.