nat Loc: Martha's Vineyard, MA

Does anyone have any advice on settings for a dance recital? Flash is not allowed.Dark audience area and stage lighting changes constantly. I have a 7D. Get a lot of noise above 800 ISO.

St3v3M Loc: 35,000 feet

A tripod or monopod and a flash are always the obvious choices moving from there to better glass with a wide open f/stop like 1.4 or 1.8, but you may also try shooting in RAW where you can shoot at a lower ISO and recover some of the 'hidden' quality in post.

nat Loc: Martha's Vineyard, MA

Thanks. I didn't realize that RAW allows you to shoot at lower ISO.

St3v3M Loc: 35,000 feet

In truth no, but if you do you can recover more of the 'darkness' than you can in a JPG. It is not magic and will not reveal professional results, but RAW gives you less noise at a higher ISO so already you win! These may help too:
http://howto.wired.com/wiki/Shoot_Better_Low-Light_Pictures
http://digital-photography-school.com/how-to-get-better-digital-photos-in-low-light-conditions-without-using-a-flash
http://photo.tutsplus.com/articles/shooting-articles/a-beginners-guide-to-shooting-in-low-light
http://photographylife.com/low-light-digital-photography-tips
http://heartifb.com/2011/03/31/five-tips-for-taking-photos-in-low-light

nat Loc: Martha's Vineyard, MA

Got it!

Jay Pat Loc: Round Rock, Texas, USA

My work flow would be:
Set f/stop to widest setting.
Set shutter equal or a little more that focal length.
Set ISO to finish exposure. (take several shots to adjust ISO correctly). As lighting changes, adjust ISO or use "exposure adjustment".

In movement shots. If you have blur of the dancers limbs, increase shutter a little and adjust ISO.

I have shot two recitals at sisters granddaughter dance.
I shot from balcony (looking down) which gave me better separation from other dancers.

Dancers was 6 years old.
Dances are short. This means less time to make camera adjustments.

Another thought. What I would position myself to be at eye level or higher.
If there are people right in front of you, let them and others around you know, you are shooting and the camera might be noisy. Ask for forgiveness in advance.
You don't want to be a bother to them.
Turn on Noise reduction in camera.

The lens I used was a 70-200 2.8.

Hope this is helpful!
Pat

SharpShooter Loc: NorCal

Nat, I shoot a lot of dance. St3 has given you some good advice.
800 is pretty slow. And 1.4 would be good, but it depends on where you are in the audience. The first row may be to far. Can you get backstage as the "official" photographer? I am the curtain man every May for our local college show.
Will they have dress rehearsals that you can attend? Or even lighting sessions?
I shoot with a 50mm @1.4 or 1.8, center focus and spot meter at ISO1600 with a 5dll. You will have a slight advantage with the crop. I use the 1.8 to get my DoF bigger. With a zoom at 2.8 at ISO 800 I think your keeper rate would be less than 10%. I would use an 85, 1.2 if I had it. You 50 would be pretty much there.
You can try a zoom, but they are pretty slow.
If its jazz it moves pretty fast. Modern a little slower and ballet in little spurts.
If you are new to dance, let me know if I can help more.
From the wings, if that's an option you get very interesting shots since all of the side lights are in the photos complete with flare and glare, not to mention the constant color change.

nat Loc: Martha's Vineyard, MA

Thanks, everyone, for your responses. Very good advice.

Jay Pat Loc: Round Rock, Texas, USA

Couple of corrections.....
Work flow: Select "manual".
As you adjust for different light, adjust ISO.
I don't think "exposure adjustment/compensation" will work in manual mode.
Pat

nat Loc: Martha's Vineyard, MA

I'll check it out. Thanks. I have a 70-200 2.8; I'm thinking I should be in the back of the auditorium if I use that lens. We're dealing with parents, after all, and I don't think they will appreciate me sitting among them with that lens on a tripod. I live in a small community, and everyone knows everyone!!!! :roll: I also have a 50mm 1.8, which I could probably use close to the stage. I think, however, that I will try to get permission to go to the dress rehearsal, which will allow me to experiment with both lenses. What about a 24-105 lens? Would that work?

GPoyner Loc: North Dakota

If you are in back shot with your 70-200 (boy do I wish I had the 2.8), don't shot in front of the stag....parents want to see their children dancing, not your head (had that a few times over the year). Are you shooting for the studio (meaning every dance) or just for yourself (meaning for your own child). I'm actually leaving here in a bit for my daughter's dance classes, I'll try and get on later tonight and give you my settings, or you can look up my topics. When is the recital?

Jay Pat Loc: Round Rock, Texas, USA

Depends on how far back you are.
I have no guideline to determine which lens to use at what distance.

I was far enough back, that I had several of the girls in the image. I zoomed in on the computer for the best framing.

I was after one dancer and took lots of images of her dances and used many that were good. Trying to avoid a hand or arm sticking out of her head, etc.

If the "target" dancer and is not on the front row, it will be a challenge for good shots without front row dancers showing in front of them.

Good idea to get in for dress rehearsal to check things out.
Pat

nat Loc: Martha's Vineyard, MA

I shot one recital last year. I found that going back to the second performance was a big help, as I could anticipate the action. Also, having been a dancer back in the day was helpful. Now this year, if I can only coordinate the exposure with the action, I'll have it made!

nat Loc: Martha's Vineyard, MA

It's certainly not easy to isolate a single dancer from a group; and it's a challenge to crop photos in post to do the same.

DPFotos Loc: Pembroke, Ma

My daughter has been dancing since she was 4 years old, she is 16 now. I go to every recital and photograph them. You purchase your tickest and get them in the mail. You are not allowed to choose your seats so I have no idea where I will be sitting. Unfortunatley I do not have a variable zoom that is faster than F/5.6 at 200mm. (A 70-200mm f/2.8 is on my to get list). Usually I am sitting where I need to use the 200mm setting to get close in on my daughter. So my settings are usually the same. M mode F/5.6-F/8. Shutter 1/125-1/160 ( remember dancers are moving. ISO 1600-3200. RAW, WB Auto. Usually the lighting allows for the dancers to be pretty well lit and the backgrounds are usually pretty easy to hide noise that I can't remove completely in ACR. The last few years I have used a NIKON D5100, and a NIKON D7000. Using the adjustment brush tool in ACR I can selectively adjust exposure so the dancers are well exposed and darken the shadows to hide the noise. This has worked quite well for me. There isn.t ant room in seats to use a tri-pod. Good luck and enjoy the recital.