Theatre Lights

[Shadowman]

f/4, ISO 3500, 1/60sec

I was doing some lowlight/high ISO shooting the other night and was just editing for quality. I noticed that there was a purple color tinge on some of the performers, specifically the man's hand lifting the woman and some on her face. The stage was lit mostly from above but I suspect there must have been some stray light source from somewhere else in the theatre. This was shot in RAW and WB was set to auto. While editing in LR I tried correcting by using CA adjustment but nothing helped; it was only through adjusting the WB to shade that I was able to at least even out the tones, all other WB adjustments added a grey tinge or increased the intensity.

[DanK]

John,

It's unlikely that one of the white balance presets will take care of this.

First, stage lighting is often mixed. If you watch it, you will often see spots with different colors of gels being turned on and off, to change the mood, and the mix of colors hitting one part of the stage is often different from that hitting another part. Even a person can have a mix of lighting--for example, bluer on a side facing a blue gel--which is probably the fringing you saw. When there is enough of a mix, you aren't going to get a perfect color balance--what works for one area won't for another--but you can get much closer if you shoot raw (which gives you more flexibility in adjusting WB and the like) and adjust white balance and other aspects of color in post.

As a starting point, I often use the Lightroom eye dropper on clothing that is close to neutral white, but the woman's sleeve is blown out, so I had to start manually. As just a quick first try, I warmed the temperature by 50, shifted the tint in the green direction by 7, and reduced the red and blue saturation by 13 and 16, respectively. Not a great job, but you can see that it is already a lot better.

Dan

[Shadowman]

Hi Dan,

Thanks for the suggestions and edits. One of the first things I did when I entered the theatre was check out the position of the lights, there was also an exit sign directly behind the stage; I'll have to look at my others shots to see if it was on during the performance.

[DanK]

John,

Back in the Pleistocene era, when I was a kid, I did a little bit of lighting, and that may be why I sometimes still look up to see what's there. Usually, there are banks of spots, and they are often gelled differently. Sometimes you can notice it more when scenes change. I don't shoot theater often, but when I have, I have found that I can usually get the color balance close enough that most people (excluding photographers) don't notice the remaining problems.

I doubt the exit sign would be bright enough to matter.

Dan

[Shadowman]

I'm posting this image just to show the exit sign and then noticed the grey screen in the background and I think this also created the weird color cast that developed when I tried to use other WB filters.

[Dave Humphries]

One thought that crossed my mind John, was whether there might have been a UV or 'blacklight' tube way up in the gantry, perhaps behind some drapes (to avoid it being seen directly by the audience) and shining vertically downwards.

[Shadowman]

One thought that crossed my mind John, was whether there might have been a UV or 'blacklight' tube way up in the gantry, perhaps behind some drapes (to avoid it being seen directly by the audience) and shining vertically downwards.

Hi Dave,

It is possible, there was a bank of lights high up and also a projection screen which could be raised.

[IzzieK]

Interesting study...I was interested in your EXIF because we will be passing Las Vegas on our way home from Minden...

[Shadowman]

Interesting study...I was interested in your EXIF because we will be passing Las Vegas on our way home from Minden...

Hi Izzie,

After finding a workable ISO it was all about experimenting with the shutter speed to get either a moment frozen in time or a bit of blur to emphasize movement. Dancers move so fast that you'll probably get blur with almost any shutter speed, to get the frozen moment it's all about anticipating their moves. Regarding Vegas, check out the Sirens of Treasure Island outdoor show, it's free and repeated about four times a day. It will give you plenty of photography exercise and it's a really good show.

[IzzieK]

Hi Izzie,

After finding a workable ISO it was all about experimenting with the shutter speed to get either a moment frozen in time or a bit of blur to emphasize movement. Dancers move so fast that you'll probably get blur with almost any shutter speed, to get the frozen moment it's all about anticipating their moves. Regarding Vegas, check out the Sirens of Treasure Island outdoor show, it's free and repeated about four times a day. It will give you plenty of photography exercise and it's a really good show.

Had put it on my list, thank you...Bill and I don't smoke nor gamble so going around will be easy for us. I also asked that we passed by Esmeralda for the ghost town there...

[Shadowman]

Had put it on my list, thank you...Bill and I don't smoke nor gamble so going around will be easy for us. I also asked that we passed by Esmeralda for the ghost town there...

There's so much more to do in Vegas, couldn't turn around without stumbling upon a block party in some plaza; also if you like amusement rides visit the tower at the Stratosphere, and old Vegas for a nightly show of lights and music. And of course, you are hours away from the Grand Canyon and the Hoover Dam.

[IzzieK]

I was looking through my files of when we last went to Las Vegas and I saw some shots that I took from the Sirens Treasure Island show. I told Bill about your suggestion to see it and he also remembered even without me showing him my then shots. Ive been to Grand Canyon also Hoover Dam (when it was being constructed) though at different times. The Hoover Dam visit was when we went to Arizona too and Nevada for the same reason as we are going to do this time aroiund, pick up some airplane parts...Anyway, if we passed through Las Vegas early we'll just go straight to Hoover Dam...but we are going to the Grand Canyon via Flagstaff, I think as it is much closer there...thanks for the suggestions. I really want to go straight home with just a few drop-ins to photograph as it will be Thanksgiving soon plus Bill's birthday on Black Friday. I want to celebrate this year's getting-old event that will make his head spin. LOL...If you hear from me after we came back and after his birthday, I survived being divorced.

[mknittle]

Interesting study...I was interested in your EXIF because we will be passing Las Vegas on our way home from Minden...

LOL Minden is about 100 miles from Auburn.

[Shadowman]

f/4.5, ISO 6400, 1/160sec

[Rob Ekins]

I suspect that Dave H is on the money.

I would even put money on the back lights in question having Lee filter #181 - Congo blue in them.

[wilgk]

I hope you manage to process them to achieve what you want John, as it looks a wonderful fun show to watch and to photograph.

[Shadowman]

I hope you manage to process them to achieve what you want John, as it looks a wonderful fun show to watch and to photograph.

Hi Kay,

It was fun to watch, photograph, and process; thanks for commenting.

[rpcrowe]

IMO, it is difficult to shoot an overall view of a stage because often the colored lights illuminating one section of the stage is different from the colored lights illuminating other portions of the stage.

If memory serves me well, I used my NIK software with control point technology to adjust the colors of portions of the stage lighting, illuminating the individual performers...



Also sometimes colored lights cannot be corrected such as in this setup when the light was an overall blue...



OTOH, individual performers can often be corrected to within acceptable limits of color. However, you need an advantageous shooting position as well as generally a longer focal length to shoot individuals. This shot was done with a Canon 40D using ISO 800, f/5 at 1/250 second. My lens was the 70-200mm f/4L IS at 106mm (169.6mm equivalent). It's nice to have enough light to attain a shutter speed fast enough not to get action blurred. This is often not the case in less than professional stage events. However, shooting when the performers are momentarily still or when they reach the peak of their action also helps.

[Shadowman]

Richard,

Thanks for the tips, especially about using NIK software.

[rpcrowe]

Richard,

Thanks for the tips, especially about using NIK software.

I pop a control point on the area that I want to adjust, then adjust the radius and correct...