Theatre Production Photography

Myself and a fellow photography student Oliver Sharpe, have been working in collaboration with 3rd year theatre students at the university. The theatre students were working on their final production for which they needed marketing, promotional, and 'head shot' photography. We saw it as an opportunity to hone our lighting skills and try out some new techniques with an exciting theatre group.

I found working with Ollie to be hugely successful. As a pair (when photographing a large group of people) one of us could take charge of the camera and work with the subjects - concentrating on getting the best shot, whilst the other could concern themselves with all other aspects of the job - checking lights, moving backgrounds, making tea and so on. At a certain point we would swap roles so as to keep the work load balanced and to prevent task fatigue. There is a lot to be gained from having a team-mate who is empathetic to your mode of working, it makes the job a whole lot easier.

I also found the experience of working with a group of theatre students to be beneficial. They take direction well and are comfortable and patient in front of the camera. The challenge was in getting them to appreciate that with photography their acting would now appear as static, rather than dynamic as with theatre. Or in another frame of mind - the challenge was on us to present a still image which did justice to their dynamic performance. People skills and patience were a must with this work, we did make a few mistakes - particularly with the first shoot where we asked everyone to arrive first thing and then they all had to wait whilst we fuddled about with lights - always give at least an hour for set-up before anyone arrives. Thankfully we had a positive and committed group to work with, which made the process enjoyable as well as informative.

Most of the better images went to the theatre team, but I have a few samples here: