Metering for Performance Photography

January 15, 2009

On the heels of our discussion of high speed film we’ll look into metering techniques for performance photography and other contrasty, low light situations.  We’ll explore the how’s and why’s of some commonly available equipment and some common techniques that I’ve found useful over the past several years.   My primary experience with performance photography has been with experimental and underground music and dance.  This means jury-rigged lighting in small bars or industrial spaces and performances by people who wear a lot of black.

Lina Baby Doll at Siberia

The most important piece of advice is to use a spot meter.

As you can see from the above photo shooting in clubs and other lower end venues means ad-hoc lighting sources and cluttered compositions.    The subject is just one small element out of a larger scene.  Modern multi-segment meters can’t tell that the jumble of beer bottles standing on the amp isn’t an important part of the photo and can be safely sent into oblivion.  For older cameras which rely on center weighted metering you’ll end up with a meter that’s trying to deal with an insanely bright video projection in the background, the glare from lights, and a performer with his face in the shadows.   Guess which element will loose out.

One technique would be to use a telephoto lens and simply knock out the background.  This is very effective at removing distracting background elements but you loose sense of place and you may want to have the option of using a full body shot.   What’s the point of taking a picture of a guitarist if their guitar isn’t in the scene?

The power of using a spot meter lies in being selective.   You have creative control over what element is the most important to your composition.

Flaming Fire @ Southpaw, Brooklyn

A spot meter takes only a few percent of the scene and meters from that area.  Most meters are 1-5% with a few attachements for hand held meters which give you a 10% view.  In the case of the photo above the subject takes up a fairly small amount of space on the negative so even a multi-segment meter would have a difficult time deciding on the proper exposure for this shot.  The spot meter can also tell me what to expect when I choose an exposure and press the shutter button.  If the performer’s face is being metered and the background is more than 3 stops darker (which would put it in Zone I or II) you can safely assume that any detail in that area will not show up on film as you loose detail in the shadows.   This is great for knocking intrusive elements like stage equipment and drummers out of the picture.

Don’t worry, drummers are used to it.

As a final piece of proof as to the utility of the spot meter, even the most advanced cameras by Nikon and Canon keep spot metering as an option.   Their chips may be pretty damn good but you are the artist and its always important to make your own decisions as to what’s going on the negative. I hope I’ve made a good case for why you should use a spot meter.   It gives you far more control over complex compositions that have a very high contrast rating.   Being able to pick and choose which elements loose detail in the shadows is a very powerful method in your composition.

Now that I hope I’ve established the utility of a spot meter, lets talk about how to use one.

Spot meters have been an standard option for higher end film bodies since the late 80′s.  Newer cameras may or may not have this feature so be sure to check your manual for the feature and how to change your metering modes.   For those with an older camera there are a number of hand held spot meters and some multi-purpose meters have attachments which adds a spot feature.

Vangeline Theater at the Joyce Soho

My advice for metering is to aim for the head.   The head is likely to be the largest area of bare skin and getting the eyes sharp is often the key to a good portrait.  Since we’re using reflective metering we’re turning everything 18% grey.  This means that pale people are a stop underexposed and those with very dark skin are a stop overexposed as the meter tries to darken and lighten skin tones.  Many cameras allow you to adjust your exposure by a stop or two which can be very helpful if you don’t want to keep remembering to adjust your exposure when you’re shooting quickly.   As many artsy types enjoy wearing a lot of black this usually means that the detail on their clothing falls below minimum shadow density.  Personally I find this to be non-problematic, I’m interested in the person, not their wardrobe but others may disagree.

Which brings us to the consideration of costume.  If a performer is wearing something dark that you want to keep texture in without blowing out their face we can use the Minimum Shadow Density technique.   You can count on getting texture and detail two stops to either side of the suggested exposure for light or dark clothing.  So you can meter off of the clothing you want to get detail for and then close down two stops (for dark clothing and vice verse for light).   Just be sure that you’re not going to blow the person wearing them out.

Now that we have some suggestions for how and where to meter, let’s talk about your exposure.   This is the mystical combination of shutter speed, aperture, and film speed that will produce the “correct” exposure for the situation.   First off, this is a performance and not normal life.  The lighting situation is usually very high contrast as performers step in and out of spotlights and people tend to move quickly.   You shouldn’t judge your photographs by the same criteria for sharpness and depth of field.  Cranking your lens all the way open.  Totally kosher.  Blurred motion.  Unless you’re Lois Greenfield and have 300,000 watts of light at your disposal don’t count on being able to stop people dead in mid-leap.  So be sure to change your expectations from a well rounded photo that displays good depth of field, smooth tone, and razor sharpness  to capturing one good element.   Look at exposure as capturing the minimum needed amount of information.

Lastly, don’t use a flash.

Even as a photographer you’re a member of the audience and are there to see what the performers have to offer you.  One of the elements of that show is the lighting.  It might just be a few clamp lights with 60 watt bulbs duct taped to the wall but its there to create a certain ambiance.   Adding your own light to that situation ruins that planning.   Its also distracting as hell.  Next time you’re at karaoke have a couple of people pop flashes in your face and see if you can remember the next line to the song.

Posted in Technique