How to take photographs of School Plays?

School plays are the most exciting events one may want to capture in order to remember them and enjoy them in leisure times when you grow up. Childhood memories are most dearly and close to heart. They remind you of your innocent and sincerest efforts. Nostalgic about your childhood you can always remember of them and revive those happy days. Thus instinctively, parents and grandparents are eager about photographing these events. It is definitely as work of caution since you will never get a second chance for your little one to perform that again. Unfortunately, there are many challenges involved in such a moment specific photography. 

Beneficial tips to improve your hand at this art

The biggest challenge involved being that of exposure and white balance. Auditorium lighting is usually tricky enough that advanced users too desire to have fully manual control. The only drawback is with digital camera that its flash works within a distance of 13-15 ft. As also the major problem is the distraction caused by the instant flashes for the performers.

Thus, your best option is that the photographer has to manually set the exposure and white balance. The automatic white balance systems are always mystified by the stage lights because, the lights are extremely directional, jagged and tinted variedly. So considering all these factors, use of tungsten or light bulb setting can be wisely suggested. The most common suggestion is to take few test shots before your little one is on stage. While these taking trial shots, try to use different balance settings to identify the best suitable one. With advent of LCD screens you can view the shots and decide which settings to follow.

Now when the performance begins, it is very important that “spot metering modes” are used instead of “multi zone metering modes”. Also ensure that your child’s face is exactly in the center of the in the marked brackets on the LCD or the viewing screen. It is necessary to understand that focused single bright lights cause sharp and dark shadows which in turn create dramatic effects. Always be spontaneous to grab the opportunity when your child’s face is lit by such lights.

In case of musical performances, where the faces aren't lit as carefully as in dramas or theatre, it's common for children in piano recitals to perform completely in shadow. All you need to do in that case is that take a clear shot of the kid while he or she is taking a bow.

With the boon of new settings in digital cameras, one can capture photos in low light conditions. These cameras allow you to capture shots in low lighting conditions. Keep in mind that high ISO sensitivity settings of around 400 are preferred for such kind of works. One more benefit is that these features can be used in case you are using a telephoto lens, if you aren’t in the front row.

The most important factor to give good results is your spontaneity towards photography and just click when it is the right time!