Search:

 

Performance Etiquette for Photographers

 

Please don't take this the wrong way. I love photographers. But many of us performers secretly detest them, and consider them a necessary Evil. Personally, I don't think documentation is really all that necessary, and deep down I don't think photographers are really all that Evil - just a little clumsy. And it's partly our fault as performers - documentation is so often an afterthought in the performative equation, a last minute arrangement handed over to someone without the necessary experience, who's given little to no guidance (what to expect, guidelines for shooting, etc) -- we almost always assume the photographer will know exactly what to do, as if they've done this 100s of times before. As a result, I've unfortunately been to far too many performances, especially involving quiet, subtle music, and witnessed some very unaware photographers seemingly going out of their way to get IN the way of the thing they're trying to document - without actually noticing what they're doing! When glued to their little viewfinder, photographers seem to have an illusory phantom feeling that they're invisible, when in fact they're just highly unaware of their surroundings. Maybe you've noticed this too?

 

Guess what, photographers and cameramen? If people are looking at you or your flashy bi-products, then you're performing too!

 

The result of shoddy camera "performance" is an audience that spends part of the event paying attention to the photographer's flashing and fidgeting about. The truth is, when artists and composers ask their non-performer friends to document a performance, very rarely are these photographers familiar enough with what they're about to witness, aware enough of how a performance setting functions, and are hence grossly unaware of how their own presence is noticed by the audience. The photographers fall into their own world and, by accident become a part of the composition.

 

Why should this matter? I'm really not one for rules. However, as a composer, when someone has worked really hard to learn and perform your work, it can seem insulting to then "assault" their performance with a distracting barrage of extra camera sounds, flashes, and photographer movement that the performers themselves didn't intend. And to add insult to injury, photographic negligence can give the impression that the artist cares more about the future than the present.

 

Here, then, are the semi-Zen questions of the day:

 

 

 

So, photographers, here's a general golden rule to adhere to for trying to document any performance:
    be as invisible as possible, pretty pretty please...

 

Here are a handful of guidelines for both photographers and performers to consider to help you reach this goal of documenting any sort of performance as invisibly as possible, especially very subtle or quiet ones.

 

Etiquette Quicklist

 

. . .

 

1. Don't use the flash!

I'm sorry - if you don't know how to take pictures without the flash, then you're not a real photographer. Sit down with the manual for an afternoon, mess around with those settings called the aperture and shutter speed (yep - that means no more automatic settings, boo-hoo) - and get your shot without flashing a super-bright blinding white light that every single spectator and performer can see, even with their eyes closed. Unintentional flashing is annoying, distracting, and unnecessary. Audience members don't usually sit in the back shining flashlights on stage (unless of course they're asked to), so why would we permit photographers to do this? Well, since they're so glued to their viewfinder, and are very rarely told to STOP, most of the time they don't even notice the glare they're producing - they're desensitized to the flash. In the consciousness of the viewer, however, a flash creates a discrete break in the flow of events, like a jump-cut, especially during a music that's somewhat static or changing slowly.

 

Moral: just because it's music doesn't mean people aren't watching - understand that the viewer's sense of attention and hearing is also connected to what s/he is seeing.

 

2. Turn the camera sounds OFF!

Let's get this right - either you're deaf and can't hear all the repeated beeps and jingles you're making - or you don't know how your camera works and don't know how to disable the sound effects? Guess what - using the index in the back of your camera manual (look under S for 'sound'), it will probably take about 1 minute to figure out how to turn those damn sounds off FOREVER (thankfully, it won't reset itself when you turn the camera off). And if you don't have the manual, I can bet you you'll find something if you just hit the Menu button and start searching around.

 

Moral: Unless the photographer is written into the score, s/he should be careful about contributing their sound effects to the piece.

 

3. Camera clicks are LOUD in quiet situations! Take fewer pictures !

Photographers: When the music's quiet, guess what? We can still hear you. Your click becomes part of the music. How can you avoid this? How about: Take as few pictures as possible. Stand really far away from where anyone is sitting. Only take pictures during the loud parts. Take pictures from behind a window if there's one around.

 

4. Turn OFF the AF Illuminator (the little red or orange light that shines right before the shot)!

Guess what? People like to look at the performers, so why would you flash a little orange light on them over and over and over again? Leave the lighting to the lighting director please, and remember our mantra - be as invisible as possible. Turn off that little orange light that flashes before each picture. It's called the AF Illuminator, it helps your camera's auto-focus function, and it's terribly annoying. I'm not sure if most cameras will let you turn it off, so either a) get a camera that uses an infra-red (aka invisible) AF Illuminator, or b) get a real camera and focus it by hand.

 

5. Set a limit to how many shots can be taken

Photographers: DON'T TAKE PICTURES THE WHOLE TIME! It's a bad habit to take shot after shot after shot after shot after shot after ... mostly because it's hard to be invisible when photographing a performance. Repeated clicks, sounds, flashes, and movement can add up to the equivalent of Chinese water torture. Instead, why not just take a couple really, really good shots? If you're a good shot, it should only take a couple. And if you're a bad shot, then maybe someone else should be behind the camera. In fact, if you're a bad shot and want to take a million shots, then maybe it would be better to use a video camera, right? It takes 30 shots per second! Otherwise, just relax, take a handful and be done with it. Just accept beforehand that you're going to miss a few moments - alas that's the dilemma of taking one picture at a time...

 

Composers and performers: talk with your photographer ahead of time, and set a limit for how many photos they're allowed to take - i.e. 2 per movement; 1 per minute; clumps of pics, several minutes apart. I guarantee that if you leave this up to the photographer, they will click and click and click and click and click - the reason is that they're completely nervous that they're going to miss something you wanted them to capture. Lessen the pressure by giving them a limit.

 

6. Don't move around - figure out one or two good spots ahead of time and stick to them!

Photographers: You're not invisible. And you're not a dancer. So why are you moving? Probably because you got there late, and/or didn't talk to the composer/performer about what to expect, and/or didn't get there early enough to see the run-through or rehearsal. Here's the trick: Figure out one or two really good spots to hunker down and shoot, and then stick to them. If the spots are really far away and you risk being noticed as you move from spot to spot, then maybe it would be better to have two photographers? (Maybe. Just make sure the other photographer has also read the rules(!))

 

7. Talk beforehand about the performance - what to expect?, how long will it be?, etc...

Composers and performers: Communication is key - if you know what's going to happen, explain it to the photographer. Tell them how long the performance will be. If they know how long it's going to be, they'll know how to pace themselves. If they know what to look for, you'll get the shots you want...
Photographers: Ask questions!

 

8. Rehearse!

Photographers: The performers have usually practiced really hard - so why wouldn't you? Go to a rehearsal or run-through and check things out. This will give you a chance to 1) scope out some good positions, 2) to get a feel for the best moments to take some photos, and 3) to practice getting your settings right for the lighting situation.
Practicing will allow you to take fewer and better pictures, and fewer pictures means you'll be less noticeable. Oh, and maybe you'll also have some time then to actually watch some of the performance too!

 

9. Performers: Use a photographer you know and trust, talk to them about the performance and your expectations, set up some guidelines (and make them repeat this back to you), give feedback afterwards, and use the same person over and over and over again so that they get used to what you want.

Composers and performers: If you use the same photographer again and again, they typically get used to what you want. You can also take them aside afterwards and evaluate their "performance" so that each time they become less and less visible.
Photographers: Ask for advice beforehand. Afterward, ask for feedback. Communication is a beautiful thing, and performance documentation is something that you can get better and better at with practice.
.  .  .