Theatre photography first took place in the photographer's studio before the photographer could come to the theatre with the appropriate technical equipment and take pictures on stage. Theatre photography is a genre of photography. Its are performers on theatre stages as well as scenery or (rarely)

prop A prop, formally known as (theatrical) property, is an object used on stage or screen by actors during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinct ...

stage design Scenic design (also known as scenography, stage design, or set design) is the creation of theatrical, as well as film or television scenery. Scenic designers come from a variety of artistic backgrounds, but in recent years, are mostly trained ...

. Trends in theatre photography are drama, opera, ballet, puppet theatre, cabaret, variety show and portraits of artists.

Genre

Theatre photography serves as documentation and advertising for a theatre. Documentation includes the capturing of an artistic expression, the presentation, the realization of the theme and also the stage design. Recordings of theatre scenes and performers are used in showcases, for theatre posters, programme booklets and advertisements. The most extensive use of theatre photos is in the media, mainly to illustrate reviews and reviews, more often to announce new productions. Professional theatre photographers are usually self-employed and are booked for the respective production, although contracts for the entire theatre season are quite common. Some large theatres have their own advertising department, in which permanently committed photographers also work.

Practice

The use of digital

single-lens reflex camera A single-lens reflex camera (SLR) is a camera that typically uses a mirror and prism system (hence "reflex" from the mirror's reflection) that permits the photographer to view through the lens and see exactly what will be captured. With twin le ...

and fast objectives with different

focal length The focal length of an optical system is a measure of how strongly the system converges or diverges light; it is the inverse of the system's optical power. A positive focal length indicates that a system converges light, while a negative foca ...

- depending on the size of the stage - enables the theater photographer to react to the most diverse light moods on stage. Many theatre photographers also shoot in

raw image format A camera raw image file contains unprocessed or minimally processed data from the image sensor of either a digital camera, a motion picture film scanner, or other image scanner. Raw files are named so because they are not yet processed and the ...

to compensate for colour cast and deviating

colour temperature Color temperature is the color of light emitted by an idealized opaque, non-reflective body at a particular temperature measured in kelvins. The color temperature scale is used to categorize the color of light emitted by other light sources ...

in the digital workflow. In addition, digital photography allows a quick and timely publication of the photos in mass media. Photographs are mainly taken only during rehearsals so that the performance is not affected. There are often extra "photo and TV rehearsals" before the premiere, to which

press photographer Photojournalism is journalism that uses images to tell a news story. It usually only refers to still images, but can also refer to video used in broadcast journalism. Photojournalism is distinguished from other close branches of photography (such ...

s are invited. Photo and TV rehearsals, for example, are the standard in all theatres and opera houses in Berlin and Hamburg, Salzburg and Vienna.

Well known stage photographers

References

External links

{{Authority control Photography by genre

Genre

Practice

Well known stage photographers

Further reading

References

External links