Someone e-mailed me a couple weeks ago asking if I had any tips for shooting burlesque. I wanted to respond but I honestly didn’t know where to start. Gear? Etiquette? Drink specials?
I think he wanted to ask the same questions I got at a show last night when my neighbor looked over during the intermission and started to ask about the shutter speed and ISO and the technical minutiae of the work. She was fascinated by it, really wanted to explore shooting events, but I really wanted to correct her, tell her that this really is the most boring aspect of the gig. It’s important, but well nigh impossible to teach. I remembered an online discussion I read where a pro responded to a similar question: “What ISO did I use? Whatever ISO the scene indicated.”
Which is the trouble with tips: I used whatever five years experience told me to and I can’t teach that.
But if you wanted to get started, say, and wanted the vague foundations without relying on reading Step One, I think I can help. Here are my very vague notes on how to go about shooting burlesque staring with what you should do before you even pick up a camera.
1) Ask
Specifically ask the producer. If you don’t know them, find a performer or find the venue manager or find someone to see what the situation is.
Why? Because you are essentially taking pictures of scantily clad women and men and if anyone should have control over their image and where it’s posted, it should be them.
So I ask every time, even if I have an agreement or an understanding that I’m welcome to come shoot whenever. I do this to make sure our schedules are in sync as well as to make sure there’s a seat reserved for me. Or, in some cases, room for me at all. It happens.
2) Be flexible.
Sometimes I get a great seat. Sometimes I have to stand by the wall. Sometimes I crouch at the lip of the stage. Be ready for anything and be courteous about wherever you wind up.
3) No flash.
Never mind aesthetics, never mind choice, the simple fact is that I can’t think of a venue in Seattle that allows flash photography. In fact, most of them forbid it outright. Leave it at home.
Besides, it’s kind of obnoxious when done badly.
I shot a show a couple years back where the producer made a deal with a bunch of photographers for free publicity: if they did glamor shots for the performers, they could all come shoot the show. That night, there were five or six photographers stationed around the theater, all of them with high powered flash guns and stands shooting madly making sure each act was liberally peppered with their light. When one performer came out and asked for no flash photos, the audience gave her a rousing ovation.
That’s stayed with me. And with most of the performers there, probably.
4) Think wide
You’ll want a lens that’s good in low light. Thinking of the venues here, I’d say you can do great work with an f/2.8 in the well lit clubs (Triple Door, Jewel Box on a good night) but an f/2 will work damn near anywhere under some extreme lighting conditions (the Can Can when I started there, bad nights at the Jewel Box).
5) Think fast
This is a matter of personal preference, but I love stopping the action in a shot. If the performer is in mid spin or the discarded costume is mid flight, I’m a happy man. I’ll start at 1/100 and work my way down to 1/200 if the lighting is good. And don’t worry too much about ISO. Digital noise can be annoying, yeah, but the technology is getting better and, really, unless you print at some ridiculous room size poster, it’s hardly noticeable.
6) Share your work
When you go home and finish the shots, post them somewhere if you can (I am occasionally asked not to post my shots to Flickr, but that’s pretty rare) but be sure the performers and producers get to see what you shot. It’s the best way to make friends in the scene as well as expand your range.
And that’s it! Everything else is hands on time with the camera or learning how to network and chat and get into different shows. Be ready to fail the first five shows. Be ready to stare at a white blur that you could have sworn was a cute blonde doing a fan dance and figure out how to improve on that.
Be ready to have a lot of fun.
Good luck.
