Dance Photography Tutorial

Peter Norvig has put together a guide to photographing indoor events that’s likely to be useful for the beginner. His test case is a children’s dance recital, and his article is full of detailed guidance and well-chosen examples of how to do things wrong and right.

I’m just a bit dismayed by one oversight, however. He recommends an SLR over the typical point-and-shoot, for good reasons. He also recommends a tripod, but is careful to point out that its use should be confined to the dress rehearsal, as it would be too distracting for the rest of the audience at the actual performance. However, SLRs, with their flapping mirrors, are too noisy to use respectfully from the audience at almost any type of performance. Even the quietest ones, which are pretty quiet, are still too noisy.

I’m going to attend my children’s dance recital in a few weeks and I hope I’m not sitting near anyone inconsiderate enough to be snapping away with an SLR. Norvig implies that this would be acceptable, and he’s quite wrong.