Photographing Your Costumes for Your Portfolio, Onstage and in the Studio (Copy of my handout I produced for my lecture at Costume College 2004 for printing out.) — Tara Maginnis
Continue reading Photographing Your Costumes for Your Portfolio, Onstage and in the Studio (With Photos)Tag Archives: Portfolio
Taking Photographs of Stage Productions
(Note this was written in 1995 and so does not have information about digital photography) See also: Photographing Costumes For Your Portfolio On Stage And In the Studio
TAKING PHOTOGRAPHS OF STAGE PRODUCTIONS
Most theatre designers, technicians and students need to know how to photograph stage shows in order to get pictures they can later use in their portfolios. It is not necessary to transform yourself into an expert photographer to take good stage photographs. It is only necessary to understand a few basics as they relate to the needs of theatre movement and lighting. It is quite usual for an “expert” photographer, who knows all about F-stops, and aperture and flash to take lousy stage photos because he knows nothing about the needs of theatre.
THE PHOTO NEEDS OF THE THEATRE
First, what are those needs? Well, obviously, it is quite undesirable in rehearsals and performances to use a flash. It can blind the actors temporarily, which is distracting and dangerous, and it completely destroys the effect of stage lighting. Flash is very good for photo-call close ups in black and white for the newspaper, but is annoying in performances, and useless for pictures for the scenic and lighting designers. (see figs 1-3.)
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Portfolios and Resumes
PORTFOLIOS FOR ALL YOUR JOBS: Most advice on portfolios for costumers tends to center on straight design portfolios. Yet there are relatively few design jobs out there that consist solely of costume design. My own fairly typical university position at UAF is supposed to consist of equal parts of teaching, research, and public service in my field. In other words, for my job I must, in addition to costume design all shows, teach classes in costume design, costume history, stage makeup and theatre history, do research and publications in my field, do related public services like curate exhibits of costumes for museums, advise local schools about costumes and makeup for shows, teach every sort of cutting and construction in the costume shop, and do periodic displays, posters, and photos for publicity. For me to go to an interview with only a design portfolio would be to leave out more than two-thirds of my work.
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The Old c. 1995 Costumer’s Manifesto “Book” that started before I thought to start putting this stuff on the internet in 1996….
A Book of General Advice for Costumers
By Tara Maginnis Ph.D. The first “self-help” manual for those artists who make clothes for imaginary people.