Photographing a Children's Music Recital Event | Wokingham event photography
Highlight film from Harmoniverse Ensemble Fest June 2021 — children's event photography by Pranali Patil, Berkshire.
Before you read on, watch the film. Three minutes. The whole day, distilled in it.
Harmoniverse is built on a belief that music education should be accessible to everyone, children, adults, all ages and all abilities.
In June 2021 they celebrated music with UK's largest-ever ensemble fest with whole days of performances by their students, many of them performing for the first time. The event was arranged in the prestigious Abby School, Reading. Beyond just recording it, I was happy to be a part of it as a photographer to capture them all singing and playing the instruments so confidently in front of the parent audience.
The challenges and workaround
Events never go exactly as planned. If you want to know how to photograph a stage performance well, the honest answer is that it starts long before you pick up your camera, it starts with understanding the space, light, the places from where the best camera angles can achieved, and you need to be equiped with right lens and skills to adapt to whatever is thrown at you.
Low light and no room for flash
The stage with black curtains all around was dramatically under-lit for photography. The kind of moody, atmospheric lighting that works beautifully for an audience but gives a camera almost nothing to work with. Adding flash was out of the question in the given scenario and there was no space on the stage for tripods and lights after placing their own mic systems and instruments. I relied on my prime lenses to open the camera sensor wide, to let in as much light as I could and that created beautiful images focusing on the performers, with the background falling away naturally behind them.
A high stage that made eye-level impossible from the floor
The stage sat significantly above the audience floor. Shooting from the front meant looking up at performers at a distorted angle that makes subjects look small and distant, and rarely captures a face the way you'd want. I wanted to meet them at their level, not shooting up at them. which is why I am glad I I hired a longer telephoto lens instinctively and moved to the back balcony position. From there I could shoot straight across at eye level, compress the scene naturally with the longer focal length, and capture genuine, unaware expressions and that made the images feel intimate. Nobody knew I was there. It also solved the invisibility problem. I was entirely outside the performers' awareness, which meant every expression I captured was real, unguarded, and completely in the moment.
The lesson every event teaches you
That’s what happens with events. You don't always get the light or the position you'd choose. You adapt and work with what the space gives you, and sometimes the workaround is better than the plan. whether it's a school performance, a community celebration, or a corporate evening be present, adapt to whats available, be invisible, and come home with images that feel like the day actually felt.
If you are looking to capture your next event, You can explore the event photography services here or get in touch to talk through what you need. Based in Reading, I work as an event photographer across London, Reading, Berkshire, bracknell, surrey and beyond.
