Theatrical photography can generate a useful revenue stream. This is from the perspective of selling to local theatrical or musical groups for publicity purposes, to the society members and also to local press. The latter is particularly true if you can provide some appropriate copy to accompany any shots you submit. It’s worth looking in your local newspapers to establish what sort of style they use.
The shot below was one of a number I took for a production of Princess Ida. The lady in the frame was so pleased with this photograph that she has a framed canvas print in her dinning room. |
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But to be successful, you not only need to be able to get the lighting and the pose right, you also need to consider the background too. In all but one of the examples in this section an appropriate setting has been used. The exception is the group shot featured later in this section. It did sell a few copies, but it did not sell particularly well and the local press certainly didn't publish it.
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 The shot on the left was for a production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s – Iolanthe. However, the story line had been adapted and the show was called “Iolanthe in Rome”, hence the Roman togas. To provide a suitable backdrop for the publicity shots, a local Roman Villa museum was used – complete with its own Centurion.
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These two shots were used as publicity for a production of “Annie Get Your Gun”. To add a touch of realism to the shots we approached a local American Theme restaurant. They agreed to allow the use of the premises as a backdrop for free a mention in the programme. |
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This group shot on the right was taken as publicity for a concert that was to be sung in costume. However, I feel that the unsuitable background that was used (and this was the best available) did not in anyway enhance the finished product. This was very much a lesson learned for me and there after I always made a point of checking what facilities were available before arriving for the shoot. |
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As you probably realise, all of the shots so far in this section have been posed. What about action shots perhaps taken at a dress rehearsal I hear you ask. Well try it out by all means. However, you may find that the working conditions, in particularly the lighting, may not render the type of good quality results that one would need to make the effort worth while.
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Tip : Always check whether you can use flash for action shots as this can certainly make a difference to the quality of the finished product.
If you take on a commission of this type always make sure that you know where the shoot is going to take place. In the event that you are being asked to stand people up against a blank wall and take their photographs, from a cash generation perspective, you are probably wasting your time. Always try and think of some local alternatives that might be suitable. For example, I have used the cloisters of a church, an open air museum and an old castle. It’s certainly worth pointing out to the society that the better the appearance of the finished product, the more attractive and therefore the more effective it would be as publicity material. Publicity pictures help sell tickets – bad pictures help sell tickets badly !!
With digital cameras, also remember that you can offer not just prints but also a CD of photographs taken. Moreover, if you own a camcorder you can offer to record the performance and charge for making copies.
It’s also worth trying to do a deal to get some free adverting in the production programme.
Finally, please keep in mind that all the theatrical commissions I have ever taken on were for local amateur groups. You can obtain a list from your local library which is also a source of useful information about a whole variety of different types of groups in your area. Use it – it’s free !!
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