In all photography genres, the photographer is involved in Determining the frame and focus of the lens. So So we can conclude that advertising photography, portrait photography, theater photography, and concert photography is staged photography.
But in another definition, staged photography is a style that the photographer creates a new atmosphere for photo shooting, and it’s the opposite of journalism photography.
Usually, the photographer captures the reality of a part of the universe. But in stage photography, the photographer collects different parts of the universe that include lighting, objects, and arrangement, which is generally contrary to the usual style. Therefore stage photography can also be considered directed photography, where the director or stage designer is the same photographer.
Maybe these definitions are a little confusing. Well, I will explain more in this article.
Table of Contents
What is staged photography?
Staging a photograph is similar to painting on a canvas. Rather than capturing the moment, artists make specific choices when staging their images. Stage photography provides more opportunities to showcase a photographer’s abilities than news photography or documentary.
Sometimes in stage photography, everything can be designed according to reality. That means the photographer can choose everything based on the surrounding environment. The difference is that the location of each element in the image is up to the photographer’s decision.
Even the photographer can design a scene that no similarity to reality, and it’s considered surreal photography. In that case, the photographer can create a disturbance in time and realities, which has its charms.
In a general sense, stage photography is a kind of deliberate reference to man, space, and objects that can be done with different spiritual and material motives. The diversity of space and subject in stage photography separates it from monopolistic genres such as nature photography or street photography and distances photography from its basic definition of time and space.
Stage photographers do not feel required to follow a specific rule and sometimes use special techniques such as manipulating camera settings, photomontage, or different lighting adjustments.
Stage photography has three main steps. The first step is the arrangement and staging of the subject, the second step is the lighting and light position, and the third stage is the camera position or the photography operation itself. Today, staged photo is mostly used for the advertising industry or portrait photography.
How To Take The Perfect Staged Photos?
Before everything, let me explain some things:
“There is no perfect photoshoot!”
Everything depends on personal opinion. But you can take better photos with knowing some techniques. In this section, I want to explain some tips and tricks of staged photography.
1. Take high-quality photos
Quality is important all the time. But in staged photo, the quality is most important. You need to show a lot of details to your audience. and with the low quality, you will lose the details of your photos.
2. Use a camera with high dynamic range (HDR)
Light is your best friend in staged photo. Obviously with a good camera with HDR supported, your hand is more open to playing with light and creating beautiful photos.
3. Drawing a mind map and thinking before turning on the camera
A good idea needs a good implementation! Without a scenario, you cannot tell a good story. so before everything, think about your idea and trying to imagine it in your mind.
4. Open your mind for any idea in staged photography
I know that you are not Christopher Nolan, but I believe everyone has their daydreaming, fantasy, and imagination. Saying welcome to all your ideas, think about them, and improve some of them.
conclusion
Stage photography is one of the oldest and important photography genres that are very popular among professional photographers. Of course, it is not as popular as other genres, in another word, stage photography is disappearing today.
However, you shouldn’t forget that staged photography is very important in the world of photography, because the role of a photographer in this genre is much more than his usual role, and now he must be a director, narrator, stage designer, and finally a photographer.
The most important thing in this genre is the details. The photographer should pay attention to all aspects of the photos. In fact, The photographer should capture images from the viewpoint of the audience.
Sometimes the photographers use storyboards to flourish the main idea and drawing the mind map before the photo shooting, and based on that, they take several shoots and repeat the process to get the best result.