Had the pleasure of Photographing Hugh Bonneville, from Downton Abbey. He was performing as C S Lewis in Shadowlands at The Chichester Festival Theatre.
I have been photographing Theatre for many years. My cameras of choice are 2 Nikon D4S’s with a 70-200mmf2.8E and a 24-70mm f2.8VR.This gives a large range from a wide angle to a telephoto to get in close.The above photograph was taken at the 200mm focal length which gets in nice and close to get into the drama of the scene.Photographing Theatre throws up many unexpected movements so using the two cameras covers most scenarios.Anticipating where the action goes is one of the challenges photographing Theatre so you need the best equipment that focuses super quick.
The Nikon D4S is excellent in low light, I normally go to 3200asa although the camera can give excellent results at much higher asa’s. Modern digital cameras can now shot in conditions you could only dream of photographing in the past. The images are shot raw using the stage lighting and processed in Phase One Capture One Pro, my raw processes of choice.
More pictures from the show can be seen on The Geraint Lewis Collection website
https://geraint-lewis.photoshelter.com/gallery-image/SHADOWLANDS/G0000CPPOo5ulA2Q/I00004mjorZMyTG8