Date: Tue, 17 Aug 1999 02:32:10 -0400
From: heyhoot-AT-mindspring.com (Christopher Hudert)
Subject: Re: PUPT: Photographing puppets?


Dori,
 It seems like ages ago that you posted your photographing puppets
questions but that only because it has been, shall we say an active week on
the crit. 200+ postings. I'm still wading through them.  Anyway, on to my
reply...
 I am sitting here taking a break from pouring over a pile of proof sheets
in 35mm and 120, plus several rolls of slides. I am getting a little loopy
having examined each one with a loop, looking for the flaws and trying to
find the "perfect shot" so I must disagree with the posting of
puppeteer/photographer Brian Morris. If you got 4 or 5 usable pictures from
one roll you did pretty well.  But then that depends on our standards of
usable. I got lots of passable shots but when it comes to a usable shot,
one I am going to have blown up to an 8x10 and printed for publicity, I am
VERY choosy.  Are all of the puppets and/or puppeteers focusing to the same
point? Did somebody slouch/blink/twitch/etc. in the shot? Does the shot
showcase the work as I want it too?  Was the shot taken from too high or
low or at a bad angle creating a undesireable photo?  Does the shot say
something or is it just a static shot of hung dollies? (No offense meant to
the doll folks but I've seen some publicity shots that looked like they
were photos of executions) For your next shoot you may want to try using a
theater photographer who also does studio work. That way you can
communicate what you are after and he/she will not only understand you but
be able to offer suggestions to add dynamics to your photos. IMHO,
directing a photo is even more difficult than directing a show because the
show moves along but the photo is frozen in time and can be analized ad
nauseum. But I digress because your question was really about backgrounds.
So....
 You might try curtain velour, though unless you use theater style velour
in your stage I think it would be more expensive than a roll of backdrop
paper.
 Yes it is great to have a puppeteer on the photographer's side of the lens
but as you mentioned with the coat tail turned etc. it is easy to miss the
little things that will fudge a shot. Be sure that the person is looking
from the same angle as the photographer.  It will take extra time,
patience, and thus of course money, but it should give you what you are
looking for.
 Oh, I almost forgot. Usually the whole idea of the background is to find
something fairly neutral and that highlights your puppets. I once achieved
this with a huge swath of short, grey fun fur for a set of photos of rod
puppets. The bolt was wide enough for a nice group shot and long enough to
create a seamless backdrop.  I was also able to use some scraps that I had
to cover/hide stands for the puppets so that I could position and shoot the
puppets myself. The shots came out great, but they were not intended for
publicity so the standards were lower. Hope this helps.


Christopher




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