Advice On Shooting Inside Theatre

[theysayjump]

I've arranged an appointment with my local theatre tomorrow afternoon to go around and take pictures inside and outside the building. I've never shot inside a theatre before and I'm not sure how much access they're going to give me, but is there anything I should know before going in that may be unique to just theatres?

I have a Nikon D80 with the stock 18-55mm lense, and the Nikon 50mm f1.8 lense. I have a tripod but it's really cheap ($25) so would it be worth it to take it anyway?

Thanks!

[OsmosisStudios]

Definetly take the tripod.

Find out what the sweet spot, aperture-wise, is for your 18-55. Its like f/8. Shoot either AV or manual with the camera mounted at f/8.

What, exactly, are you planning on taking pictures of? What do you hope to take pictures of?

[theysayjump]

Originally Posted by OsmosisStudios

Definetly take the tripod.

Find out what the sweet spot, aperture-wise, is for your 18-55. Its like f/8. Shoot either AV or manual with the camera mounted at f/8.

What, exactly, are you planning on taking pictures of? What do you hope to take pictures of?

My whole purpose of going is that there's a contest (http://www.captureyork.com/people/theysayjump) that's being run by my local newspapers to find great photographs in and around the town that will be showcased in a book and DVD. There are currently no pictures of this theatre and it's a landmark here and I want to document it.

My plan is to take pictures of anything and everything and really just show how beautiful a building it is.

Thanks for the advice on the sweet spot. I had read somewhere else that it was f/13 but I'll definitely try the f/8. I haven't really used AV much as I've been primarily shooting in P or M, but I'll try that out too.

Thanks for the tips!

[OsmosisStudios]

at f/13 youre inviting diffraction to set in: that's a bit small. F/8 is usually about as small as you want to go. Shooting in AV is kinda like a hybrid of P and M: you set the aperture and it does the rest. Of course, you could always shoot in full manual instead