preface

As a very young entrant into the lighting design profession, I was often told during portfolio reviews that “stage lighting pictures are never right, so don’t show them in your portfolio.” This truism – that photography was somehow inherently incapable of faithfully representing theatre lighting design – seemed evidenced by the apparent absence of quality photographs of many otherwise skilled and talented designers’ work, and it inspired me to learn what I needed to know so that I could claim, without hesitation, that the pictures in my portfolio were true and accurate representations of the design work. Along the way, I discovered a love for the photographic arts that parallels my passion for lighting and theatrical design, which I am pleased to be able to share with you in this book.

My interest in theatre and photography both began in high school, where I was exceptionally lucky to have access to a new theatre and a darkroom. I have always been fascinated by gadgets and equipment, so naturally I found the old cameras my father had were very interesting to experiment with. Additionally, my grandfather and uncle both worked for Kodak, so I had many resources to tap while I was learning my way around the camera. I began taking pictures with an entry-level Nikkormat film camera and whatever film I could get. After a few years of working on the lighting crew I also joined the yearbook staff and began to learn about developing and processing film and prints.

Upon graduation, I started at the University of Connecticut as a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) lighting design student, and happily discovered that the darkrooms for the photography program were next door to the theatre design studios. Over the next four years, I took every lighting class available and a number of photography classes, which together gave me total access to both the theatre and the darkroom. I quickly realized that the difficulty of capturing accurate images in the theatre made it impossible to rely on other photographers to provide the photographs I would need to build a compelling portfolio. The cameras I started with had the most simplistic of light meters, and only allowed the user to set the film speed, aperture, and shutter speed. I had to learn quickly how these settings interacted with each other to maximize the light coming through the lens. The only reasons I became successful at this endeavor were the many opportunities to practice and some great guidance from several experienced photographers. I hope that this book will provide everything you need to get a great start down this path.

—William Kenyon,
State College, Pennsylvania, August 2017