Big Top Circus Photography Masterclass

One of the biggest challenges we set ourselves was a private shoot at the circus. No kids to take – just our kit. It turned out to be one of the best masterclasses we could have experienced. Initially we found our seats and set up our cameras. Settings sorted we patiently waited for the performance to begin thinking this was going to be a breeze.

This, however, was the easy part because nothing changed for a whole 10 minutes while we waited and the rest of the audience found their seats.

Circus photo shoot - guaranteed to get your heart racing

Then all of a sudden the show began …. and everything changed. The lights dimmed, spotlights came on of every conceivable colour reflecting on all the surfaces. There were motorbikes speeding inside the steel ball and the motion created a blur of colour. Clowns chased each other around the ring, Jugglers threw balls and hoops into the air at speed and acrobats climbed ropes into the lofty heights of the big top’s dome. Spinning, swinging, jumping and sliding required camera settings to be adjusted at speed and a steady hand to capture the performer in the frame in time to focus and click. Light changing constantly from bright white light to soft magentas and dusky blues caused issues with ISO and Exposure.

Nothing stayed the same from the moment the show started until the second it finished some 2 hours later. Yes there was a short break at half time but we spent it readjusting our eyes, reconfiguring the menus with what we had experienced in the first half and laughing hysterically because of how crazy the photo session had been.

The fun part was at home – seeing what we had actually managed to capture. Honestly – there were some disasters but we had clicked away constantly and either by luck or by judgement – some of them came out ok.

Never before have we had such a challenging shoot but fabulous practice and a great session for thinking on your feet and adapting the menus and settings quickly to counteract the changing light and movement.

Great fun – so glad we went. So when you see a travelling circus – pack up your kit and try it yourself. Send us you pics and we will put some of them on our site.

Here are some of ours