Performance Photography | South Bend, Indiana | Jan, Feb. and March 2026

Terence Blanchard performs “Fire Shut Up in My Bones: Excerpts in Concert” at the University of Notre Dame on Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026.

Performance photography has been a meaningful part of my work so far in 2026.

Whether I’m photographing actors in the studio, documenting dress rehearsals, or photographing live performances, I keep returning to the same thing: the challenge of making images that capture the energy and presence felt during the performance.

When photographing performances and performers, I’m less interested in making images that just “document” a production. I am more aimed at making photographs that carry the emotional charge of performance itself.

For me, this often requires a specific kind of attention.

The work asks for speed, yes—but not just technical speed.

It asks that the photographer have sensitivity to rhythm, body language, gesture, and emotional timing.

In a rehearsal or live setting, things happen quickly and often only once. A shift in light. A hand movement. A glance between two people on stage that creates a half-second of tension and then disappears.

Good theater photography or performance photography is often about recognizing when something true is about to happen and being ready for it.

That’s the part of the work that is most fulfilling.

Performance photography calls for the photographer's presence in a way I really value.

You can’t force it. You can’t over-control it. You have to pay attention.

So much of photography gets flattened into content production. While there’s certainly a place for useful, strategic imagery, I still care about making photographs that feel like they were actually seen.

That’s what I’ve been trying to make so far in 2026: images with tension, intention, and humanity. Images that go beyond documentation.

“The Imaginary Invalid” is performed at the South Bend Civic Theatre on Monday, Feb. 9, 2026.

UZIMA! Drum and Dance presents "ASHE: Prepare Ye the Way" at the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center on Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026.

Ely Perlman of the band Ursa Major performs alongside Christian McBride at the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center at the University of Notre Dame on Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026.

Beatriz's Journey (El Viaje de Beatriz) is performed at the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center on Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026.

Jacques Schwarz-Bart, right, and Carl-Henri Morisset, left, perform in the Leighton Concert Hall at the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center on Saturday, March 28, 2026 at the University of Notre Dame.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Musical is performed at the Battell Center in Mishawaka, Indiana, on Wednesday, March 11, 2026.