Dance Artistry
When I began taking photos professionally, I was immediately drawn to dance photography. I could see from my first few photoshoots that it was unlike other types of photography in that it had a true interactive element to it which requires both photographer and dancer to understand exactly what we are trying to achieve and take many necessary steps to work towards that goal.
When I sit down with a dancer, we discuss what she wants her photos to look like. Never does she say she wants to stand in fourth position and smile with her arms just so.
Descriptions of what she wants to photograph are actually "I can hold it for just a second." "It's quite painful but I love how it looks." Or "I do this in my dance and it's my most favorite moment."
In fact, sometimes I take a few photos just for an acknowledgement of her costume or her elegance and she's never particularly interested. She wants to showcase her skills, her strength, her moments. The beauty of dance is just a byproduct of all her hard work.
With a high shutter speed, I'm able to capture crystal clear flashes in time. A leap through the air, a hold in the highest position her leg can go, a pirouette just as she comes out of the rotation. These instant moments are beautiful and cannot ever be taken with an iPhone. Never. My camera can take 40 frames per second. In addition to the gear, they often need to be repeated to catch that instant. And that's what we're looking for in dance artistry photos. A millionth of a second when she is in "the moment."
In addition to the technical skills she wants to showcase in the photos, we often want to incorporate a beautiful costume or silk movement into the photos to highlight her movement. In studio this can be done with fans and fabric tosses, but outside, we can incorporate wind and dancer action into the photos to achieve the costume movement.
We also want to incorporate elements. A sunlight ray from behind, a sunset silhouette, moody clouds, ocean surf, creek rocks, long meadow grasses... it can vary from shoot to shoot, but often there's an earth element that's incorporated that speaks to the dancer. And she knows.
I've done many sunrise photos and there's this moment when the sun comes up and is just perfect---and we work fast to get those split seconds before the sky has completely changed.
In the studio it might be more about the costume.... lacing the ribbons of the pointe shoes or a hold where we are capturing something she has learned or achieved or that simply looks beautiful.
A dance artistry photoshoot is for all dancers, young and old, new and professional... this unique experience will give you images from your dance journey that showcase you.
All dance artistry photos are printed for you at my professional lab on 5X7 premium paper. They're delivered in a black linen box embroidered with the dancers name on it. This timeless keepsake will be a memory you will never forget.
