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Archive of ‘Ballroom Dance’ category

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Arthur Murray Fall Showcase

Professional Showcases – DC Area Arthur Murray Fall Showcase

These were some of my favorites from the professional show dances at the end of the 2012 Fall Showcase. The next Showcase event from these studios will be on June 22, 2013. At this time, it will be held at the Hilton McLean in Tysons Corner, VA. For the professional shows, I experimented with using the flashes at the four corners of the room. In short, all are pointed directly onto the dance floor. There would of course be some flare with the flash sometimes being pointed towards the camera. I tried to be patient, and wait for someone to block the lights. Additionally, I sometimes got lucky with the light not firing at the time a shot was taken. Here is an example of the backlight providing a nice rim for the lady.

Ballroom dance photo - www.timelinedc.com

Reston, Virginia

The following photo was probably my favorite for the entire event. These two from the Arthur Murray studio in Chevy Chase, MD. They have danced many of these shows before, and they always play nicely to the audience. The main light is coming from the two lights behind the camera lighting their faces. The two lights facing more directly into the lens provide a nice rim light to separate them from the background. With all these lights facing away from the walls, there is also a nice falloff to the back wall.

Ballroom dance photo - www.timelinedc.com
Ballroom dance photo - www.timelinedc.com

For the last performance, the dancers did a Swing to Psy’s “Gangnam Style” and got the audience to join them on the dance floor at the end! It was an unexpected development – I have never seen the dancers encourage the crowd to join them at the end of their dance. With help from some of the other teachers and brave souls that went out there first, the entire space was filled.  Here the back lights showed through some of the crowd. I think it really helps to convey the excitement and energy of the crowd at the end of a great day of dancing!

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Arthur Murray Fall Freestyles

Arthur Murray ballroom dance photo - www.timelinedc.com

Arthur Murray Fall Freestyles – Professional Showcases

Just a quick post today! These were from the showcase dances that capped off the DC Area Arthur Murray Fall Freestyles last September. The dancers represented the Alexandria, Ashburn, Columbia, and Tysons Corner studios. After 2 days of dancing, and a highly contested team match pitting Maryland vs. Virginia, these dances kept everyone on the edge of their seats until the end.

This is the highlight for the photographers as well! The action is the focus of the entire room. The dancers plan to perform to the crowd, so I position myself in the best spot to get the photos, and just follow the dancers around the floor. It’s a nice way to end an event – to capture great action photos of professionals doing their best to excite the audience, and propel them to continue to better their own dancing. So many of these I save for my portfolio, and I enjoy sharing them with the studios after the event. The dancers put so much effort into these showcases, and I hope to capture in stills what they are conveying in motion long after they have performed.

Arthur Murray ballroom dance photo - www.timelinedc.com
Arthur Murray ballroom dance photo - www.timelinedc.com

Portfolio Image

The following photo was one of my favorites for the year. When I first started taking ballroom dance photos, one my favorite moments to capture was just before the start of the dance. You may catch confidence nerves, preparedness, but in smooth dances, you almost always catch quiet. The entire room awaited the start of the dance. The previous rhythm dance got the crowd off their feet in applause, so the room was still buzzing with energy when these two walked out on the floor. They took their time to get into position, then waited for the quiet before starting, and I took one photo.

The lights were setup so that there would be some falloff from the flash before it hit the back wall opposite from my shooting position. This helps to emphasize the dancers, separating them from the background. When I got this image into the computer, I pushed the exposure on the dancer just a tick in Photoshop leaving the background where it was. Her dress is made by “Designs to Shine” and I think the little boost helps to emphasize the shine!

Arthur Murray ballroom dance photo - www.timelinedc.com

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DC Dance Challenge

DC Dance Challenge – Spanish Ballroom

These photos are from last Fall’s event held at the Spanish Ballroom in Glen Echo Park in Glen Echo, MD. This historic venue has a feel that is unique in the Washington DC area. The restored Mediterranean Art Deco building has a floor perfectly made for dancing. The long ballroom, and light-colored walls makes for some great photos too! Throughout the day, I used the color of the walls and the sunlight to my advantage. Ballroom dance events usually don’t have natural light available for me to use. In the evening, though, I changed the setups because the sun had already set. Moreover I wanted to give the photos from the evening a different look than the ones during the day.

Ballroom Dance Photo - www.timelinedc.com - TimeLine Media

Professional Shows

This first photo from the professional showcase shows the harder shadows on the faces. This also lets the subjects pop out from the background by having a larger contrast between them and the background. The lights were moved to make a more cross light pattern across the front of the camera. This is opposed to having the light come from behind the camera. You cannot help but get more contrasty shadows when objects project them. However, it is much easier to separate the elements for emphasis. This is something I have tried at a few events, and I really like how it works both for faces, and for the dresses that the dancers wear.

Ballroom Dance Photo - www.timelinedc.com - TimeLine Media

Colors are more saturated in this setup, and the white balance it easier to manage since you are no longer putting the wall-color into play. The directness of the flash means you can set your white balance to Flash, and have skin tones perfectly dialed in making post processing much easier as well. The drama is also heightened as the focus on the action subjects is really funneled down to the dancers in the sweet spot of the flashes of light. I really like this look, and will continue to refine this at other events this year. If you are interested in the DC Dance Challenge, this year’s event stay tuned to their website as details become available.

Ballroom Dance Photo - www.timelinedc.com - TimeLine Media

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703-864-8208

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