Posts Tagged ‘competition’

May 13

May 13 Arthur Murray dance event
Collage of photos from an Arthur Murray Freestyles event in Tysons, Virginia

This May 13 is an anniversary for me and my dance partner. We “danced” for the first at my senior high school prom on this day more than a few years ago. There have been many changes since then, but we are still dancing together. We are MUCH better dancers now, but we could always use more practice. I think we’ll have to go to class on Wednesday to keep learning. Sorry I stepped on your toes that one time 😉

May 13 Arthur Murray dance event
Collage of photos from an Arthur Murray Freestyles event in Tysons, Virginia

From a photographer standpoint, it can be helpful to be in the shoes of your subjects. Especially since we photograph a lot of dance events, it was informative to feel the experience of your customers. Are the photographers distracting? How do the flashes affect your concentration? In this case, I found that I did not notice the flashes going off. With all of the other photographers popping off flashes, I could not tell which ones were ours. Similarly to oral reports at school, dancers are more concerned with their own performance as opposed to anything else going on!

Author and dance partner dancing at the Arthur Murray Freestyles in Tysons, Virginia

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Mid-Atlantic Championships

©TimeLine Media - Ballroom dance photo, USA Dance Mid-Atlantic Championships

Here are some photos from the recent 2013 USA Dance Mid-Atlantic Championships. This competition has great amateur dancing in Ballroom and Latin categories over 2 days. There are plenty of opportunities to capture dynamic images of dancers. The first image was during the Standard competition, and I guess was during a Quickstep. This illustrates some of the goals for getting good action photography. Just as with concert photography, a good expression in the middle of the performance can make for a great image. Also, there is good action from the lady’s dress – flaring out from her at the bottom.

©TimeLine Media - Ballroom dance photo, USA Dance Mid-Atlantic Championships
©TimeLine Media – Ballroom dance photo, USA Dance Mid-Atlantic Championships

In this photo, there are some nice elements working together in the frame. There is a hint of the flash peeking out from behind the man, and there are other dancers on the floor in the background. They are present, but not too distracting to the main subject in the frame. The light is definitely luck, but the additional background dancers is something you can aim for with landscape formatted photos. Most of the portrait oriented photos in ballroom dance only accommodate one couple at a time. This is the majority of the photos that I take at events, but they don’t show up as well on the web! The composition for these photos is more difficult for ballroom dance, but they can add context and variety to the coverage.

©TimeLine Media - Ballroom dance photo, USA Dance Mid-Atlantic Championships
©TimeLine Media – Ballroom dance photo, USA Dance Mid-Atlantic Championships

TimeLine Media – www.timelinedc.com
703-864-8208

Arthur Murray – Columbia

©TimeLine Media - Arthur Murray Columbia

These photos were from the recent Arthur Murray Spring Freestyles event in McLean, VA. At this time they feature the instructors and students from the Columbia, Maryland studio. Their professionals have been featured in many of my displayed photos. As can be seen they have performed professional showcases and competitions that I have saved over the years. It is the best way to finish off these events by watching the pros do what they do best. With an audience full of dancers, they need to bring their best – which they do every single time. So much fun to make pictures of them!

Columbia, Maryland ballroom dancers at Freestyles events ©TimeLine Media
Columbia, Maryland ballroom dancers at Freestyles events ©TimeLine Media
©TimeLine Media - Arthur Murray Columbia
©TimeLine Media – Arthur Murray ballroom dance photo
Columbia, Maryland ballroom dancers at Freestyles events ©TimeLine Media
Columbia, Maryland ballroom dancers at Freestyles events ©TimeLine Media

To be sure, these dance events take a lot of time to finish. However, I am left with a lot of images for content on the blog! Given that the Arthur Murray studios have been a consistent client base, I am very grateful. I am preparing for more weekday shoots this week. Unlike the weekend events, these will likely be less frantic. So it’s just a quick one for today. Enjoy!

TimeLine Media – www.timelinedc.com
703-864-8208

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