It was exciting to learn that a few of our photos from the 2013 American Star Ball appeared in the latest issue of Dance Beat magazine! This is a great resource for the latest in ballroom dance competitions. There are write ups on the competitors, the results, and the overall event after it has taken place.
We were more than happy to provide some of our photos to the organizers to submit along with the article. It is always nice to be published, and I hope to be getting a copy of the issue soon. All the photos from this weekend are still available to view on the proofing website.
Of course, the professional dance competitions were packed with beautiful photos. However, all weekend was full of great dancing. On this occasion, the ballroom was setup very nicely with saturated curtains as a background. It really makes the subjects pop off the page. Here are more of my favorites from the event. Enjoy!
Today’s post is from the Chevy Chase professional show performed at the end of the Arthur Murray Summer Showcase. They performed a Tango with a beautiful traditional red dress for the lady. For me, I find it one of the more technical dances. Consequently, it is a difficult dance to do well. Comparatively it can look very similar to other dances if done without the nuances that make it a Tango. However, it is one of the best dances to photograph! There are serious faces on the dancers. Additionally there are sharp, precise movements in the dancer’s feet and head position, and there are usually vibrant colors in the costumes. Both dancers convey strength, and intensity which translates very well to the camera. This was emphatically the case in this show, and I think I was able to capture some of this in the images. To see the entire collection from this show and others performed that night, you can go to the proofing website:
Lens flare is a common artifact of photography. When a source of light shines directly into the lens, you are likely going to have a flare of some kind. There are lots of glass elements in a lens. If there is a strong light source going through the lens, there will be reflections between these pieces of glass which create a lens flare. Here is an example when pointing the lens directly towards the sun:
There are little round circles of light going diagonal from the sun in the frame. With better constructed lenses, these flares can be minimized to not interfere too much with your photo. Recently, lens flares have been made a stylistic choice in lifestyle photography. Lens flares can be used in beach scenes, or other sunny settings to emphasize the youthful energy that the photographer is trying to convey. There are lots of apps for your smartphone that all you to add lens flares to your photos if you do not shoot them with the camera at the time! Movies too have used lens flares, and they became a recognizable element in the J.J. Abrams reboot of the “Star Trek” series. You only have to see the trailer to see that he loves to use the lens flares when in space.
Working With Lens Flare
For my photography, I am starting to embrace lens flares in some situations. My ballroom dance photography is flat light for the most part. There is a large floor to cover, and bouncing the light off the ceiling is easier for the audience and dancers from being distracted from the flash. When it comes to the special showcases from professionals, I want to change how they are lit since it is a shorter time period, and I no longer have to share my flash with other photographers. For this show by the Tysons Corner studio, I have an example of where I had a backlight flash directly into the camera for one photo, then quickly turned off the flash for another shot.
I knew where the light was positioned, and if I took one shot, there would be a chance that the directly line of light into the camera may ruin the shot. So I turned off that flash, and took another. Luckily both of them came out! One has a strong back light flash to add another element to the composition, the other more conventional photo. Both are usable depending on what you are looking to display. You don’t want to over use them! By the way, I love the new Star Trek movies.
