I have a date with the dental chair today, so I cannot stay long online. There were some orders that I needed to place, and this event was just adjacent to them, so here you go! Some race cars on the track at Summit Point Raceway. Periodically, I take photos when at the track to see family or friends racing. The assignment is similar to ballroom dancing – lots of skill, action, and color – perfect for dynamic photos!
On this occasion, I practice the technique for panning the camera. At this time, the sun was very bright at the track. So I could have used the fastest shutter speed to capture the cars on the track. However, this would result in photos that would just look like cars parked on the track. For example, if you take a photo with a very fast shutter speed, the tires and the background would be completed sharp. If you lower the shutter speed, and pan the camera as the cars go by, you can add some sense of motion to the photos. Let me know what you think about these -enjoy!
Today’s post is from the Arthur Murray 2013 Summer Showcase. These photos were from the professional show by the Gaithersburg studio. As long as we have been attending DC area dance events, we have seen Jonathan on the dance floor. Whenever he is out there, I am inspired by his dancing. As can be seen, he has incredible balance, and control of his movement. On this occasion, the dance was a Bolero. Overall, it was an athletic performance with lots of lifts and dips to excite the crowd.
I love this photo showing the enthusiastic supporters from Gaithersburg screaming for their instructors, and ready with their cameras! This was the second performance from their studio at this event, and they should be proud of the reception they received from the audience. Even though the crowd is so close to the dance floor, I do not consider them as much when concentrating on the performers. So in any photo if you catch a nice crowd reaction, it was likely a happy accident. We can’t wait to see what they come up with for the next event!
When sharing photographs today, it is increasingly evident that people want to share their photos digitally, online, in their social networks. But I still receive many requests to have photos printed on paper. These prints can be passed around when shared, or mailed across continents to give as gifts, and some make it into frames to hang in offices or living rooms. My favorite, though, is when people ask about making albums. This is a service I have been doing for a few years now, and I have received lots of good feedback from clients that liked how it turned out!
Photo Albums
The albums are printed onto photographic paper, mounted onto a solid backing, and bound into a black leather cover. This protects photos, and makes them easier to pass around, and share at home or take with you to share anywhere you like. There is a design element too that is easier to produce in book form. When you open the pages to the book, it is possible to make a horizontal image more panoramic in its display by having the image span two pages. Using this, it seems like the images are even more enlarged, and pop off the page. Here are two examples of how it can be done with a landscape image, and a ballroom dance image:
My wife came up with the idea for the names for the brag books. There are three sizes – the standard size being 5×7 – the “Ballroom Brag Book”. With this book you can span landscape images to one 7×10 image across 2 facing pages. The smallest book is the 4×6 or “Baby Ballroom Brag Book”. The largest of the books is a beautiful 10×10 book where you can make 20×10 spanning images on facing pages. This is what I use to demonstrate the books when we travel to events. It is called the “Brilliant Ballroom Brag Book”.
Album Design
These albums can be made from photos at any event we have photographed. Between 12 and 20 images will display best in these books. If you have that number of images, it can actually be cheaper to have them put in books than individual prints! I will put together a draft of the layout for you. Afterwards, I will send you a pdf copy for you to look at an approve before the book is printed. It is delivered in a nice case for storing the album. If this is something that you wondered about when you went through the site I hope this helps. Please email me or call with any questions about them. These are great for sharing, and I actually have fun putting the layouts together!
