It seems like a long time since the last Showcase! November 2012 was the last Arthur Murray Showcase held at the Hyatt Regency in Reston, VA. We will be making new photos of Smooth and Rhythm routines this weekend. On this occasion we will be at the Hilton McLean in Tysons Corner. Going through the last event, there were some really nice photos from both the choreographed routines and the All-Around competition.
The photographers love to make images here since there are usually some special moves outside of the textbook school figures that are taught out of the syllabus. It is fun for the dancers too as they are anxious to show off for the judges and the audiences too! If you have any special moves and want to have them on camera, spot our photographer, and make sure that the line faces us. We try not to move around too much during the routines, so we will be stationed at one side of the dance floor for the session. If you have any questions on this, please ask! See you on Saturday!
If you have been following this blog, or my Instagram, I have been learning to use a new light modifier. Specifically they are the Rapid Box from Westcott. These new modifiers are specifically designed to work with small flash, or speedlights. They are very flexible to work with any size and brand of flash, and they setup very quickly.
Light Modifier
Online, I have seen photographers that have used these for portrait sessions. They seem to work very well, and I am anxious to try them out on some people photos, but in the mean time, I have been experimenting on using them with smaller subjects. The blooming spring flowers in my backyard were my first tries, and I have blogged about them here. The difference with the Rapid Box vs. the bare flash was clearly evident from the first photo. The light is diffused and spread nicely with the Rapid Box making hard shadows disappear when photographing sections of flowers that poke out from the centers, making the light seem like it is coming from the sun on an overcast day rather than from a speedlight only a foot away.
The lightness of the softbox allows you to really put it in places that a standard softbox cannot go because of size or weight. Here is a behind the scenes photo of another shoot showing the camera position and the softbox setup:
The box is not in shooting position in this photo. I held the stand in my hand before taking the photo with the timer so I could see exactly where the light was going. It was a bit complicated, but the results are much better than what I could get without the flash.
Cameras LOVE light. To get better images, you need to have as much light on your sensor as you can get. The technology that they have built into these flashes is optimized to give you better images if they are set up correctly. They need practice to get them to work best, which is why I have been working with these on static subjects before I put them in front of people. If the flowers are any indication, I am confident that these boxes will work great. Stay tuned to find out!
This is the last week of lessons before the DC Area Arthur Murray Summer Showcase. I’m sure the students and teachers are hard at work – finalizing their routines, how they will walk on to the floor, and how to bow to the judges after they finish. This is always a great event! The couples have carefully choreographed steps to their music, and the coordination with their moves and costumes makes for some great photos. Hope to see lots of good dancing Saturday!
With this in mind, let us know if you will be performing a routine this weekend. Of course we will be doing our best to get photos of everyone. However, if you have something extra special planned in the middle of your routine, let us know! Especially if it is something that we will not see coming, we definitely want to get photos of your moment. Obviously we will keep your secret so that the audience does not see it coming. Showcase week is loaded with surprises, and we enjoy seeing them as they happen. Afterwards, the photos really tell the story to anyone that could not make. We are exited for the weekend!
