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Posts Tagged ‘photography’

Ballroom Dance, Event, Photography, Technology | 2 Comments

Follow Subjects for Better Photos – Tech Thursday

Technique

It has been a very busy ballroom dance photography time! We have had a lot of amazing events to cover in the last month. I am finally completely through all of them and have them available to view online. We do have a little break here until we have another dance event. With this in mind I am taking a step back to review the images. With a few new photographers helping us at events, I have been asked about how I take photos. This is probably the most I have reflected on this process in a while. Usually I am just worried about getting to the location, and getting setup. Finally I make sure we have everything to do the job successfully without losing any images.

American Star Ball Championships - ©TimeLine Media
American Star Ball Championships – ©TimeLine Media

My best piece of advice for photographing ballroom dance or any sporting event, is to follow your subjects with your eye in the viewfinder. Some of the dancers are moving so fast that you would not be able to catch that moment in a frame. By the time you see the moment, then put your eye to the camera, the dancers may already be passed you, or their position may have changed where now the angle is not quite right. If you always have your eye in the camera, and follow the action, you will have a much better chance of catching that perfect frame of very fast action.

Dance Photography

Baltimore Dancesport Challenge - ©TimeLine Media
Baltimore Dancesport Challenge – ©TimeLine Media

This lesson is applicable on both a crowded dance floor or on a showcase of only one couple on the floor at once. If you try to photograph at Professional Standard competition, there are only a few moments where you can catch both dancer’s faces in the light. Their constant closed hold makes it easy to get either one of the dancers, but getting both can be tough unless you are tracking their movements. If there is only one couple on the floor, the job is easier as the distractions are much less. But all the same, you cannot just watch them with your eye out of the viewfinder, then see them start a line, and expect to get it framed up and captured well. This is the challenge, and the fun of photographing dancers on the floor! I am sure as I go through more of these photos, I will come up with more tips. I hope you enjoy all the photos currently on the website, and I will be back to making more soon!

Arthur Murray Spring Freestyles - ©TimeLine Media
Arthur Murray Spring Freestyles – ©TimeLine Media
USA Dance Mid-Atlantic Championships - ©TimeLine Media
USA Dance Mid-Atlantic Championships – follow dancers on the floor ©TimeLine Media

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

Ballroom Dance, Event, Photography | 0 comment

Spring Showcase – Photos Uploading

Tysons, Virginia

This post is up late as I am getting very close to uploading the photos from last Sunday’s Arthur Murray Spring Showcase! I had a light schedule this week, and it has allowed me to really put my nose into the editing and sorting of the photos. I have tried to sort everyone by their studio so that it is easier to find your images. If there are any mistakes in where I have filed you or others, please let me know by email at Rassi at timelinedc.com. I want everyone to be able to see their photos from their routines.

DC Area Arthur Murray Spring Showcase - ©TimeLine Media
DC Area Arthur Murray Spring Showcase – ©TimeLine Media

Maybe by later this evening the photos may already be able to view! If you want to be emailed as soon as they are ready, you can sign up for the email list at the bottom of the page. I try to only send out 2 emails a month with updates on photos at the TimeLine Media site. I do not want to spam your mailboxes with too many reminders.

http://proofs.timelinedc.com

Spring Showcase at the Hilton McLean in Tysons Corner, VA - ©TimeLine Media
Spring Showcase at the Hilton McLean in Tysons Corner, VA – ©TimeLine Media

Hilton McLean

If you were at the Showcase on Sunday, you know that there were some awesome professional shows that ended the event. With so many, I will be getting creative with the images before the Fall Freestyles later this year. There are so many to choose from with all the variety of dances and performers, so I hope you check out the Facebook page for details on voting for your favorites. Thanks to the DC Area Arthur Murray staff and students for having us cover another of your events. We appreciate you coming by to preview the images at our booth. Also telling us all your stories about the studio, the dancing, and what you have planned for next time. It was a great event, and we hope to see you dancing again at Freestyles!

DC Area Arthur Murray Spring Showcase - ©TimeLine Media - photos uploading
DC Area Arthur Murray Spring Showcase – ©TimeLine Media

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

Ballroom Dance, Event, Photography | 0 comment

Gaithersburg Salsa Formation

Today’s photos are the last from the Arthur Murray Spring Freestyles – a Salsa formation performed by the Arthur Murray Gaithersburg, Maryland studio. It is appropriate that the last post of the “grungy” set of posters from that event is from this piece. The dancers, just as all the pros, really go all-out for these shows with their costuming. For this formation, though the dancers also applied theatrical makeup to punch up the hardened look to go along with their moves.

Salsa Formation Arthur Murray - ©TimeLine Media
Salsa Formation Arthur Murray – ©TimeLine Media

Dancing in formation is as challenging as it seems. You are multiplying the number of people that you need to align on the floor, and you need to incorporate them with dance figures. When pulled off well, the different presentation of familiar steps is really fun to watch! The audience that is familiar with many of the basic figures of Salsa had a great time seeing how the group worked figures into this 4-person configuration.

Arthur Murray Salsa Formation - ©TimeLine Media
Arthur Murray Salsa Formation – ©TimeLine Media

As with all formations, there are also times where the dancers need to move on their own, not connected with a partner. They were able to showcase their individual skills which are not always as obvious when they are dancing with their students. Anyone that has taken lessons will know the feeling when they dance with a pro that it is very different than dancing with a fellow student. Being able to display their technique on their own worked really well in formation. With all the colors, the painted faces, and the grungy clothing, it was really fun to play with these images.

Salsa Formation - Arthur Murray Gaithersburg, MD - ©TimeLine Media
Salsa Formation – Arthur Murray Gaithersburg, MD – ©TimeLine Media

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

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