More dance photography is on the schedule for me today. I will be covering the Salsa – Bachata Throwdown this evening in Rockville, Maryland. There are workshops during the day, and performances at night. Judging from the Facebook posts leading up to the event, this should be a fun event to photograph. On this occasion, Kat Arias invited me to cover this event. As can be seen in these photos, she has hired me to photograph events for her previously. Additionally, she asked me to make photos of her and her dancers in the studio. The following are from a session at Union 206 Studio.
Tonight is a showcase of Salsa – Bachata experts in the DC area. Being that this is a popular style, this should be an enthusiastic crowd tonight. Of course I hope to see some familiar faces. In any case, I am sure to pick up more than a few new moves! Check back here for some of my favorites as I edit them next week! Here are some from a studio shoot with some of the dancers that will be there tonight. Enjoy!
These photos were from a dance company studio shoot at Union 206 studios in Alexandria, VA. This took place at their previous location in Old Town. The studio was set up with a white cyclorama wall that gives a lot of flexibility when photographing portraits, couples, or larger groups of people. The cyc wall makes a very clean background to shoot against much like shooting against paper or vinyl backgrounds. I found that shooting against this wall was very easy. In this case, there was no trampling on the background materials, no fear of the background falling. Additionally, the light was really even across the frame.
Dance – Studio Photography
Most of the photos were three light setups. In the photo below, I had one light overhead lighting just the background wall. In addition, 2 lights on either side of the dancer. This lighting is good for male subjects which highlights edges of the body. It brings out more detail and pops the subject out from the background. Looking at the image on the blog now, there is quite a falloff of light on the left of the frame. I should have seen that and adjusted either the background light or the position of the camera. Or I should not have been lazy and fixed it in Photoshop before posting!
In this photo I experimented with some of the colored gels that were available at the studio. This was a one-light setup with a monolight covered with a blue gel. I pointed the light to fire on the background only, with a flag to minimize the spill of light onto the dancers. With the blue gel on the light, it probably would not have been flattering, and probably confusing for the viewer. The light is on the background only so it makes a nice silhouette for the dancers as they make some moves that become nice graphic shapes as the subject. If I get the chance to try this again, I would like to try another light in front without a gel, but with a grid, so that I could get a little light onto the dancer’s faces. It would be a different goal for the image, but would be a great promotional pieces for dancers looking for something different. Hope you enjoyed the images – if you have a need for similar images, let me know!
Last week, I had the opportunity to photograph Marsha and Dmitry at the Regan Dance Center in Alexandria, VA. They teach Ballroom, Latin, and Flamenco dancing classes for individuals and groups at the studio, and have an annual student Showcase to display their hard work! It is here that I first met them last year. As a couple, the also compete in professional ballroom dance competitions. For more information about lessons, their website is: Danceflame.com or you can follow them on Twitter @Danceflame.
Poster of images from Dmitry and Marsha
This session was a lot of fun! It is something that I have wanted to try for a while. Photographing dancers while on the floor is so fast, and the challenge is to make a good exposure when they are in a good position compared to the camera. In the studio, dancers are always perfecting their body position, placing themselves into lines that are great for capturing with the camera. It was my turn to move the lights and change the power to create drama, emphasizing their poses. Thanks, Marsha, and Dmitry! I hope you enjoy the photos!
DanceFlame collage of photos from a portrait session with Dmitry and Marsha
