The photos from the Marsha Bonet 2013 Dance Showcase are expiring this upcoming Monday. Thanks to especially to everyone that visited the website to view the images! We had a lot of response from dancers and parents from this event, and we are so happy that you found some that your liked. Please visit the link below, and forward to anyone that may like to see the photos one last time before they are removed:
It is an especially humbling privilege to cover this event, and we hope to be invited back next time. Of course we hope there are plans for more great dances at the next showcase! On this occasion the diversity and professionalism of everyone involved is impressive. It is a great evening of entertainment that is educational and fun to watch.
This photography term has become popular with the explosion of social media in the last few years. Back when film was the more popular medium for photos, I only saw a handful of instances where people made self-portraits with their cameras. Most of these would not be in focus. Or the subjects would not be in the frame, which would mean a wasted frame from your roll of film. Each frame was thought out more back then. With this in mind it would not be wise to use these for “throw-away” images that you attempt without looking through the viewfinder at the back of the camera.
Turning the Camera Around
I clearly remember the very first time I ever tried a “selfie”. It was at a big transition time in my life – just after college, and during the time when family was in town to pay final respects to my father. He had recently passed away, and we were surrounded by so many family and friends. It was a time where many photos were taken, and many trips were made to the drug store to get enlargements and copies. While taking photos with family outside, I turned an Advantix film camera (a graduation gift from my girlfriend’s mom) to me and my cousin, Vic. It is hard to take a bad photo of Vic – a talented singer that is used to working in front of an audience. For my first time, it actually worked!
With digital, I still take selfies. I do not own a mannequin head that photographers use test lighting, so I just put myself in the scene. I laugh like a madman at myself sometimes especially considering no one else is around. Thankfully it has helped to make shoots go smoother once the subjects arrive, and has helped me to be a better photographer by experimenting with a model that won’t stop posing until the shot is perfect.
Recently, I have the opportunity to photograph a ballroom dancer, Tyrone, in a portrait session. He is not only an instructor in ballroom, but he also does hip-hop and contemporary dance which makes for some great photos. In this nice neighborhood, it was a challenge to find a background that was appropriate for the usual grungy backgrounds that accompany this type of dance. Tyrone was a great subject climbing into a tree to make it look like a setting much different than the suburban park that we were shooting. Being in a tree, and his clothing really made for a changing the setting with limited resources.
Then we found a nearby gazebo that he used to display his dance moves. I used the gazebo to try to get some nice even shade for photos, then added the flash to fill him in the frame of the structure. I also experimented with the flashes as hard side lights. Punching these up in post processing made for some interesting portraits that work better with male subjects. With the photos where he was hanging at one side of the gazebo, I used a super wide angle lens to emphasize his stretched frame making him look longer. I was trying to work the setting that we had to get a variety of photos.
The last section we went to was against a fence lining a walking trail. Fences always provide leading lines to point to your portrait subject, but I was looking for something different. Using the flash, I happened upon a happy accident. I was hoping that placing the flash on the other side of the fence would make for some sharp repeating shadows that would fall on Tyrone. This did happen a little, but the reflective paint on the slats of the fence created hard reflections against each other which focused the light. This made a nice vignette to light that I could use in the portraits. This is definitely a new trick that I will have to remember for future shoots!
