Arthur Murray Fall Freestyles – Professional Showcases
Just a quick post today! These were from the showcase dances that capped off the DC Area Arthur Murray Fall Freestyles last September. The dancers represented the Alexandria, Ashburn, Columbia, and Tysons Corner studios. After 2 days of dancing, and a highly contested team match pitting Maryland vs. Virginia, these dances kept everyone on the edge of their seats until the end.
This is the highlight for the photographers as well! The action is the focus of the entire room. The dancers plan to perform to the crowd, so I position myself in the best spot to get the photos, and just follow the dancers around the floor. It’s a nice way to end an event – to capture great action photos of professionals doing their best to excite the audience, and propel them to continue to better their own dancing. So many of these I save for my portfolio, and I enjoy sharing them with the studios after the event. The dancers put so much effort into these showcases, and I hope to capture in stills what they are conveying in motion long after they have performed.
Portfolio Image
The following photo was one of my favorites for the year. When I first started taking ballroom dance photos, one my favorite moments to capture was just before the start of the dance. You may catch confidence nerves, preparedness, but in smooth dances, you almost always catch quiet. The entire room awaited the start of the dance. The previous rhythm dance got the crowd off their feet in applause, so the room was still buzzing with energy when these two walked out on the floor. They took their time to get into position, then waited for the quiet before starting, and I took one photo.
The lights were setup so that there would be some falloff from the flash before it hit the back wall opposite from my shooting position. This helps to emphasize the dancers, separating them from the background. When I got this image into the computer, I pushed the exposure on the dancer just a tick in Photoshop leaving the background where it was. Her dress is made by “Designs to Shine” and I think the little boost helps to emphasize the shine!
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