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DC Dance Challenge – Spanish Ballroom

These photos are from last Fall’s event held at the Spanish Ballroom in Glen Echo Park in Glen Echo, MD. This historic venue has a feel that is unique in the Washington DC area. The restored Mediterranean Art Deco building has a floor perfectly made for dancing. The long ballroom, and light-colored walls makes for some great photos too! Throughout the day, I used the color of the walls and the sunlight to my advantage. Ballroom dance events usually don’t have natural light available for me to use. In the evening, though, I changed the setups because the sun had already set. Moreover I wanted to give the photos from the evening a different look than the ones during the day.

Professional Shows

This first photo from the professional showcase shows the harder shadows on the faces. This also lets the subjects pop out from the background by having a larger contrast between them and the background. The lights were moved to make a more cross light pattern across the front of the camera. This is opposed to having the light come from behind the camera. You cannot help but get more contrasty shadows when objects project them. However, it is much easier to separate the elements for emphasis. This is something I have tried at a few events, and I really like how it works both for faces, and for the dresses that the dancers wear.

Colors are more saturated in this setup, and the white balance it easier to manage since you are no longer putting the wall-color into play. The directness of the flash means you can set your white balance to Flash, and have skin tones perfectly dialed in making post processing much easier as well. The drama is also heightened as the focus on the action subjects is really funneled down to the dancers in the sweet spot of the flashes of light. I really like this look, and will continue to refine this at other events this year. If you are interested in the DC Dance Challenge, this year’s event stay tuned to their website as details become available.

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