This was the second shoot with Lauren Haywood. This one was indoors at St Mark's church, Leeds instead of being in a park. This is where my church meets and one room has a sprung floor, so ideal for dancers. Lauren and Arran were really impressed with the space. They pointed out it was clean too unlike their regular practice space. This was the second time I used the room for a dance shoot. The first time was with my friend Rhiannon for some amazing photographs.
I always arrive at a creative shoot with at least one or two ideas to start off with and then let the dancers come up with their own ideas. It is then my job to work out the best way to light and photograph them. In this case it was using one of the stain glass windows to frame them. It is a bit different from your usual background.
This was the first time Arran and I had met. He had a number of photographs of people contorted in various ways. So, Lauren and he had a go and I photographed them in my own inevitable style and way.
Some of Lauren pulling a few moves. I like to have a movement in dance shots, but these are more about shapes that are created by her body.
We followed this with a spot of break dancing and working together as a pair.
I started the shoot with a open mind and wanted to give them as much freedom to express their art as possible. I was pleased with the overall results. It was not what I expected at all. I hope they liked the results.
Most of the post processing involved a bit of cropping, straightening, adjusting the exposure and ensuring the background was an even black. I try to do the majority of the hard work at the moment the photograph is taken rather than sat behind a computer.
A full-frame camera with a 24-70mm f/2.8 lens was used throughout. The two flashguns were triggered by the camera's built-in flash. The camera was in manual mode throughout with the shutter speed, aperture and ISO setting being 1/250 to 1/1250s, f/4 and 100% respectfully. The flashguns were also operating in manual mode. It means I have more control over the final photograph and nothing unexpected happens because of the camera makes a decision out of turn.
A third main light was used in a number of the shots. This was a Lupolux 800 spotlight very similar to one you find in a theatre, but this one is portable. The colour balance is the same as the flashguns so I did not have to adjust the white balance setting of the camera. Because the light is constant, I was able to shoot faster.
In a number of the shots, the flashguns were used to break up the black background and add rim lighting to one or either side of the dancer. They also created comet like plumes of line on the floor that frame the dancer. They were place at different heights for an asymmetric look.
In many of the shots the background is black. There is black curtain in the room just a window the length of the room overlooking the main meeting area. By using a fast shutter speed and low ISO setting, any ambient light is reduced to black by the camera.
If you would like to book a shoot contact me. There is a special package for dancers and their audition portfolios. Dancer page and gallery here.
Please leave any thoughts, comments, questions or just say, "Hi!" (not literally) below. I really do appreciate feedback. E.g. What is your favourite photograph and why?
A few more photos on Facebook.