Light Painting Dancers: Emiley and Katie

I wouldn’t want to do a photography session with dancers without some light painting. Having multiple people in the image is always a challenge. Sometimes you have to light paint one subject and ask them to move out of the frame before light painting the other one. It wasn’t the case this time, as I was able to get in the best position to light paint both dancers without the other one getting in the way.

Light painting two dancers in the Edinburgh College dance studio
It is easier for my subjects to stand still while I light paint them if they have something to hold on to or an object to lean on. Hence the bar and the chair.
Light painting two dancers in the Edinburgh College dance studio
In a portrait, I usually like the subject to make eye contact with the viewer, i.e look at the camera. In this case I wanted the image to look like the dancers didn’t know the camera was there.

I like the “dancer at the bar” theme and I’m always trying different compositions. It was no different this time.

Light painting a dancer in the Edinburgh College dance studio
These kinds of poses can be tricky to frame, depending on the layout of the studio. Nearly all dance studios have mirrors, which is wonderful as I love reflections.

In the second photo, I incorporated the curtains by changing my camera angle, for a slightly different look.

Light painting a dancer in the Edinburgh College dance studio
Somehow, I like this composition better than the previous one. What do you think?
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