Dance Photography with Heather

Blackford Hill is one of my favourite Edinburgh locations, but I hadn’t done a dance photoshoot there yet. I was delighted when Heather agreed to a collaboration. And I was even happier when I saw she took my advice and brought outfits that would provide really good colour contrast with the mostly green backgrounds.

We both wanted to do some jump shots and it is usually best to do that at the beginning of the shoot when the dancer (and photographer) are “fresh”. It takes quite a bit of concentration get the timing right for the jumps. I lit the scene with a couple of speedlights and with small flashes it’s a one shot deal, as their recycle time precludes the use of the camera’s motor drive.

Dancer jumping, Blackford Hill, Edinburgh
I lit the scene with two speedlights so I could underexpose the ambient light for a more dramatic look. One flash camera left in front of the dancer, and the other one camera right behind Heather to provide separation from the background
Dancer jumping, Blackford Hill, Edinburgh
For this set up, I switched the position of the two lights. The one in front of Heather is at camera right and the one behind at camera left

We then moved on to a location with a bridge, as I intended to use the rail as a guiding line in my composition.

Dancer in red dress in the forest
I did light Heather as the natural light falling on her at that location was not the most flattering
Dancer in red dress in the forest
I then asked Heather to go through as many dance poses as possible
Dancer in red dress in the forest
Note how the red dress contrasts with the green foliage
Dancer in red dress in the forest
Heather then took off her pointe shoes for a few more frames

For the last set up, I wanted to use Braid Burn as a backdrop. Heather was getting cold and tired, so I only fired a few frames, showing you my favourite.

Dancer with Braid Burn in the background
I only used one light on Heather for this set up.

 

Share this content on Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailby feather