Christine teaches dance classes at the North Merchiston Club and we’ve collaborated on a few projects already (to appear in future blog posts). She had sent me sample pictures of a dancer with a candy cane. This was a perfect theme for Christmas, and would also allow me to shoot indoors (at the North Merchiston club), which is the best solution at this time of year. It would also give me an opportunity to hone my Photoshop  skills since the background had to be changed and the candy cane composited in.
I picked the same background colour as in the photographs Christine sent me, but I added a bit of texture to the solid background. I also used a brightness gradient at the bottom to give the pictures a bit more depth.
I made two versions of each pic, since I wan’t sure Christine would appreciate my Christmas designs and she could use the “bare” photographs to create her own.
Had I seen Christine’s outfit before the shoot, I would have advised her to pick something else. The translucent nature of her dress made it quite difficult to replace the background. But in the end it works out fine. Sometimes it’s better not to know in advance the challenges one may face. It pushes you out of your comfort zone.
Apart from a miniature candy cane, Christine also brought a green stuffed reindeer. Needless to say I knew right away I was going to change the colour to a more realistic one in post-production.
Christine brought one of her student along, an extremely talented young dancer, and we did a few set ups, with a red and white peppermint candy.
Her grace and flexibility were quite astounding, and I wouldn’t be surprised if this young lady were to become a top professional dancer.
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