The shoot took place at the Edinburgh College dance studios in Granton. Once the dancers are warmed up, I like to start with jump shots, while they are fresh. Having two people on a shoot is optimum. I can give both of them enough attention, and one of them has the opportunity to rest when I shoot the other.
Shooting indoors with flash, there was no possibility of taking multiple shots in rapid succession. Timing is everything.I first tried to frame this vertically, but I find the horizontal composition strongerJump shots with the dancer coming at me are more challenging. It makes focussing a bit more difficult. But it was worth it. I really like this pic.
When we were satisfied we had enough good jump shots (although you might argue you never get enough good shots), we moved on to capturing some dance poses. While the jump shots are all about timing, the poses require precise lighting for maximum effect. Not necessarily easier, just a different challenge.
My favourite photo of the day.I also like this shot, but I wish I had asked Tia to move her left hand a little bit for perfect symmetry.The lighting wasn’t set up for this pose, but it works. I cannot stress enough the value of experimentation.We tried with and without the shirt. It works much better this waySide light to emphasise the body shapes of the dancerFront and back work equally wellThe bonus of having two people on the shoot is that it allows for both solo and duo pics.Lighting two people is more complicated. I had to significantly adjust the position of my two speedlights to get this to work
Finally, they both changed to new outfits for what they referred to as commercial shots.
I initially thought this kind of photo would require a softer light source, but my bare speedlights did the job just fine.Since this is not the kind of pose one can hold for long, timing the shutter release was important, although not as vital as for jump shots.Subjects at different heights usually give a stronger composition.
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