Dance is a purposefully selected sequence of movements by one or more persons with symbolic and aesthetic value, and this portrait genre of photography is the art of visually documenting this beautiful display of movement.
This type of photography can take the form of posed studio dance movements, choreographed performances and events. Wedding photographers will shoot dance photos of the bride and groom however those types of photographs are a more candid type of photo and not specifically considered as a specific sub-genre of this type of photography. Although the techniques of a professional photographer in this genre can be employed by a wedding photographer.
Commercial aspects
The commercial income aspect of the this type of photography can be generated by photography at dance schools, dance school competitions (with additional income from selling dance school competition photos), photography at professional dance competitions and individual dance photography photo shoots either in the dance studio or the photographer’s studio.
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Manage angles and movement in dance photography
When photographing dance routines, you should ensure you take photographs from more than one angle and from differing zoom lengths and apertures to create depth. This will give you and the artist more variety to choose from. Make sure the dancers know they are being photographed. By doing this the more professional dancers will be more aware of their dance routine and less likely to look at the camera, resulting in more natural scenes.
Exposure and zoom
The use of long exposures to create blurred movement is a style you can use on some shots to give a variety of composures and photographs. Don’t be afraid to zoom in close and take detail shots. The use of dramatic stage or studio lighting can give mood and depth to the performer’s routine.
Manual mode
Always attempt to shoot dance movements in manual mode. A camera with good low-light capabilities will help in dark dance studios and stage performances. Quality zoom lenses that allow for large apertures such as f/2.8 would be recommended along with the good low-light camera.
You may need to push ISO up much higher in darker situations and where you want a deeper depth of field and fast shutter speed to capture action. Don’t be afraid to push your camera, lenses and knowledge to its limits and you just may be completely surprised with the results!
Publishing dance photography photographs
Performance dancers may be quite protective of the photographs that are posted for public viewing. The photographer should be thoughtful and understanding of any request by the performers with regards to the photos to be published.
For more exposure of your photography, upload your images to your website and to your social accounts such as TikTok, Facebook and Instagram.
Have fun with dance photography!
This genre of photography is all about capturing form and emotional movement.
