Photography Tips

Dance Magazine’s Ballet Photography Tips
February 9, 2018 In Photography Tips No Comment

Reading Dance Magazine’s February 2018 article “The 5 Biggest Mistakes Dancers Make at Photo Shoots” is a great way to prepare for your Gene Schiavone ballet photo shoot. Preparation is key to both photographer and dancer getting the most out of a shoot.

Key Points from the article that stand out to me from Shate’ L. Edwards:

  • Explore a photographer’s work before going into a shoot
  • Think about the angles and lines that look best on your body, and share your top choices with the photographer before you start shooting.
  •  If your original ideas aren’t working, use the photographer’s direction to imagine new possibilities. Focus on what is working, and move forward with that.

My detailed Planning Guide was created to help dancers feel comfortable and prepared for their ballet photography session so together we can celebrate their passion and talent with memorable images.

Continue Reading

The Crop
The Crop
March 17, 2013 In Photography Tips No Comment

I think one of the most important elements of an image is the crop. It’s a little like cutting a diamond, you want to chisel away everything that is not flattering and be left with something that sparkles. The first image is the full shot of Oksana Skorik (Mariinsky) in Swan Lake.

I wanted to highlight her beautiful form and did a very tight crop of just her upper body. You may have chosen something different but I think this is very dramatic. The camera was a Nikon D800E which is 36 megapixels, it allows you to take a small crop and still have enough resolution left to make a large print. Tech Info: F4, 200 sec, -67 exp comp, 4000 ISO

Full shot of Oksana Skorik (Mariinsky) in Swan Lake (c) Gene Schiavone
Crop full shot of Oksana Skorik (Mariinsky) in Swan Lake (c) Gene Schiavone

 

Continue Reading

Natalia Osipova in a Studio Session
Natalia Osipova in a Studio Session
March 17, 2013 In Photography Tips No Comment

I did this shoot with Natasha in a rehearsal studio at City Center last summer. The tech info is: F6.3, 250 sec, 0 exp comp,ISO 200, 82mm. The camera was a Nikon D800E with a 70-200 F2.8 lens at 82mm which produces a 37MB raw file. In the past I used a Hassleblad medium format with a leaf digital back, the setup was slow to work with. The new Nikon changed everything. The image has an enormous amount of detail and you could blow it up and put it on the side of a building. The lighting is a single small soft box up and to the left. No need to make things complicated, I keep it simple and get dramatic results. You can light almost anything with a single source.

Continue Reading