Ballet portraiture ~ Pictures

January 21st, 2009

I am often asked about my ballet photography for the local dance school. Here is a gallery showing some of my images. I’ve kept them neutral to show you the clarity of the original files. These images lend themselves to a fair amount of post production to take them to the next level. All the shots were taken on a grey background roll and lit with 2 or 3 lights.

Please feel free to comment on the pictures and link to ones that you have taken. – Damien

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5 Comments Add your own

1. Tanya Plonka | January 21st, 2009 at 7:33 pm

I love the tu tu in #19!

I’ve never had a chance to take ballet photos, sadly… we have limited dance studios here and other photographers have a strong foothold in them!

However, I’m in with the belly dancers, so I can’t complain!
2. James Arendell | January 21st, 2009 at 7:41 pm

An impressive collection of photos.
I have lighting question.Would it have been possible to have softened the shadows in some of the shots?, as in some (personal) they are quite hard.Also did you light them from above in some instances?
Regards.
James.
P.S.
I Am reading your ” Complet Guide to Professional Wedding Photgraphy” which I ordered towards the end of last year, and I am enjoying it very much.
3. damien | January 21st, 2009 at 7:45 pm

Hi James,

Yes it would be easy to soften the shadows but the feeling I wanted to create was one of a stage performance with Fresnel theater lighting. Thanks for your kind words about my book.

Damien.
4. John Wood | January 22nd, 2009 at 10:03 am

Hi Damien,

A great set of photos that you’ve posted. For me, I like no’s 1 and 24 the most. I’ve not really had a chance to do much dance photography but it is somethnig I would love to try some day soon. That said, I did get to have a go at the Nikon Expo in December where they had a ballet dancer in one of their action areas. My shots from just outside the arena can be seen here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jwoodphotography/3175347010/in/photostream/

Great to meet you at the SWPP Trade Show last week and keep up the great work with the blog. I’m getting lots of really useful info from your posts.

Best regards,
John
5. damien | January 25th, 2009 at 12:19 am

Hi John,

Thanks for your kind words. I’ll keep posting because comments like yours let me know it’s worth while. Cheers, D.