This is one of the subjects I will cover during my May 2022 class on Concepts. I study a wide variety of in studio dance imagery. Like most I have created movement imagery using seamless and soft light. For my own work I find that I tend to bore of what I consider to be traditional dance lighting. When I was hired to photograph these two young and very talented dancers, I informed them that the lighting I would be using is ‘non traditional’ in nature. At the same time in a separate studio my partner was photographing them using much more traditional lighting so they would get the benefit of both styles.
I have found that using atmosphere and dramatic lighting is much like shooting on location rather than in studio. Nothing is 100% controllable on location and using atmosphere and boutique lighting is the same; it cannot be guaranteed to provide the exact results each time. But for me and my clients that’s a large part of the appeal, the chaos factor that yields results that are delicious, not sterile, but genuine.
