The reason many people are attracted to photography is their ability to communicate an idea universally. Writing, speech and even music depend on language. No photography!
A beautiful photo in England stays in China, Brazil or anywhere else. However, a great Portuguese novel is just a bunch of scrambled symbols for someone who doesn’t know the language.
- However.
- There is another art form that has almost the same appeal and acceptance even more universal as photography: dance.
Dance is one of the most beautiful arts ever known to man, pleasant movements, poetry and music impact all those who wish to attend a dance event, anything that involves dance is a feast for the senses, especially for the eyes. The attraction of dance is simply irresistible, so it can become the central theme and give space to what we will call dance images.
Like looking at a photo, seeing someone dancing does not require knowledge of the language. The dance does not require any expensive equipment, except fancy in some styles. Unfortunately, capturing great dance photos takes a lot of practice, and sophisticated equipment can go a long way. !
But, like everything that moves, taking pictures of dancers or dancers is not easy. Having and using a DSLR camera doesn’t guarantee you’ll get great dance photos. You should consider a number of factors before filming a scene.
The reason countless photographers are attracted to dance images is that they contain a puzzle or paradox. Photography is a frozen art, while dance is a matter of movement. Trying to capture and transmit movement in your dance photos can be a real challenge. I’m not afraid, this article was written to help you!
Today we will examine several tricks and techniques to get better dance shots, so that it is fully equipped to capture stunning images of this art form.
Here are some important things to think about before you go dancing
In dance images, individuals move most of the time, you need to know how to concentrate. And for that, you need to have a fast shutter speed, at least 1/1000 seconds.
Since your subjects are always on the move, it will be difficult to get a photo showing your faces, however, you must show the faces of the dancers because your story will be incomplete without them. Besides, who would want to look at a picture of someone’s back?You need to know how to get the perfect angles and take interesting poses in your dance pictures.
To show the faces of the dancers, you must be ready to move and try different angles, in addition to giving yourself dynamic shots, the movement will also help you explore different backgrounds that you may want to include in your dance images, for example. , your main goal is a couple on the dance floor; You mustn’t isolate them from the rest of the crowd by taking your picture on one side of the room. Travel to show your trip, other dancers, audience, jury, etc.
This makes dance photos more dynamic and interesting. Taking photos from different angles will also help you produce good results. You’ll be surprised how dynamic your dance photos will be. If your digital camera has a rotating screen, try placing it on top of your camera. head, look at the dance floor or the dancers and take a picture. You can also try a low angle. For best results when recording a dance floor or crowded studio, stand out from the crowd and shoot from different angles, either as a dancer or choreographer so you can visualize the sequence of shots you’re going to take.
I’m a big fan of the saying “cameras don’t take good pictures, but photographers do. “Expensive photographic equipment cannot guarantee perfect dance photographs, basic equipment can achieve the same result. That said, modern technology greatly increases your chances of taking solid dance photos with a lot of practice. A DSLR camera has a good reputation for dance images. This would also be useful if the camera has a high frame rate that allows you to record multiple photos in a sequence.
90% of the time, when you take dance photos on stage, you won’t be allowed to use a flash. Therefore, having a “fast” lens will also help. Telephoto objatives are extremely useful, something with a focal length of 85 mm or more would be perfect. Autofocus lenses are also important, as almost all cameras make manual focus difficult in low-light environments.
Then you need to have a good understanding of the right lighting. Even if you’re shooting a show, the light won’t be good enough for well-lit dance shots. There will be many shades of red, green and blue that are not. the natural colors that our eyes see.
The biggest challenge for many photographers is lighting. As I said earlier, the team can help, but it’s important to understand some basics about how light interacts with the camera. First you’ll want to evaluate the color of the light, then the color. temperature (white balance) and so on. Read this article about the types of lights in the photo and how to use them.
Go to your camera’s white balance settings and manually adjust the color temperature, which will be Kelvin or just K. The lowest numbers are for orange or red light, the highest numbers are for white and blue light.
Its opening should be at least f 2. 8 in most cases. If you record a dance class in a small photo studio with the right lighting, it can have an aperture as large as f 3. 5 af 4; however, this condition is more difficult to achieve. !
Use a flash whenever possible to freeze the subject and make your dance images look attractive. Combine your flash with a low shutter speed and your dance photos will be amazing. With a slow shutter speed, it will have a blurry effect on the background of your dance shots, but the main subject will remain clear throughout the image. Some photographers call it a clearer blur effect.
Learn how to use the flash correctly. If you use little, the images are dark, using a lot, you can get overexposed and non-blurry dance photos. To fix this problem, reduce ISO, restrict opening, and decrease shutter speed.
For photos that come out with a dark background and those with little blur (almost imperceptible), you will need to get more ambient lighting for the photo. To do this, you need to use faster shutter speeds, a higher ISO, and a wider aperture.
Let’s focus on concentration. You need to have the right settings so your camera gets the focus you want. Here are some simple suggestions:
Use autofocus? Don’t try to be Superman or Wonder Woman. You shouldn’t do all the work yourself, your DSLR camera can be of great help at this point. Although many photographers prefer manual focus, in dance, photos with the camera’s autofocus can be a problem. ‘hand on the wheel’.
Use burst mode or burst mode? However, be sure to press and hold or press the shutter to do so. This is useful when the performance is at its peak and the emotion is visible in your dance images.
As you are in autofocus mode, you must also adjust the camera to continuous autofocus (AI Servo AF for Canon and AF-C for Nikon), so you can easily adjust with the dancer’s movement. This must be done when the shutter is pressed, halfway through the race.
This is the best way to keep your dance photos perfectly stabilized. It’s also a good technique to keep your photos sharp. You won’t have to worry about shaky images because you’ve been holding the camera with your hands for a long time. This is especially true if you have a heavy lens. A monopod or tripod will also allow you to move around the room or location more easily and independently.
Give your dance photos a more vivid look by adjusting your camera to the longer focal length. This will illuminate the subject while gaining a blurred effect on ambient light. To add more life and color to your photo, tilt the camera up and down and move from left to right while capturing your dance photos. This way, you’ll get light s them that will make the image “moving”. Without a doubt, this is the best way to capture the dancers in action.
Speaking of art, there are four traditional artistic forms that create a sense of movement in your work: the first is called early movement, a principle that is harder to explain; the proof for this is that if the photo or painting suddenly comes to life, what would happen?Basically, these are impossible poses that you can convey in your dance photos. Someone can’t just float in the air, so if we see an image with the dancer in the air, we know he was jumping.
The second technique is known by many names, but essentially means a blurry contour and can be achieved by reducing the shutter speed. Sometimes you can move the camera around the subject of the dance photos leaving it sharper than the background, at other times it can allow its diffuse movement to be compensated by a static background.
The third way is very difficult to achieve without a high-tech flash. It is designated in several ways as its predecessor. This technique appears to be used in technical diagrams, when a person is represented in several overlapping positions in the same image.
The last way to create a sense of movement, in fact, does not represent physical movement, but only offers the viewer several things to look at in dance photos, making their movement notice in the image. The shape repetition technique does this more. time.
The following sections will be tips and minor things to look for. Although movement, lighting, and focus are things you’ll want to think about in every dance photo, the little things can only be used occasionally.
The first is the perfect time in your dance photos. While all photographers expect their images to capture a moment of great emotion or action, I’m talking about small moments.
Watch out for the little things, it may not be the most important thing that happens that day, but it has a taste and a strangeness that really captures the scene you’re in. Try the quirky moments in your dance photos to see the result. !
Many forms of dance are based on different poses maintained for short moments. Pay close attention to these occasions when capturing your dance photos. The dancer freezes for a fraction of a second, so you don’t have to maintain a fast shutter speed. These postures are often interrupted when the dancer is rotated or lifted, for example.
Keep in mind that dance is an all-body experience, so it involves several parts. Don’t be afraid to focus on a specific hand movement or foot position during filming. How many young aspiring dancers have posters showing a close-up of their feet?
Try to focus on things that would be impossible or harder to perceive with the naked eye, keep in mind that dance images have the power to highlight small details that would otherwise go completely unnoticed.
You don’t really need to become a professional dancer, but it would be great to understand dancers and their art. Learn about terminology, movements, watch videos, or study other dance photographers. Attending dance events is also an option, discover how everything works to learn how to behave when capturing your dance photos.
You’ll recognize the tense muscles that lead to a powerful jump, or the slight curve before the tip of your feet or a similar pose, once you start recognizing behaviors, you’ll be able to better anticipate the actions that will follow, allowing you to improve your dance. plans and captures stunning moments.
It is about capturing, through photographs, the beauty that the dancers portray on stage. Like photography and other art forms, dance requires discipline. Unlike photography, most dancers start very young and work hours a day, several days a week to be The greatness of the dance images is also difficult to achieve, so remember that while you are recording, you must also do your best to live up to the efforts of the dancers.
Remember that some photography styles are familiar, but many of them also depend on luck, but, as in the lottery, you won’t win if you don’t play, will you?So the more you photograph difficult topics, the more rewarding. the results will be!
Here are just a few tips and techniques you can use to take pictures of dances and dancers, but remember that all this won’t work if you don’t practice, practice, practice and practice are the secret to getting better dance images. . Try it and try again. It’s the best way to learn and become good at what you love to do.
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