Philosophy
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About My Business
I believe photography is about capturing moments that should be remembered forever. Just having a photo that
accurately portrays how someone looks on a particular day or in a particular place can be good. But capturing the
person in a way that tells a story is much better.
This particularly applies to any performing art. Dancing is a performing art that is telling a story. Listen to the instructors
and pay attention to how many times they talk about expression, not just with your face, but with your whole body. Each
choreography is telling a story. It has ‘accent’ points where the facial expression combines with a particular movement
to stress an important element of the story. These are the precious moments I believe should be captured to save
forever.
Taking photos during a performance can capture these moments. To do this you have to anticipate the dancer. You
have to feel the music as the dancer moves and be ready to capture those special movements. You have to
understand the art of dancing to recognize where the dance is going. Those precious moments only last a brief
second and you have to be pressing the shutter button even before they occur. It is a feel for the dance combined with
the anticipation for the moment that allows a photographer to capture the moment.
How does this apply to studio photography? In many ways studio photography is even harder. Given a proper setup of
the camera, lights and backdrop, a monkey can be taught to take photos that are technically very accurate and perhaps
beautiful. But to get that something that is extra special takes a photographer. There are two key ingredients that make
studio photography an art. The first is the understanding of what the dancer wants to say with the photographs. This
understanding determines what type of lighting that is right. This may vary from ‘glamour’ lighting, a more common
frontal lighting used in many of the common commercial studios, to a single light source that leaves exotic heavy
shadows away from the main subject, often used in advertisements. The second key ingredient is the interaction
between the dancer and the photographer. If the dancer is nervous, tired, bored, or any number of other emotions, the
photos won’t be great. Great photos come when the dancer is feeling the dance and performing in front of the camera.
This means she is relaxed, having fun, and feeling the dance spirit. It is the photographer’s responsibility to work with
the dancer to help her get to this exciting stage during a photo shoot.
I love dancing of all forms; classic ballet, jazz, tap, hip-hop, flamenco, bellydancing,… I love it all. And I really love to
photograph dancers. That’s why my guarantee is very simple. Let me photograph you and we will review the results. If
you don’t like the photographs, the sitting fee will be refunded and there will be no charge to you.
I believe photography is about capturing moments that should be remembered forever. Just having a photo that
accurately portrays how someone looks on a particular day or in a particular place can be good. But capturing the
person in a way that tells a story is much better.
This particularly applies to any performing art. Dancing is a performing art that is telling a story. Listen to the instructors
and pay attention to how many times they talk about expression, not just with your face, but with your whole body. Each
choreography is telling a story. It has ‘accent’ points where the facial expression combines with a particular movement
to stress an important element of the story. These are the precious moments I believe should be captured to save
forever.
Taking photos during a performance can capture these moments. To do this you have to anticipate the dancer. You
have to feel the music as the dancer moves and be ready to capture those special movements. You have to
understand the art of dancing to recognize where the dance is going. Those precious moments only last a brief
second and you have to be pressing the shutter button even before they occur. It is a feel for the dance combined with
the anticipation for the moment that allows a photographer to capture the moment.
How does this apply to studio photography? In many ways studio photography is even harder. Given a proper setup of
the camera, lights and backdrop, a monkey can be taught to take photos that are technically very accurate and perhaps
beautiful. But to get that something that is extra special takes a photographer. There are two key ingredients that make
studio photography an art. The first is the understanding of what the dancer wants to say with the photographs. This
understanding determines what type of lighting that is right. This may vary from ‘glamour’ lighting, a more common
frontal lighting used in many of the common commercial studios, to a single light source that leaves exotic heavy
shadows away from the main subject, often used in advertisements. The second key ingredient is the interaction
between the dancer and the photographer. If the dancer is nervous, tired, bored, or any number of other emotions, the
photos won’t be great. Great photos come when the dancer is feeling the dance and performing in front of the camera.
This means she is relaxed, having fun, and feeling the dance spirit. It is the photographer’s responsibility to work with
the dancer to help her get to this exciting stage during a photo shoot.
I love dancing of all forms; classic ballet, jazz, tap, hip-hop, flamenco, bellydancing,… I love it all. And I really love to
photograph dancers. That’s why my guarantee is very simple. Let me photograph you and we will review the results. If
you don’t like the photographs, the sitting fee will be refunded and there will be no charge to you.
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