Dance Photography Day: report
As I previously mentioned, I went to one of Hilary Shedel’s “Dance Shoot Days” recently.
Although I take a lot of photographs, this was the first time for very many years that I have been on any kind of photographic course, training or lesson. I did not really know what to expect, and was quite nervous. The day took place at Hilary’s studio in the Ferrer’s Centre at Staunton Harold. This is a set of converted stables associated with a “great house” so the setting was very pleasant and rural but more than three hours’ drive away from home so it meant an early start, and on the day the clocks went forward too! The weather was lovely with bright sunshine, so the miles went by quickly enough.
I really enjoyed the day. There were five of us on the course which meant that, even taking it in turns, we had a lot of “hands on” time, but also the fascinating opportunity to watch each other at work. The studio was set with a plain white paper background and one powerful strobe with a huge softbox and two large, homemade reflectors. In the afternoon, the lighting was changed to a single “red-head” tungsten light so we could experiment with deliberate use of movement blur. Lighting was predominantly from the side, slightly in front, to provide form and to deliberately use the “drop off” to differentiate the dancer from the background.
Hilary is an excellent teacher. I knew I really liked her work, but she was able to share one or two apparently simple ideas which generated all kinds of thoughts and insights: these were then worked out practically by shooting an excellent modern dancer: Sharla. The emphasis throughout the day was on how to run the shoot and especially how to visualise the results and work with the dancer to achieve them. There was little technical input, except where it really mattered, but lots on how to ask the dancer to move, what the dancer needed and on timing. All this was driven by a real respect for dance and the dancer, which built confidence in trying to make good photographs.
We were given five minute “slots” when we were in charge of the dancer. For each of these (without being told) you needed to have visualised an image and have thought about how to work with Sharla. She was excellent, which made things work very well, bringing her own interpretation of movements and asking sharp questions which made you clarify your own thoughts. She was also willing to try things – even though she was injured and looking after her back. When we were using the tungsten lighting, it was possible for several of us to shoot at once, though only one was ever in control.
Hilary’s patience and clarity, the warmth and comfort of the environment and the focus on making images meant the time went very fast, but the work was intense. I was mentally very tired by the end of the day, but burning with a wish to do more – to experiment.
I was delighted with the images I managed to capture, and with the new confidence I gained. I would feel much more able to work with a dancer or model in future. The images are not “mine” to use as I wish, as they were set up by Hilary within the context of a course, but I have put a few in my space on Flickr (the last 9 in that set) to share what came out of the day.
The day was extremely good value, very worthwhile indeed and good fun. Thoroughly recommended.