Advice on photographing dancers

[jamesward93]

i am looking to plan a shoot with some dancers, styles ranging from ballet to street dance.

Can anyone offer advice on things like lighting setups and camera settings etc. i know my camera has a flash sync speed of 1/300, is this fast enough for dance?

any advice welcome

 

[awp]

Where are you doing the photography? In a studio? Theatre stage? rehearsal space?

 

[jamesward93]

would be in a studio

 

[awp]

ok - so you have complete control of the light. Shutter speed doesn't matter much - keep it as high as you can sync with the flash - dancers are best lit from the sides (double rim light) to show of the body shape - with maybe a small amount of fill light from the front.

 

[-Rob-]

Have you thought of slowing your shutter speed and using rear curtain flash to get some movement in the shots? Would probably give a good effect if you get it right.

 

[jamesward93]

thanks guys,

Rob, no i hadnt thought of that, not something i have tried before so might be worth a go.

 

[awp]

You could also try using flash on a repeat mode as the dancer moves you can record multiple images on the one frame - can be very effective but very trial and error. Look forward to seeing the results.

 

[anniephoto]

Just happened to see you thread and stumble across this at the same time:
http://www.behance.net/paronsuren/Frame/631374
Thought you might find it interesting! I've never photographed dancers so don't have anything useful to add other than that sorry!