Why Dance Photography?
Personal post alert! “You photograph dancers a lot, is it something that interests you?”; “Why dance photography?”; “Where did you learn how to photograph dance?” – I’ve been asked these question so many times, so I guess the time has come for me to write about it.
If we haven’t met before (online or offline), my name is Anastasia and I’m a professional photographer. A large part of my work is focused on movement and dance photography, and I love it!
Dance Background
Long story short, I’m a former professional dancer myself. I’ve danced for over 10 years, 8 of them professionally by performing and teaching dance. I’ve performed everywhere from dance competitions, to live shows with music bands and music videos. I’ve travelled around Russia, Europe and United States to take workshops from the industry’s best choreographers and dance teachers.
I used to create my own dance concept videos – I planned videos from start to finish, choreographed them and edited all by myself. One of my friends, or my mom were usually my videographers for a day. Fun fact! In 2019 when I decided to expand and get into videography, I already new how to do it.
In 2016, I over-worked my knees, I had knee surgery and my dance career slowed down in general – I started to be more careful and taking care of my body more. Then I got to a point that I wanted to have a ‘plan B’ in case I wouldn’t be able to pursue dance professionally. Fast-forward 4 years and I’m a dance photographer! Yay!
Benefits of a dance background in photography
As a former dancer, I’m fascinated by the movement and skills of dancers I work with. We rarely think about it but dance is so physically demanding, requiring years of rigorous training… I believe dancers should be celebrated more, and stunning dance photography is the perfect way to praise the art form.
From a technical perspective dance photography is a challenge: you need to get your camera settings right in order to freeze motion, perfect timing to press the shutter to capture the right moment, and compose your images in the most beautiful way. Challenge is an excellent way to learn and grow – it keeps me learning and improving constantly.
Though I don’t dance as much as I used to, I’m still a part of the dance community, regularly working with dance professionals. Unlike portraits and headshots, I connect with dance photography differently – having experience on both sides of the lens lets me help dancers open up in front of the camera and bring the best out of their skills and experience into breathtaking dance images.
Are you an aspiring dance professional in or around Birmingham U.K. who wants to step your dance career? Shoot me a message and I’ll help you create stunning dance portfolio to get your dream dance gigs!
If you’re a fellow photographer desiring to improve your knowledge of dance photography, feel free to check out How to Photograph Dance.
