The Ballerina Photographer: Capturing Great Dance Shots

The dancer moves across the stage with elegance, grace, strength and purpose. Her classical dance style is designed to tell a story that reaches into the heart of her audience, leaving them with a sense of awe. She is a great ballerina. The photographer attempts to capture the essence of her dance style and movements, freezing them permanently into the memories of her audience, family and friends. However, becoming a great ballerina photographer requires certain prerequisites as well as following several guidelines.

The required equipment includes:

SLR Camera

Long Lens

Memory Stick

Make sure you are familiar with your camera's operating system. In order to get great shots you must know how to operate your camera in a variety of conditions, including low light and fast performance situations. For example, you should be highly skillful in the control of your camera's IOS settings, aperture and f-stops. In addition, in low light situations, the aperture needs to be as wide as possible: f/2.8 and under. Possessing this knowledge provides enough competence to take great ballerina photos under the most toughest conditions.

Scope out the auditorium or stage dynamics before the event starts. Get a sense of the overall lighting situation and the dance themes the dancer will demonstrate. Knowing in advance what the performer will demonstrate will help you anticipate certain dance dynamics before they occur. Ask around about the event. See if you can get in on some of the practices, especially if the photography is being done for a major magazine. Also, try to get a sense of the vantage point from which you will be photographing the performer.

Use manual focus. Because low-lighting situations interferes with auto-focus, it isn't a good ideal to use it. When you use manual focus, you can adjust the focus on the subject at will, without much shutter lag, allowing you to concentrate on the constant movements of the dancer. Relying on auto-focus can cause you to miss critical shots, since auto-focus may take a long time to adjust to the lighting situation on stage. By using manual focus, you can focus constantly on the dancer's movements, instantly preparing you to capture any spectacular moment.

Avoid using flash photography for several reasons. Flash photography will most likely detract the dancer as well as the audience. Flash photography create harsh shadows. Instead, it is better to use the available light with the appropriate white balance setting. In addition, depending on the distance you are from the stage, flash photography will be more or less irrelevant. Possessing a long lens is the most significant factor in the performance and will enable you to capture the most intimate facial expressions.

Position yourself to capture great moments. In ballerina or dance photography, the ability to capture great moments is the most significant goal. All the time, the ballerina is moving in a constant state of expression. Therefore, it is up to the photographer to choose those moments that will best tell the story the ballerina is trying to express. Having prior knowledge of dance photography gives you a significant advantage over photographers who are novices. When you can recognize great moments, then you are on your way to providing a lifetime of beautiful images.

If you don't have much experience doing dance or ballerina photography, make sure you read several good articles on the subject. Ballerina or dance photography require you to make quick decisions with your camera. You must be prepared to capture beautiful and graceful moments. Go to the library and check out video and picture on ballerina photography in order to gain a vicarious experience of the subject. Learn the basic movements of ballerina as well as more advanced feet positions. Getting in to the spirit of ballerina photography involves more than just pointing and shooting the performance.

Make sure you have the appropriate camera. Attempting to take profession ballerina shots with the wrong camera can result in disappoint and loss of credibility. Capturing great moments in a ballerina performance can not be taken likely. These moments may never occur again. Using cheap point-and-shoot cameras can ruin these moments forever, not only for you but for those individuals who are depending on you to provide them with great memories daughters, wives and friends.