Apart from shooting the event, I’m also tasked to go through every photo for quality control which means I see all my colleague’s photos.
One of the shots that I processed at the end of the event caught my eye and totally blew my mind:

A-Live Entertainment at the Australian Dance Festival by JCPhotography

]]> http://minwye.com/blog/2010/09/16/weekly-photo-inspiration/feed/ 0 http://minwye.com/blog/2010/09/10/question-people-act-naturally/ http://minwye.com/blog/2010/09/10/question-people-act-naturally/#comments Fri, 10 Sep 2010 06:05:27 +0000 Min Wye http://minwye.com/blog/?p=845 A question from my friend, May: how do you get people to act naturally around you?

Disclaimer: In no way am I an expert in this field. This is my point of view and experience of posing couples in a few photo shoots. We humans are intricate creatures, each shoot requires a different level of engagement therefore this is not the 1 method that conquers all.

There are a couple ways I go about this. From the couple’s point of view, its certainly not an easy task to ignore this massive camera pointed at you.

Roshana at Kangaroo Point

I find the easiest way to calm a nervous couple down, is to divert their attention away from the camera. Start them off looking at each other(away from the camera) and guide them through some natural actions like walking towards each other…..roleplay is a fantastic way to get them into the mood.

Michael and Laura - pre-wedding at Kangaroo Point

Keeping their mind off the camera is the key to natural shots and as they get more comfortable with you, you can direct their attention at you(and your camera)

Michael and Laura - pre-wedding at Kangaroo Point

Keep in mind, it is those moments in between that create the natural shot, not the poses you give them.

You can check out the rest of the performance photos at my gallery here: http://photos.minwye.com/Dance/2010-Doudoule-Latin-Dance-Camp/

Also, the videos are up on Brisbane Salsa here: http://www.brisbanesalsa.com.au/Video

There were a couple photo that struck my eye.

This was James and Kelsy’s first performance together and they wow’d us with a zouk routine. Apart from that, it was also Kelsy’s birthday that day! Happy Birthday Kelsy!

-You can check out the video of the performance at Brisbane Salsa – James and Kelsy Performance

…and check out the other performance photos at Doudoule Latin Dance Camp Performance Photos

Heres a sneak peak of a shot I got on Saturday night of the Latin Steps Salsa Divas(Latin Step’s women only shines team) led by the beautiful Miss Elli Torres =)

Im still going through my photos and figuring out the best place to upload them. In time, Ill get all 100+ performance photos out.

ps – can you tell they are mid-air?

pps – You can view the girls divas in action at Brisbane Salsa

Although Im not a fan of spiders, I feel bad for it since the next time I drove out, his home went with it =(

Not entirely sure how hectic this week will be; I doubt it will be anything like the past couple of weeks: Sydney Salsa Congress, Haiti Dance Fund Raiser drama, moving house plus an engagement photo-shoot almost every other weekend.

Speaking of engagement shoots, I shot the very lovely couple, David and Lisa at the Mt Cootha Botanical Gardens last weekend before their engagement party and what fun that was. Coincidentally, just a couple weeks before, I had the oppurtunity to shoot Ronald and Melissa’s engagement there too. Here is a sneak peak at one of David and Lisa’s photos =D

David and Lisa

Gear
The better your camera, the faster you shoot to capture those moments.

Good Eye
For better composition(avoids loosing a limb from the shot) getting as tight as possible to reduce post-production.

Quick Reflexes
Especially important for group performances, different couples/dancers might perform different moves. This is tough as it is with only 1 dancer/couple.

Good understanding of the dance style
Knowing the dance style gives you a good comprehension of what to look out for, catching the great lines and this ties in to the musicality when the music hits a stop, generally the dancers will have accentuated movement or pose.

Great Musicality
Knowing the music allows you to foresee photo opportunities. Dancers often take advantage of musical flow, highs and lows of the piece to accompany their movements on the stage.

Great Positioning
This is probably one of the most essential of the lot. No amount of gear, quick reflexes, understanding of dance style or musicality will save you if you have a seat that is facing the dancers back. In most cases, it will be difficult to move during a performance so choose your seat wisely or you could well write off that shoot.