It's all about the shoes!

Friends dropped into the studio on Saturday and the conversation came around to ballet photos.  Not performance photography, but the idea of local ballet dancers, people that maybe dance each week for enjoyment and fitness might want themselves photographed in the studio.It rather tied in with my pitch for the 'Personal Passions' photoshoot; something I offer whereby people indulge in having themselves photographed with their hobby.

In this case the suggestion was: people might want a photo to look back on when they are much older. Well, that is a strong motivation for be photographed anyway, but in this case maybe poignant. Even if you keep dancing from you teens to your eighties, an early photo is a nice keeper.  What my friend Georgia Mae did not expect, was the sudden take up on the idea and an invite to spend the Sunday afternoon experimenting in the studio.

After a slightly panicked face, she agreed.We hatched a plot to create a series of studio based ballet photos, but that would mean mucking about figuring out what would work. To do that, you sometimes need to work on stuff that won't work, experiment a bit with trial an error. I needed to know her limitations. After all, she is a young lady who enjoys her dance lessons for what they are; she is not a member of The Royal Ballet Company!

The afternoon was hugely instructive and we now plan a more formal day with costumes, hair and make up and maybe some set dressing.  A few photos did come out of Sunday though (plenty for the trash bin!) but most need Georgia's final selection so that they are the most technically correct for her.

This photo is not so much about dance but gives the suggestion of dance due to her pointe shoes.  Without them the photo is something else and couldn't be included under the idea of ballet.  Which gives for another thought about photography.  How one single item in a photo can change completely the meaning or influence of a photo. This photo is made up of three things, light aside: Georgia, a chair and the shoes.  Take the chair away, take Georgia away and it is still ballet and therefore its all about the shoes. That's what my wife and daughters say, it's all about the shoes.