Emily is a young lady who I got a chance to photograph to update her headshots and her dance portfolio.  She is a sweet girl who is passionate about musical theater and dance.  She is also an animal lover who helps her mom transport rescue dogs between shelters so that they can be adopted.  

I met Emily and her mom during the production of Seussical the Musical that was produced by The Hudson Players in Hudson, OH.  She and my daughter, Mary Grace, were both in the cast where they made a lot of new friends.  Emily was cast in several roles in Seussical and also helped to button down the dance routines as opening night started to close in on the dancers.  It was a great show and I was glad to be able to do the theatrical photography for the show.

Emily wanted some updated headshots shot on a black backdrop.  With the lighting setup I use, especially with models that have blondish/reddish hair, they really pop off of the backdrop.  While I really like the clean look of a white backdrop, particularly if they are used on the web, the black backdrop is a great backdrop that produces images with a little more pop and moodiness.  For a theatrical headshot it helps to have a few different looks to choose from depending on the role that you are looking to be cast in.

Emily - Headshot on black backgroundEmily wanted an updated headshot on a black background so I used a 3-light setup to light her for this image.

We did the headshots and then moved on to shoot Emily in a few different dance outfits that she brought.  (I think dancers leave a trail of glitter wherever they travel with their dance outfits).  We captured some pretty dance poses as well as a few images with Emily in motion. 

Emily in Pointe ShoesEmily brought her pointe shoes and a beautiful dance costume for some dance portraits.

Graceful EmilyIn another dance costume change Emily posed for more dance portraits. This particular pose has a certain sweetness and gracefulness to it.

I wanted to capture some images that I could use to create a Sportrait of Emily.  I typically do these Sportraits with football players, LAX players etc., but I think they work great with dancers as well.  After all, dancers are athletes too.  I love the idea of juxtaposing the elegance of a dancer against the grittiness of an industrial type background. 

Dance Sportrait of EmilyHere is a photo of Emily "busting a move" for her Dance Sportrait. I know, I know....this is the wrong dance genre to "bust a move."

We had a lot of fun and I’m looking forward to working with Emily again on some more dance shoots.