January Image - The Dance

How I did it -My image this month was the result of an opportunity through a fellow camera club member. He and his wife traveled to India last year with a friend whose daughter was in an Indian dance class. She needed photographs for a book and recital brochure and he didn't have the facilities to do it. The one requirement was a black background. To assist with the shoot they brought the dance teacher who set up each shot. It was like having an art director setting every shot. My lighting setup was quite simple with a 36" softbox on my right; a 36" umbrella on my left an a 16" softbox on a boom and above and behind the subject. This light provided the separation needed for the subjects black hair and the background. I carefully calibrated my lighting and exposure using an X-Rite Color Checker. This provided the accurate colors I felt this shoot needed. My Canon 7D was tethered to my laptop PC and Lightroom 3.5 which allowed us to see instant results. My final processing was completed in Lightroom with basic darken vignetting on the edges

COMMENTS:
 

Jerry Appel	Your image is technically excellent – perfect exposure, lovely color and sharp as a tack. That said, I am not altogether impressed with the pose which I know was not your doing. Perhaps there are certain conventions in India that I am not used to. The dancer, at least to me, seems to be tilting to the right side of the frame, with more room on the left. It is generally better to leave room in front of a moving subject rather than behind. The dancer seems also to be tilting forward, again into the edge of the frame. If you agree, you can readily change that tilt and rmodify the front-back relationship of the model in the frame.
Joe Hearst	Well, I wouldn't say it is a "simple" setup, but it certainly worked well. The hair is indeed separated from the black background. I'm really impressed by the technology that you used, and it certainly did the job.
Guy Davies	I’m sure this lady will be very pleased with the pictures, Bill, if they are all like this. You have got the lighting nicely worked out and the black background really shows her up well. There are no burnt out highlights, although the bottom of her dress does seem to disappear in the shadow. However, this might be due to the loss of tonal range that comes from jpeg compression. I guess your original image has all the detail.
Karen Kotner	Thanks for the detailed explanation- it is really helpful and I really wish I could have been there to learn from you. I love the colors, the costume and the pose. The lighting worked very well particularly the lighting behind the model which provided separation between the model and the black background.
Erik Rosengren	this is a striking portrait Bill. Her pose, colorful clothing and superb lighting provide strong impact. The red border contains your rendering. this image receives a perfect 10 from me.
Ann Schonlau	:Bill, I think you captured you subject extremely well. The detail throughout the image is perfect. the color is very nice. The skin tone well done. She does appear to be flowing on air.

Member Bio

Bill Buchanan, FPSA, FGDC - Biography G. William Buchanan, FPSA, FGDC has been involved with photography almost his entire life. His passion for teaching photography has been fostered by being chairman of the Photo Guild of Detroit's Annual Photographic Seminar. Bill has presented many instructional programs in the Detroit area as well as at NECCC, SWMCC and PSA conferences. He has been a major supporter of the electronic capture photography both in his own club and the PSA. For the last three years he has served as the Chairman of the Electronic Imaging Division.