When shooting dancers, it is important to show their skills and flexibility to highlight their professionalism. Of course, a photographer should know dance poses for pictures, but there are other crucial aspects of a good photo session that they need to consider as well, like location, attire, makeup, hair supplies, decorations, and props.
Whether it's ballet, contemporary, hip-hop, or any other style, the right pose can make all the difference in bringing the dance to life in a still image.
To take beautiful surrealistic pictures, I recommend you try to photograph dancers with flour. By including flour as a component of dance photography, you can make your images look more unique. This idea works well for ballet, contemporary dance, or freestyle.
To conduct a beautiful flour photo session, you need to make sure that the following things are available:
Pro tip: When correcting such pictures, use matte Lightroom presets. These filters can make your shots original and unique providing you with a great selection of styles and adjustable settings. You can install Lightroom presets on Windows or Mac.
Photography dance poses are great for both studio and street photo shoots. Use different ribbons, flags, circles, threads to make your photos more captivating. If you want to improve your dance photos and attract viewers on social media networks, use the services of professional retouchers.
Pro tip: If you are shooting outdoors, you are likely to have problems capturing beautiful shots because of people, vehicles, buildings, and other distracting backgrounds. The way out of this situation is to use a large aperture to separate the subject of a photo session from the backdrop. Besides, such apertures as f/1.2 and f/2.8 can add some depth to your pictures.
You can also try to take a set of pictures that tell a story. For example, in one photo, you can sit straight, in another, you can throw something in the air or pose with your leg outstretched. This is probably one of the best dance photo poses for contemporary dance or freestyle.
Pro tip: When shooting in dim lighting conditions or at night, I recommend using portable outdoor studio flash to get proper illumination. However, many dance photographers prefer using wide angle lenses (at least f 2.8) and avoid using flash.
If you like shooting outdoors, you will probably want to conduct a photo session near the water. However, such locations are usually difficult to capture because of reflections. The greatest dance poses for pictures near the water are those that show a good stretch and a variety of splits.
Pro tip: I strongly recommend using a polarizing filter to prevent glare and capture the elements of the underwater world. If you own a single-lens reflex camera, you will easily achieve such an effect. Otherwise, I recommend putting polarized sunglasses in front of your point-and-shoot lens to polarize a picture.
Make sure that the model is relaxed and behaves naturally when posing in front of your camera. For example, she can stand straight, lift one leg and both arms, arch the back.
Pro tip: When capturing a photo at dawn or sunset, set your gear at low or mid-range ISO values, like 200, 400, or 800. It’s better to avoid using the lowest ISO setting, which is usually 100 on the majority of cameras, to be able to select the desired aperture and shutter speed.
The model can take this pose on the floor, in the air, or in a jump. The legs should be crossed and one of them should be in front of the other. It can be raised to 90 degrees, while the knee can also be straight or bent. This pose is perfect for ballet, Latin American dances, and ballroom dancing.
Pro tip: To make this pose look absolutely stunning, the model should wear a long gown. To create a “flower” effect, use layered dresses made of light, flowing, translucent fabrics, such as chiffon. For example, the model can wear a floor-length chiffon dress and drop earrings.
A fountain is a great setting for dance picture poses. Ask a model to stand on one leg, bend the other at the knee, raise her arms up or to the side in the direction of the legs. It is important for the model to stay relaxed. A shooter should try capturing not only the dancer but also the jets of the fountain.
Pro tip: To take a great fountain image, you need to select the right aperture ranging from f/2.8 to f/8. A smaller aperture will provide you with more DOF, but it will be more difficult to make the water look smooth unless you are taking photos in dim lighting conditions. A wider aperture allows you to produce a detailed image and use longer exposures. However, you should tolerate shallow DOF in this case.
Try to change the shooting location capturing the model from above. To take such a picture, go to the dance theater or other building with an indoor balcony. Remember that symmetry is one of the most important aspects of creating beautiful compositions. For example, a model can sit on the floor, bend her knees, cross her arms over a shoulder, or hug herself.
Pro tip: Shooting from above is a great option if you need to emphasize the detail from top to bottom. This technique seems to be a bit odd for photographers who usually shoot wide open to separate a person from the background. Try to close down to preserve the detail and dimension.
Squatting is probably one of the best hip hop poses for dance pictures. Ask a model to stand up straight and set up the legs a bit apart. After making one step forward, a dancer should squat and keep their weight on a back leg. A model can also bury their face in her hands.
Pro tip: It would be a great idea to watch some videos about the dancing genre you are going to shoot to visualize the best poses. It will also help you configure your camera settings properly. For shooting one subject, choose the aperture between f/2 and f/4. If you are holding your camera without some special equipment, the shutter speed should be at least 1/200th. Whereas 1/15th is the most optimal shutter speed for those who use a tripod.
To capture this pose, ask a dancer to stand up straight with the legs a few feet apart. The model should bend one leg in a knee and raise it keeping the weight on the other leg. Then, they need to lift their arms and crouch a bit.
Pro tip: For capturing dance images, I recommend using a DSLR Camera, like the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV, Nikon D5 or Nikon D850.
This is one of the most versatile dance poses for pictures as it is suitable for dancers of any age. Ask a model to sit “criss-cross apple sauce” and lift one leg. A dancer can either hug the lifted leg or just rest with their arms crossed.
Pro tip: Experiment with different backdrops and foregrounds to capture an original and captivating dance photo. Try using a black background or color background. When choosing the appropriate backdrop, make certain that its color complements the model’s skin tone and allows you to bring the focus on the subject.
For this one-legged pose, a dancer should cross the arms and legs, look down to the left, and hug herself.
This is one of the most suitable dance photo poses for jazz modern, contemporary dance, Latin American dances, salsa, and classical choreography.
Pro tip: Please note that this pose will be difficult to take in a tight dress. Bulky items of the garment are also not suitable, as they will hide a beautiful silhouette. Choose clothes that reveal legs, for example, neck sleeveless bodysuit.
To assume this pose, a model should stand straight up with their legs wide apart. After leaning to one side, the dancer should put their hands on the legs to support their weight. This pose works well for capturing R’n’B, hip-hop, dubstep, club dance, or street dance.
Pro tip: Make sure to discuss everything with your clients before a photo session. Try to be genuine to establish a connection with a dancer. Ask the questions you are interested in to learn more about the dancer, their favorite dance genre, and what kind of images they would like to get.
This is probably one of the most complicated dance poses for pictures that needs practicing. To choose the most suitable specifications and appropriate angle for shooting such positions, I recommend filming these poses before a photo shoot.
Pro tip: Do not forget about post-processing. Professional image editors use Adobe Lightroom and Adobe Photoshop. If you are tight on budget or do not have time for figuring out how to use such complicated software, try using one of the affordable tools that are available on the market today, such as Snapseed, VSCO, BeFunky photo editor, Canva Photo Editor or Afterlight.
Ask the dancer to stand up on their toes. They can hang down their hands, put them behind the head or hold a hood, for example. This pose works well with such dance genres as R’n’B, hip-hop, electro dance, tecktonik, breakdance, dup step. I recommend you take pictures from different angles and levels.
Pro tip: If you conduct a photo session in a studio, use flash tips. To create a perfect illumination, you need to ensure that the flash bounces against another surface. It means that you should set your flash on a neutral-colored wall, ceiling, and similar surfaces to create a bigger light source that produces a soft light for illuminating your subject.
Professional dancers can pose jumping in a split to showcase their impressive arches and stunning pointe. However, models whose flexibility leaves much to be desired should not choose this pose for their photo session.
Pro tip: To take high-quality pictures without an undesired blurring effect caused by the dancer’s movements, use a high shutter speed. Configure a camera and a flash to freeze the motion. A slow shutter speed does not work for dance images, as your images will be blurry because of quick movements.
If you are going to shoot more than one dancer, try to be original and choose the best dance photo poses. For example, if you are snapping a dancing couple, you can capture their kiss. If you need to conduct a romantic photo session, you can benefit from these couple photo ideas. Ask the couple to dance together.
One of the greatest group photo ideas is to ask the models to move in sync. For example, three people can stand at the same distance from each other and simultaneously jump to the same height.
Pro tip: To convey a feeling of movement, use panning photography techniques. By moving along with your models and panning the shooting gear right or left depending on the direction of motion, you can make your pictures more energetic. In such a way, you can focus on a model and blur the backdrop. Such a technique can help you add some dynamism to your pictures and make viewers feel as if they were moving along with dancers.
Another great idea is to shoot a model in a twirl or while doing some dance move. Keep in mind that you won’t have much time to prepare in this case. Take several simple images after every complicated pose, giving your model enough time to have some rest.
Pro tip: To produce stunning ballet photography, conduct a photo session in a calm and tranquil place like an alley, a garden, or flower field. Do not forget about accessories and clothing like pointe shoes or ballerina slipper.
If you are looking for the greatest photography dance poses to shoot strip dancers, pay attention to this pose idea. Use a pole and a cross-legged plank pose.
Compliment the model’s look with accessories, like high heel sandals or sparkle top.
Pro tip: Do your best to create a high-contrast picture. For this purpose, you can employ hard light and a modifier to ensure that the light does not hit the backdrop. By using a negative fill, you can also make the shadows deeper. Besides, you can try positioning a black reflector on the shadow side of an image to intensify the shadows.
If a model is in good physical condition, they can try taking this pose. The person should rise on one hand, upside down, and put the second hand on the head. Remember that the dancer will not be able to remain in this position for a long time.
Pro tip: My recommendation is to switch to AF mode when snapping models in motion. This tip will come in handy when shooting a subject performing a fast-paced dance. When focusing on a model manually, it might be impossible to capture great pictures.
Dance images requires much editing. Therefore, I advise you to try these presets to improve the look of your pictures. With this collection, you can accelerate your image processing routine and create impressive photos in a matter of seconds.
Apply these filters with vivid and intense colors to highlight clothes, perfect skin, and the makeup of models. They are compatible with all Lightroom versions: Lightroom Mobile, Adobe Lightroom, 4, 5, 6 and CC. You can also download Lightroom for free.
