NYC Dance Project was my inspiration for this shoot. Their photos of ballerinas from various dance companies are so unique and beautiful. Each shoot is prepared as its own dance production, with attention paid to every detail - movement, lighting, and the feeling of each photograph. 

I've always loved to photograph dancers, so I reached out to Lindsay, from Cal Poly's Orchesis Dance Company, to do this shoot with me. I wanted to create fine art images, complete with dramatic lighting and textured backdrops. I raised the large octabox high above Lindsay as the main light, and another softbox in front to fill. We tried out lots of poses and movements to find the most beautiful compositions. After the shoot, I spent time editing the plain paper backdrop to look textured, like the fancy Oliphant backdrops NYC Dance Project shoots on. Who knew backdrops could elevate a photo so much?

I had a lot of fun experimenting with Lindsay and creating images I've dreamed of doing. Dance photography will always be a passion of mine.