Ballet Zaida

Dancer - Morgan Quinn. 

Location - Griffith Observatory. Los Angeles, California.

© 2012 Oliver Endahl

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Morgan Quinn on Twitter: @MorganJQuinn

Instagram Username: MorganJQuinn

Dancer – Koto Ishihara.

© 2012 Oliver Endahl

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Instagram Username: BalletZaida

I constantly look through the #BalletZaidaIgers tag on Instagram, and through the photos people send in through the Email, BalletZaida@Gmail.com and I’m loving what I see. The talent level of the dancers and the photographers is beyond amazing, and I think the photos are really inspiring. (I’ll be doing a blog post soon showcasing some of my favorite submissions.)

Even though the photos have been amazing, I believe there’s always room for improvement. So today I want to talk about 4 tips to make great ballet photos.

Tip Number 1: Body Blindness

When you take a ballet photo, don’t just look at the position of the body, look at the photo as a whole. Look at the environment the body is in, and how the line/position/expression of the body effects the environment around it.

Tip Number 2: Over-Editing

There’s a term photographers use called “over-editing.” It’s when a photo is so edited it becomes distracting, and it actually takes away from what’s going on in the photo. So just because you can apply a lot of different editing techniques doesn’t mean you should. What I personally do to avoid this is after I’ve spent some time editing a photo, if I feel funny about the editing I’ll leave the photo alone for 20 minutes, and then I’ll look at it again. Seeing the photo after having not seen it in a while generates a fresh reaction in my mind, and that usually gives me a good indication about how I feel about the editing that has been applied.

Tip Number 3: Take Photos

Just because you don’t have a 2,000 dollar camera doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take photos. Cell phone cameras are so nice nowadays you can take some great shots with them. It’s not about how many megapixels a photo has, it’s about what’s happening in the photo.

Tip Number 4: Explore

Don’t be afraid to try new things. Just because you haven’t seen any photos like the one you want to create, doesn’t mean  it’s a bad idea. It just means it’s a new one. What photographers generally do is try to create photos that they’ve seen by other photographers in magazines or online, which I think is a little boring. Because even if you fully achieve that goal and create the photo you’ve seen, then you’ve just created a nice copy of a photo. So keep trying new ideas and I’m sure they’ll be amazing.

I hope these tips helped. I love looking at other people’s dance photography, brainstorming, and sharing ideas. If you have any dance photography tips and want to share them, feel free to post them in the comments section.

I look forward to seeing more of all your great photos!

-Oliver Endahl

I asked the fans of Ballet Zaida to upload a dance photo of themselves to the Ballet Zaida Facebook wall again, and I’m blown away by the response! The photos are all amazing! I think its great to see so many people from all over the world sharing and seeing each others ballet photos.

Here’s 3 of my favorite shots from this week.

Ben and Cassie in the 2010 Nutcracker at the Nutmeg Conservatory. Torrington, CT. © Ben and Cassie

The first picture is of Ben and Cassie dancing in the 2010 production of “The Nutcracker” at the Nutmeg Conservatory, in Torrington, CT.

I love stage photography pictures, and this one is great. Stage photography is a whole different ball game from outdoor ballet photography. In outdoor ballet photography you set up the shots and if the photo isn’t perfect, generally (depending on the weather) you can try it again. But with stage photography the dancers are dancing a piece, they can’t just stop dancing and try again, so its going to be much more difficult to capture perfect ballet positions. In this photo, Ben and Cassie both look very elegant and are both in very nice positions. Cassie’s legs are very turned out, her foot shapes are great, and Ben is in a nice long position partnering Cassie nicely. The Nutmeg Conservatory has some great dancers.

Jemma Babayeva in Harbour Front. Toronto, Canada. © Richard C & Jemma Babayeva.

The next image is of Jemma Babayeva in Toronto Canada, and was photographed by Richard C.

Jemma’s pose in this photo is great. She’s got great charisma with a nice smile happening, her standing leg is nice and straight, her other leg is making a nice shape, and her arms are both well placed. Richard C did a good job in capturing this image because even though it looks like the photo was taken with a lot of sun around them, Jemma isn’t blown out by the light at all.

Street ballet in Chicago featuring AmyLynne. © Tina Pelletier

Tina Pelletier uploaded this photo of AmyLynne and added the caption “Street ballet in Chicago!”

I really like this photo. I think the colors are great! I love the greens, blues, and reds. AmyLynne is hitting her pose nicely, with especially delicate Port De Bras, and a great expression that makes for a very intriguing photo.

The amount of creativity and talent all the dancers and photographers who are fans of Ballet Zaida have is astounding. I love looking at all the photos you upload to the Facebook wall. Keep them coming! I’ll write another blog post in the future with more of my favorites.

-Oliver Endahl

I’m really impressed with the ballet photos you’ve all been posting on the Ballet Zaida Facebook wall. Heres a few of my favorite shots.

Rachael Kopetsky's fifth. © Rachael Kopetsky

I like how grainy this photo is, it gives it a very vintage old feeling. And Rachael’s fifth position is solid.

Max Levy in Emery LeCrone's "Outflow Boundary" © Peter Zay

Max Levy posted a passionate photo of himself dancing in Emery LeCrone’s “Outflow Boundary”

I haven’t seen the piece, but it looks like a winner. Max’s jump is out of this world and Peter Zay caught it at just the right moment. This photo is top notch in both the dancing and photographic aspects of it.

Madison Mendez. © 2011 Madison Mendez and Leah Dorman.

Madison Mendez is hitting a really awesome jump position in this photo. Her feet are pointed, the bottom leg is close to her body, her hands are relaxed and her arms are well positioned, and her face is making a nice expression. Leah Dorman did a nice job capturing it.

Zrinka Korljan. © Zrinka Korljan.

Zrinka posted this photo of herself and added “Me, absolutely amateur ”

For an “amateur” this photo looks great! The composition, outfit choice, and location are all really interesting.

Helena Aprilia. © Dian Leo and Helena Aprilia.

Helena Aprilia. © Dian Leo and Helena Aprilia.

These two shots of Helena Aprilia are great! They really show off her flexibility. I really like the shot of her on the boat. The misty atmosphere makes the environment really interesting, and I think her shoes look awesome. Great job capturing these photos Dian!

Megan Warhurst and Madison Mendez. © Megan Warhurst and Madison Mendez.

Megan Warhurst and Madison Mendez’s pose in this photo compliments the architecture nicely. The location reminds me of the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco. I also enjoy their outfit choice, and the texture of the photo.

Danse Dans la Ville. © Danse Dans la Ville

The angle Danse Dans la Ville used in this photo is very interesting, and the location is a fun. I look forward to seeing more shots from this photoshoot.

Ballet meets gymnastics. Dancer: Alli Folk. Photo: Tenaya West. © Alli Folk and Tenaya West.

This photo titled “Ballet meets gymnastics” is a great idea! The angle this photo was taken at is very unique. The idea of having pointe shoes balance on this tiny beam for a photoshoot is very cool. I think it would be interesting to see more photos from this shoot to see what outfit choice, and lighting was used.

Tiffany Kadani. © Tiffany Kadani and Tom Huynh Photography.

This photo of Tiffany Kadani by Tom Huynh Photography is awesome! Tiffany’s jump is very high, her feet are well pointed, and her flexibility is great. I also like the colors, silhouette, and composition Tom used to capture it.

Overall, I’m very impressed with the talent you all have! I think its great to see the fans of Ballet Zaida post their own works and have everyone see, comment, and appreciate them.

Feel free to continue to post your own ballet photos on the Ballet Zaida Facebook wall, and be sure to comment and “like” your favorites that other people have posted.

Cell phone photos are encouraged, and any camera is welcome.

Keep up the good work everyone! You are all very talented.

-Oliver Endahl

Nicole Ciapponi. © 2011 Oliver Endahl

The 10th photo in Gallery 17 features Nicole Ciapponi.

During our shoot I told Nicole to do “something break dancey” (A highly technical term.) Nicole was more than happy to attempt a break dancing ballet pose, which is a reoccurring theme for Gallery 17.

I like how direct and powerful Nicole is. Theres a lot to look at in this photo, and my eye is generally drawn to her.

-Oliver Endahl

The next Ballet Zaida gallery is one of the special projects I have been working on for a while. The gallery is titled “Asteria” because in Greek Mythology, Asteria means “Of the stars.” The photos in Asteria are unlike anything ever previously seen in Ballet Zaida, and there very unlike anything I have ever seen done in dance photography.

Asteria begins in December. So keep an eye out for more information on Facebook, and Twitter.

Moving on.

A lot of people ask me how I pick people for photoshoots. Today that mystery will be solved.

Theres a couple different factors that go into choosing people for photoshoots.

Generally I come up with a vision for a photoshoot, then I’ll brainstorm who I know that might best fit that vision. Like who could best pull off the types of poses, environment, and outfits I want to put them in. I like to use not only people I know, but people I don’t know as well. Sometimes I’ll go on Facebook and browse through dancers photos who are located in the bay area, and if I like them, I’ll contact them and see if they want to do a shoot. I think its fun to meet and work with new people.

I also like to use all different kinds of body types.

And when I’m thinking of using someone, I always take into account the amount of charisma they have. When I take photos, the lines and the ballet technique is super important, but the amount of charisma someone has is equally as important. I think the same is true when dancers perform on a stage.

Another way to make it into Ballet Zaida is to commission your own photoshoot. So if your a dancer in the bay area, of any age, you can commission your own Ballet Zaida Photoshoot. ( For more information about that, click here ) I don’t guarantee that the photos taken on a commissioned shoot will make it online in Ballet Zaida, but often times they do.

If I put a photo online of any dancer, commissioned or not, it means I think they are incredibly talented.

-Oliver Endahl

p.s

My sister and my girlfriend play very large roles in helping select the people chosen for photoshoots, locations, and coming up with ideas for makeup and costumes.