Dance
Tips and tricks for photographing a dance event
Photographer Mpumelelo Macu fills us in on what it takes to get that perfect dance shot
Mpumelelo Macu shot every Red Bull Dance Your Style South African regional qualifier as well as the National Final. The Gauteng-based photographer knows what it takes to get the perfect dance shot, while documenting what is happening at the event.
Read on to learn some of his tips and tricks. These are his words:
01
1. Timing
This is crucial, you need to understand the moves and how the dancer’s body is going to flow through the move. If you don’t, you nee to ask questions, otherwise you are not going to be able to capture that crucial moment. It is always a collaboration between the photographer and the dancer.
02
2. Create a sense of place
Show the location
© Mpumelelo Macu / Red Bull Content Pool
I feel like it is very important to show where you are. You want to bring your viewers into the venue and the best way to do that is to find identifiable landmarks or spaces and then to place the dancers in that spot and see how you can play around with the dancer and the light in that space. It can be a space or a backdrop.
03
3. Having fun
People feed off of your energy when you are behind the camera so you have to kind of bring the vibe too. Make shooting fun and make sure people enjoy working with you, that also makes it easier for the dancer and photographer to collaborate if it is a fun set, you know.
More photography tips
04
4. Understand the music
Know when the big moments will be
© Mpumelelo Macu / Red Bull Content Pool
As much as you need to understand the dance moves, I do believe it is also very important to understand the music so that you can anticipate when there might be a change of pace and when the big moments might happen.
5. Research
This plays a big part in everything I’ve said before, from the dancer to the venue and the music. It plays a big part in ingraining yourself in what is happening so that you can best document it. For example, on Red Bull Dance Your Style, a lot of the dancers have signature moves and having been on tour with them you learn those moves and it definitely helps when you’re setting up a shot. Research can take on a lot of forms, from looking at photos from previous events, to watching videos or watching the dancers train so that you can understand their styles.