Dance schools generally follow the same schedule as the local school district, so it is no surprise that each year the months of April, May and June are filled with dance recital photo shoots. This year was my busiest yet. Most of the shoots are only a single day, an easy eight hours or so. My favorite, however, is a full five days of shooting.
With around 300 dancers, most of which are in multiple classes throughout the week, this shoot takes a lot of preparation and a lot of attention to detail. There are three different stations: one for headshots, one for individual poses and one for groups. The dancers get their photos taken during the same time as their regularly scheduled class, and with a potential of up to four classes going at the same time, there could be a small army of tutus and hip hoppers waiting their turn.
With the sheer amount of dancers running around, I had to call in the reinforcements. Enter friend and photographer Michael Gonzales of Gonzo-Shots Photography.
In the time-lapse video below, you can see Michael and I scurrying around as we set up for the big week.
I am very happy to say that the week went off without a hitch. The dancers had a great time, the parents had a great time, and everyone loved the images…
…except for maybe these guys. They are much too sassy to love their group photo.
