Portrait of a Ballerina

[Airy]

These are some of the primary shots for an ongoing project (more to come; more about the project later). Comments & criticism welcome.

[Frank Fremerey]

"One Light" is the concept of natural lighting, because given we live by chance in a solar system with only one sun and his reflections, conflicting shadows are considered "unnatural".

[Airy]

Thanks Frank. Agreed. On the "feet" shot it is intentional, so as to create a bunch of legs and shadow. Otherwise it is a nuisance that I could not always avoid. I have used three flashlights (controlled by a SU-800 on the camera), but their light was not always diffuse enough. The basic config was OK (1 front/side flash bouncing on alu foil on the left, one small direct flash from the top right behind her to illuminate the hair, and one general bouncing on the ceiling to reduce contrast; variable attenuation settings), but I had to move her around (we were in a small living room with some furniture; it was difficult not to frame sth undesired). So indeed, sometimes, bizarre shadows appear.

[tommiejeep]

Airy, I will follow your project closely.  Lighting is something I've never really worked on (shoot mostly natural light) .  I do get Frank's comment but I like the lines of the feet image, maybe darker shadows would be interesting.  Funny, I've been using a couple of small Manfrotto LED's for photographing lenses that I've been selling and that is a challenge.   I do use a Gary Fong Diffuser for some indoor shooting.
One "nitpick" , the strands of hair in the last image made me thing she had hairy arm.   Would work better with more of the hair below the arm or none.
Nice images.   Many thanks for posting.
Cheers,
Tom

[Airy]

Thanks Tom. Same here; I have always been using natural light so far. I think I'll need a diffuser.
Concerning the strands of hair, you are quite right. I'll remove them in PS.

[pluton]

Two suggestions from the world of lighting for film, TV, and studio stills:
It might be interesting to gang 2 or 3 flashes behind a single large diffuser(1.5 sq m or larger) or into a single large-area white wall 'bounce-light' for a large, soft but directional source.  A free standing white bounce card(or nearby white wall) could be deployed on the opposite side for "passive" fill light bounce if needed.
Don't forget classic "dance lighting" using 2 hard sources positioned to either side of the subject.  More difficult in small working space.

[Akira]

She looks very different from the way she did on the side of the pond.  She appears to be in her professional mode. 

These four images posted so far look like the preliminary (rather than primary) ones to look for the more promising concepts.

The first one looks like a very authentic image of a dancer (of any kind), the second one looks more like an authentic portraiture (regardless of the profession of the person), the third one is a concentration on the detail which is characteristic of the ballerina.  The fourth one...I'm not sure of the purpose of the nude.  To enhance the beauty of her body trained for the ballet?  For the attempt to go deeper into her personality?  For an abstraction created by her overall impression?

I'm nowhere near the position of giving advices from the technical aspect, but I'm looking forward to seeing how the project develops.

[Airy]

Pluton, thanks for the lighting advice.

Akira, definitely these are "elements" or "bricks". The bricks will be part of the wall that is part of the building, but I need good bricks. The concept is already defined on paper (with some blanks), it is not about ballet but about the person and her centres of interest, ballet being the top one - you guessed it right. Sorry for the teaser, it will take a few more weeks to materialize. But expect more bricks to appear here in between.

[armando_m]

Interesting series

It is unusual to me that being a ballerina she has no "production" by that I mean no make up, a simple leotard, bare feet , but it does certainly help to focus on her instead of the decorations around her.

[Airy]

Indeed - portrait is the main purpose; ballerina is her topmost "attribute". I specifically asked her to avoid make-up, as standard ballerina makeup is meant to enhance facial features for distant viewers. I however dislike the raccoon look on close-ups. So the makeup was limited to some foundation on nose and forehead, to avoid them shining.

I may consider +/- brown lipstick next time: this is because I like to "push" the red channel brigthness, so as to attenuate minor skin blemishes or irregularities. In such case, lips become unnaturally bright or (even worse) "disappear". See the first pic for instance. Not ugly, but unnatural.

I agree that the outfit & accessories are not those of classical ballet performance, but that aspect has been fully covered by her father, an excellent photographer (amateur, but publishing in ballet-specific magazines). I do not dare to compete. Leotard only was her choice, by the way. In class she would generally wear tights in addition, as well as flats, but not always.

The collected pics above are not a "series", but elements of a more complex arrangement illustrating her "dimensions" or passions. The first three will be re-arranged to illustrate her ballerina side. The nude shot has a different purpose that will become apparent, I hope, when associated with two more shots (being processed)