Dance photography – studio lighting setup

Before we even start discussing this specific studio lighting setup, I might need to quality if by saying this is but one lighting setup of many, many possibilities. The consistent idea behind this (and other lighting setups), is that the lighting should be dynamic — and have that interplay between light and shade that really flatters the dancer, and enhances the mood of what you are trying to capture as the photographer. Ideally you don’t want your lighting to be flat – for me, there has to be at least a little bit of drama to the lighting.

In this photo is Arya, a young ballet dancer, photographed in my studio. She was wonderful to work with, and so athletic. It was one of those times where I got the sense that the person I am photographing will be quite prominent one day.

We used several different lighting setups, to offer her variety in the final images she could select from. I changed the lighting for every outfit she changed.

The lighting setup

Four Profoto D1 flashes (B&H / Amazon) in gridded softboxes, as well as a Profoto A2 and Clickbox on a boom arm above her for, you know, more light.

The light on camera-right, is a gridded Profoto 1’x6’ gridded strip-box (B&H / Amazon), set at an angle from above.

Two Profoto 1’x4’ gridded strip-boxes (B&H / Amazon) from the side behind, for rim lighting.

The light on camera-left is a gridded Profoto 3ft Octa Softbox (B&H / Amazon), on a boom arm.

The light from above, which was quite necessary even with all the other lights going on, is a Profoto A2 flash (B&H / Amazon) with a Profoto 2.7 ft Clic Octabox (B&H / Amazon)

The grids on the softboxes help contain the light so it just hits our subject in a controlled way, and doesn’t spill everywhere.

Something to note — even though we shot on a white paper backdrop, because there is no direct light on the background, it drops to grey. That is something that newcomers to studio photography don’t immediately (and intuitively) grasp — that white background can be all the way from white to white, and every shade of gray in-between … depending on how much light you throw on it.