I had many opportunities to captures some great parties, and most especially at weddings. As the trend goes and technologies get better I had more occasions to use my digital camera recently. I am still analyzing the highs and lows of both mediums bearing in mind that the quality between the two exposes two separate realities and ways of conserving your materials. Nevertheless, the story telling approach remains the same with both. In this new chapter I want to explain how my way of photographing differs on the dance floor. First, let's say that if I want to capture the real essence of the moment, I personally need to be part of the situation, meaning I need to translate my interaction of participation with the crowd. And that is something you cannot do by staying outside the pack of dancers. Obviously that doesn't mean dancing with the mother of the bride too! But your presence must be felt. In order to communicate properly the uniqueness of the dancing your senses must be on 200% alert. There is no rest for the photographer. That is the finale of the day, people are a bit tipsy, it is less formal, there is less reserve, they can fully enjoy and be themselves. Use it!
WITH FILM
You need to be spot on, always. You obviously need to know how to use a flashgun properly. You can bounce the flash in many different ways. You can also use subtle semi-direct flash. Eventually use direct flash if needed. But in the end you have to find the right mix between the speed people are dancing and the speed your flash will deliver the best the effect you are looking for. And most importantly you need to consider yourself as being in motion too. And you have 10 things happening at the same time. Therefore, you must be disciplined and take fast decisions. You must have a general observation and overall decision of useful moves. Finally, and that is where it can be quite exhausting, you must be fully focused on looking carefully into your viewfinder constantly. Allocate some breaks when the ambiance has cooled down.
WITH DIGITAL
Same as with film except that you don't really care about wasting film. But there is a great, fun and relaxing way to use your camera if your lens is fast enough, which is to extend your harm and guess your pictures. That mean that your whole body doesn't need to be so close to the action. You can just extend your arm very quickly into a situation and make it disappear as quick. If you have a wide angle enough and some intuition your arm should become somehow an extension of your eye. I find it very helpful and refreshing. But that can only be achieved if the environment offers a minimal general lighting necessary for your auto-focus lens to function properly. If the lens cannot grasps details and focus quickly you are then back to working in a manual lens way.
GENERAL PROBLEMS
When shooting with film I am always using fixed lenses. Some people might find it old fashioned or odd, but it is a great discipline and bonus in fact. When working with only one angle you are more focused on the composition and don't need to zoom in or out and eventually miss the emotion or get something average. Having less is sometimes better. But related to the dancing photography is it a real bonus as the subjects keep on moving constantly. Remember that in most cases it is getting dark at this time of the day, and most auto-focus systems will simply not work properly, and that is a real nightmare. With a fixed lens you can concentrate on your subject and do your best knowing also that the way you are flashing will reduce the blur. But you can also play with the controlled blur, but that requires quite a few experiments and a full knowledge of your equipment.
CONCLUSION
When doing reportage you must be scanning situations constantly and act as quickly as possible without disrupting the scene offered to you. In order to do it well you must have a good knowledge of your equipment and forget about it. Shoot fast in a glimpse of an eye. That is what I call the "snake bite" technique. Within a second you must capture what you just anticipated.
But what matters in the end is to capture the emotion. The dancing part is less formal and fun. Consequently get more involved than few hours before in order to get real expressions.
I can't remember who from Magnum agency said that if you didn't get the picture right, it is because you are not close enough. Great pictures aren't part of the past, a great picture remains alive and expresses joy and mystery each time you look at it.
