Tango

[armando_m]

Yesterday had a session with 2 couples that dance Tango, they are amazing !

I have a number of images to work with, but this one I quickly liked it

There are a number of things how to make this better, we wanted to use the street but rain kept us inside

Comments or suggestions ?

[GB1]

Armando -

The first thing that jumped out when I viewed it was the floor. I think such a scene would be better off on a smoother flooring. But when you have to move to a different area than you planned ...

Great pose by both of them. Really stretching and not holding back! He seems a little uptight here though, and she looks like she isn't necessarily happy. I've never tangoed though - maybe this is such good exercise you have to work hard at it.

Not sure on the shadow .. I guess it's dramatic, but I want to see more of it. Not sure. I would be interested in others' comments on that.

I would add a little saturation. Or, conversely, desaturate it and see what you get.

Let's see some more!

G

[Frog]

Interesting that I just got up from watching So You Think You Can Dance.

GB brought up things that I hadn't thought about.
I see what he means about the floor but I don't think it would be better if the floor were plain...only different.
Same with the saturation...more or desaturated it would be different but I don't know if better.

You have caught the tango mood in my eye. I do think both of their faces are lacking emotion though but that may just be in 'my' mind and not others.

[Didache]

The floor doesn't bother me too much - and I certainly like the shadow - if anything I found myself wishing the shadow were a little darker. The tango is a very dramatic dance (my wife was a dance teacher) and suits a dramatic photographic interpretation. So I also, like GB, would love to see a version with the saturation and contrast cranked up a bit and more drama added. I appreciate you were working in a second-best location, but I wonder too if they have been shot a little straight on? Your angle certainly captures a typical pose, and the triangle they form is compositionally very good, but it tends to make it all a little static. I would love to see any others you did, and how you develop the project. My wife would love to see them too!

Cheers
Mike

[armando_m]

Greg,
I'm getting many comments about my lightning being uneven, I like shadows, but apparently I'm not doing it "right", back to investigate how to get shadows using flashes
I could not get more of the shadow, I was limited by the size of the studio
Here is a B&W :


Thanks Frog, I'm no tango expert, but whenever I see someone doing it ( in movies) they seem to have this serious expression, and that's the same thing I saw during the session

Didache, thanks for the comments, it was different shooting a couple in very wide positions, so I did struggle to get them completely in the frame, only had the 50mm and I was already against the wall , I have other shots with much more color and more even light , but little shadows :



we moved to a dark background:

With this one I had to ask if she ever had her nose smashed against the floor, she said not my nose but certainly fell hard multiple times.

Here is a gallery with a few more images:
Tango Jun 19 2012 - armando-m's Photos

[Didache]

Yeah .. love the dark background one - the deep red of the dress and the skin tones go well with it.

Cheers
Mike

[readingr]

That last one is excellent with the deep colours adding a sultriness to the photo. wonderfull.

My one bit of critique is that on the floor under the woman's face next to the man's foot there is a shadow that is very distracting and it might be a good idea to clone it out.

Regards
Roger R.

[Alexandre da Veiga]

For me, the floor seems a little out of place, and I think the shadow should be "harder", or non-existent.
I think it looks better in color, the black, grey and white mix very well. The B&W version looks too bright.

I believe that the 1st picture in the background, and with the clothes of the 1st in the 2nd post would look very good.

[geraldb]

For added drama the dancers should blend in with the background and floor and without boundaries between the wall and floor such as in the black background one ( which is my favorite). Lattice flooring made it look cheap, created stage-like setting, and distracted from the dancers.

[armando_m]

Thank you Mike

Roger, Agree with you , I considered cloning that dark line and didn't , but certainly has to go

Alexandre, yup I asked multiple times if I could remove the floor , just leaving the tiles under it , but didn't win that one.
The shadow was actually an accident, had 2 flashes and only one triggered

[geraldb]

Thank you Mike

Roger, Agree with you , I considered cloning that dark line and didn't , but certainly has to go

Alexandre, yup I asked multiple times if I could remove the floor , just leaving the tiles under it , but didn't win that one.
The shadow was actually an accident, had 2 flashes and only one triggered

Thats too bad because the Lattice took the image from being a photo taken during an actual dance to being just a photo stunt or plot because dancers would never dance on lattice especially when one is in high heels lol.

[hminx]

Composition and lighting of the last one are excellent. the grated white floor was an issue for me in the first shots, seemed out of place considering the subjects.

[LeeIs]

I like them all, but I especially like the last one Armando. Because the BG and everything else goes away and focus of my eyes only concentrates on the dancers. The other shots, while still nice, I see the surroundings are fighting for attention with the main subject of the photo. In the last one, they are nicely isolated, nothing is fighting them for attention.

[armando_m]

Thanks Pete and Liban !

[arne saknussen]

They are all great shots. I believe that he last one is the most dramatic and appealing, though I think we should see her one foot that now looks cut off. That might just be me though. I really love the shadow in the other shots, a very nice element. For me, the problem with small squared floor is that it looks a though the dancers would get the heels or toes caught in it, thus, not a natural surface for dancers to be on. But, if they do actually dance on it, I would be just plain ol' wrong.

[armando_m]

Thanks Arne,
To see her foot that is behind him ? I think they use their legs as support, and do not not rely 100% on the male holding them

Here is another one where we can see both feet of the lady, she is way smaller than the lady in the red dress

[geraldb]

I like that last one more. Why do I get the feeling that in all those shots they were posing rather than actually dancing?.