Belly Dancing Shoot

[Photo-John]

This was a new one for me. But I got invited and I always like to shoot new stuff, so what the hell. I'm not used to shooting people in the studio. I'm not used to using studio strobes. I've never shot a belly dancer in the studio. I'm not used to sharing a shoot with other people. So I was way out of my comfort zone. But that's good. That's usually when we have the opportunity to learn the most. And I did learn a lot. Most of the learning happened when I got home and started looking at my photos. That's when I got inspired and started to really get some good ideas. I don't feel like I can take too much credit for these photos, although I did press the button. But my new friends Doug and Renee set up the lights. And most of the credit should go to our wonderful model, Stephanie. She's a professional dancer who actually teaches belly dancing. Having a good model makes a world of difference and she's awesome.

This was a great shoot for me. It's got me psyched about using strobes in the studio and shooting people more. I am also planning on doing some belly dancing photos, but more in my own style. That means in an actual performance environment with mixed lighting and spectators. That's more like the kind of shooting I'm used to and I know how to really work it. But this was a great experience and I will definitely do it again if I am offered the opportunity. Who knows - maybe I'll even expand my little tabletop product studio so that I can shoot models in my own space...