Photo: Photographers Parish Kohanim and Marc Safran’s Stunning Dance Photography

Capturing a dancer’s subtle glance or virtuosic jump can be a difficult skill to master, but these photographers have accomplished this task with beauty and grace.

There is an art to dance photography. It must capture the moving body at just the right moment, keeping in mind proper techniques for both the dancer and the photographer. Often, these two priorities clash, as a photographer might be happy with the lighting of a shot while the dancer’s knee might be bent when it was supposed to be straight. What seems artful to the untrained eye is often jarringly incorrect in the eyes of dancers. Therefore, dance photography is the ultimate balancing act, striving to allow both artists to feel satisfied with the finished product.

Parish Kohanim’s new entry into the Photography Annual 2019 competition, “Ballerina“ (ABOVE), is a beautiful black and white image of a ballet dancer in a black romantic tutu, set in front of an industrial metal structure. This sort of juxtaposition of delicate grace with a hardened, tough exterior is perhaps repeated for a reason: behind each and every graceful, feminine ballerina is unbreakable resolve, determination and strength. Below the dancer’s windswept tulle are her pointe shoe adorned feet, braving the concrete below.

On the other hand, some dance photography is quite obvious with its statement of strength. In Marc Safran’s silver-winning piece, “Dancer with Stool,” a male dancer from Diavolo Dance Company charges forward as he flexes his muscles mid-jump. Here, Safran related to us that he was striving to create tension between the forward motion of the dancer’s leap and the window. With proper timing and perhaps many takes, the collaboration resulted in an action-packed shot.

Submit to the Photography Annual 2019 competition by December 18, 2018. Winners will have the opportunity to see their work published on our website, blog, newsletter, and social media platforms!