It’s Ashleigh’s birthday today, and she posted this shot we did…this was when I said forget the camera, and just dance. Definitely one of my all time favorite moments during a shoot, even though I forgot to click the shutter half the time because I was enjoying it so much…
First shoot of 2016! Oh my. Memorize this face, people…you’re going to see her on stage someday! This is one talented woman! Ashleigh came to New York from Melbourne to study acting/singing/dance and we got together to do some dance shots.
You can tell when someone really loves what they do, and it’s crystal clear that she does…
I learned how to levitate people with my camera…kidding…her jumps are pretty amazing…
After several poses, jumps, and outfit changes (more in a later post), I felt that she needed to feel free to move how she wanted, so I decided to not worry about backgrounds, chairs, or exit signs and just have her dance the way she wanted to. Holy eff. What I witnessed in that moment was so special…
Backgrounds, outfits, and fabric are fun, but nothing compared to just watching her do her thing. It was hard for me to remember to even click the shutter and I was tearing up behind my glasses…an amazing and passionate performance! My only regret is having so little time with Ashleigh before I move to Seattle (next week, yikes), but I’m so thankful we met.
I think that photographing people “doing their thing” is one of the best ways to capture them. This works especially well with musicians…I like to let them play for a bit so they get to that intense place where they can forget I’m even there and just play naturally. The cellist used to babysit for me, btw! I grew up pretty close to Juilliard and had some pretty awesome musicians live with the family.
Have you ever been photographed “doing your thing?” If so, how was the experience for you?
LizZusev 