It’s not often that I get to take the time for a project that is mainly for myself. Using new ideas and trying them out. I finally got to and this post is the result of that. I know it’s not wedding related, but I have often felt inspired by the movement of dance. I think it’s a beautiful art form and the closest I get to photographing it are people dancing at weddings. It’s always fascinating to me. So, for a long time I have wanted to photograph a true dancer. I wanted it to be natural and raw, not in a studio with mirrors all around. I wanted it to be joyous and in the beautiful sunlight. So I thought, who better to use than my amazingly talented little cousin. She is an amazing dancer and is going to be going to school for it here very soon. I’m very proud of her. Not only did I get to take the photos I have dreamed of taking, but she got the photos of her doing what she loves.
This post is sectioned by the different types of photos I took. Some of the things are pretty random that I just felt like trying out on her (ie: lace shadows, flour, fog). We were very limited in time (45 minutes for the whole shoot!) but we were able to get it all done. She was super excited about my ideas and I think they turned out pretty neat. Some of you may wonder WHAT is the white stuff all over her in some of the photos? Well, one idea I had was to cover her in flour and have her dance it off creating what looks like a big cloud puffing up around her. It looked really neat. I should have probably separated this blog post into a few so it wasn’t so long, but I want to get to blogging some engagement sessions before my wedding season hits (next weekend!) I have a super busy year coming up with weddings all around Iowa and even in Jamaica next month. So pretty soon here the blog will be full of all of the amazing weddings again!
I need to give some credit and thanks where it is due!
Hair and Makeup was done by the amazingly talented Allison Kidney (makeup) and Jenny Raasch (hair) of Estilo Salon & Day Spa. (They also do wedding hair/makeup!)
I also want to thank Kaytie for allowing me to use her as my guinea pig and dump flour all over her! Also our other cousin Anthony who helped me out with the shoot and had the pleasure of actually dumping the flour all over her. Something I’m sure he has been contemplating doing since we were kids!
LOVELY! What a great concept… the silhouettes are incredible. Wow, Wonderful Amanda!
Brilliant concept & very well executed! GORGEOUS images Amanda.
amazing
Gorgeous. I love, love, love the TS ones and those silhouettes.
These are insanely divine Amanda. Love the super flared ones, love the smoky ones and really love the end in silhouette. I think that means I love all of them.
Wow. First the regular poses were my favorites…then I saw the flour poses and those became my faves….and then came the silhouettes.
Gorgeous shots, Amanda. I love when photographers can do something for themselves. The light is amazing, the flour shots are great, but my favorites are the last two silhouettes.
These are all SO stunningly gorgeous! I really really love the silouhettes!
What pretty light! I love the ones w/ the flour/powder.
wow! This session must have been so much fun! The silhouette shots are so beautiful.
Such a great concept! I love the feelings of movement and the amazing light!
Dude, these are awesome! That second to last silhouette is my fave. And the flour looks so cool too!
Wow Amanda. I can’t get over the number of incredible photos. Great to see something new and creative. The movement, flower, processing and light come together beautifully.
Wow these are all so so stunning! Beautifully shot, and Kaytlin is gorgeous!!
I’m just going to say that she’s a very very dirty girl. 🙂 OK, I’m also going to say that you just blew me away with these. Your use of light as an element, and movement to tell a story on your subject was simply masterful in many of these. Really nice work!
Wow, what a cool session! The flour is *awesome*!
Killer set, love the smoky flour frames but the first frame is wow!
It just keeps getting BETTER AND BETTER as I scroll!
Very beautiful! The last two are my very favorite for the movement and the emotion.
Amazing – particularly love the silhouettes, but the whole concept is great and really well executed.
Those silhouettes are kick-ass. Great photos all round, love the mix of dancing and portraits.
These are great. Love the location.