Dance Meltdown

Models can sometimes be the worst posers, especially when it comes to being relaxed and natural. They become so practiced at the perfect pose and the perfect expression that this can sometimes get in the way of that more natural look.

So I've developed this technique, part ice-breaker, part pose-breaker that I call the "Bonkers Dance".

I crank up the music with a good beat and just let the model go into her own dance space. They are told they must not stop dancing, they must not look to camera and they must not pose. They are allowed to laugh, giggle, scream, sing, close their eyes, wriggle, groove, jump, bounce and generally throw themselves round.

If I can I will try and sing and shout along with the music just to add some energy, but I must admit mostly I am trying to keep up with them!

Focussing on a fast moving girl swinging around is a nightmare, auto-focus will rarely cut it and your manual focus skills have to be lightning quick. This is especially true on the close up head and shoulders - but these are the images I generally like most.

When this all comes together there is an almost orgasmic look of abandon on the girls face and in her expression.

I don't worry with these shots that the framing, composition, posing might all be slightly wrong. These are shots about expression, expression, expression.

I guarantee that in no other shot of the several thousand I have taken of Carla have I ever seen her pull this pose as a pose. It's only through this technique that you can create the truly original.

 

key points

For longer shots you can pre-focus, but don't interrupt the model to do so or she will lose the sense of being uninhibited that you are trying to create.

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