3 Light Ballet Studio Photography

Hello again! So sorry for the delay, but here we are! Our first ballet video and I hope you like it!
I wanted to experiment with shooting a 3-point lighting set up and then compare it to a softer, slightly different lighting setup (but still using 3 lights!) to evoke a very different feeling.
Dancer: / annikka_dobko
Gowns: www.lewis-mayhem.com/
Videography and editing:
Curtis Jones - @CurtisJonesPhotography
/ cjonesphoto
www.curtisjonesphoto.com/
How to connect with Renee:
Patreon - / reneerobyn
Website - www.reneerobyn.com/
Instagram - / reneerobynphotography
Tiktok - / reneerobynphoto
Facebook - / reneerobynphotography

[@mimq4921]

I love the soft emotive style!

[@baychick]

I think in addition to the lighting and the technical lessons, I hope other photographers watching take away from how conscious you are of your subjects. What’s safe for them, what’s comfortable for them, their endurance, communicating with them and how the photos need to serve them. Likely comes from your own work as a model, but it’s so important! Love this video!

[@ReneeRobyn]

You’re the best, thank you so much! 💖💖🥰 and I really hope people take away more than just the lighting, like you said. 🥰

[@J.Allen_Photography]

Love these!!! Beautiful lighting on your dancer!!!

[@ReneeRobyn]

Thank you so much !

[@bradcampbell192]

I REALLY like how the green outfit with the ton of fabric turned out when she jumped and almost touched her toes together. That photo is MAGIC!!!!!!!!!

[@ReneeRobyn]

Thank you! Totally magic, wouldn’t have worked out so well if she wasn’t as talented as she is :)

[@brookeamcdonald-parsons6643]

I love them both too! Love ballet photography!!!

[@ReneeRobyn]

Thank you! Me too 💖

[@bettyjones671]

🥰 You guys done it again, I loved it! Both setups were great I always love classic but there was just something about the softer setup that won me over. Your Photos definitely pull me into a storyline of playfulness, fun, freedom, and carefree. Great job!!❤

[@ReneeRobyn]

Ah thank you so much, Betty! I’m glad you enjoyed it! 💖

[@ElizabethGaddPhotography]

Such a perfect look into how these images and emotions are captured. What a beautifully put together video! 😍

[@ReneeRobyn]

Aw thank you m’lady! 💖💖

[@MarkTyger]

Great stuff Renee! I appreciate that you include the technical details as well as your concept methodology for each setup. Interesting to see how much you can do with just a little bit of light!

[@ReneeRobyn]

It’s fun, right?? Light is buckets of fun to play with :)

[@conniegoodbrand338]

I loved this video and all of the photos. The softer photos with movement are my favourite!

[@ReneeRobyn]

Thank you!! I love the movement too 💖

[@bobrob8839]

So very lovely. Getting the lights in close like that is so effective to capture the line and shape of a ballerina. Well done both of you, thanks for sharing!

[@ReneeRobyn]

I really appreciate that, thank you! 💖

[@jopanash]

That's really great work Renee! Inspiring and fun to watch you work together. Thanks for sharing!!!

[@ReneeRobyn]

Thank you for watching!!

[@kevin_stenhouse]

Love the results! Enjoying all your new videos, this is my personal fave so far! Softer/Emotive but both are great!

[@ReneeRobyn]

Thank you! Making notes :)

[@nasroullahdinally5140]

Wow, really gorgeous. Beautifully captured and great team work with your pretty dancer and you're a great photographer. Love all the photos. Very artistic and you may it look so easy. Thanks for sharing. Keep up the magic!

[@ReneeRobyn]

I really appreciate your comment, thank you! Day made 😇💖 Working on the next video now!

[@melissafaria5386]

Definitely love them both. Different feels and evokes different emotions. Very inspirational video thank you 😊

[@ReneeRobyn]

Thank you so much for watching! 💖💖

[@vincebrown6923]

Loved this shoot! Loved them alll!

[@ReneeRobyn]

Thank you! I am also on this team but I am bias 😅

[@JuliePowellPhotos]

Just gorgeous Renee, absolutely love both sets

[@ReneeRobyn]

Thank you so much, Julie! 💖

[@jerrym8140]

Gorgeous and loved them all but especially with the dresses

[@ReneeRobyn]

Aren’t the dresses amazing?! Designer Lewis Mayhem sewed them by hand! She’s so talented. 💖

[@robertkeating1107]

THANK YOU for that wonderful journey! The video was composed perfectly and matched the story. I also enjoyed the brief equipment info and reasons why you did what you did.

[@ReneeRobyn]

I appreciate this so much, thank you! 💖

[@TrollHoleStudios]

Great video!! The emotive images are my favorites!

[@ReneeRobyn]

Thanks so much for watching!! 💖💖 the emotive ones are a delight 💖

[@RonK]

Wow, those are some dope shots. Be proud, that's awesome stuff!

[@ReneeRobyn]

Aw thank you! We super appreciate that!

[@alun7006]

Beautiful work! Thanks for sharing.

[@ReneeRobyn]

Thank you for watching !

[@POSHphotographybySarah]

You are awesome, and imma need that korn shirt! I have dance studio pictures scheduled for next month and I am researching my lighting setup. Thank you for all of your help! You do amazingly beautiful work.

[@ReneeRobyn]

Aw thank you! I’m so thrilled you found this helpful :) I’m excited for your dance shoots!

[@cjstampfli]

I really enjoyed the soft emotive poses, wonderful video.

[@ReneeRobyn]

Thank ya sir! 💖

[@BoothKatesPhotography]

This was very enlightening.... Thank you for the explicit content....Subscribed!

[@ReneeRobyn]

I appreciate you watching! Thank you so much for subbing 💖

[@kevinpatrickrobbins]

This is SO GOOD!

[@ReneeRobyn]

Aw thank you so much!!

[@NicSkerten]

Love the images - particularly the more emotive style with the dresses and fabric - very much up my street. Great lighting and post. 😍 Makes me want to get in the studio an do some of my own as all my past dance stuff has been on location.

[@ReneeRobyn]

Oh that’s exciting!! I love that for you :) studio dance work presents it’s own challenges, but if you’re already doing lots on location I’m sure you’ll find it an easy transition 💖

[@NicSkerten]

@@ReneeRobyn Thank you ❤

[@ReneeRobyn]

Just have some nice, clean lighting, you’ll be good to go!

[@filibertkraxner305]

Quality work there! I definitely prefer the second series of shots. Both the lighting and the emotion/movement. Your editing is also top notch :-)

[@ReneeRobyn]

I appreciate that, thank you so much! 💖

[@michaeld1165]

Lovely! Amazing images! I have lined up a dancer and will use this as some inspiration!!!!!!

[@ReneeRobyn]

Oh yay!! That’s so exciting!!

[@SewDarnTwisted]

I love everything about this shoot! 🥰 You’re the one photographer that makes me wish I could carry on 🖤 x

[@ReneeRobyn]

Thank you, I’ll trade you skills! I’m a terrible crafter and I’ve always wanted to be better at it 😅💖

[@SewDarnTwisted]

@@ReneeRobyn medical retirement sucks, so I’ll have your superpower at recovery so I could still shoot and trade you at least 3 craft skills 😂🖤 x

[@ReneeRobyn]

Ahahaha fair

[@Larytaio]

It was amazing 🥰

[@ReneeRobyn]

Thank you! 💖💖

[@williamshakespeare9815]

I've randomly been booked to do a shoot of a ballerina this weekend, and as someone who knows 0 about ballet, this is thr most helpful video I've watched on shooting a ballerina. So thank you! It had the right amount of talking and photos! It's really helpful to know why you shot in the way you did, and it's given me some ideas lol. I preferred the softer photos, as they look less posed 😁

[@ReneeRobyn]

Oh perfect! I hope you like the next dance video I’m working on :)

[@amystackhouse2633]

Both styles so beautiful but maybe a little lean toward the softer, emotive. Almost impossible to choose! Loved the video work and editing too! Right down to the window error sound, haha. Great attention to details. ❤

[@ReneeRobyn]

Ha! Thanks! If I included all of the glitches when doing these talking head things it would be infuriating to watch, so we put them in soaringly 😅 Thanks for watching!

[@ReneeRobyn]

Omg… sparingly 😂😂 gawd I need to proofread! And yeah, it’s super hard to choose!

[@user-pj9mk8wm2j]

Beautiful images, I am a portrait photographer but I am looking at moving into dance photography, great video.

[@ReneeRobyn]

Thank you! It’s a fun transition :) you’ll enjoy it!

[@davidross8668]

Thanks, I can't wait .

[@ReneeRobyn]

It’ll be great :)

[@MarcySB]

Really pretty. Beautiful dancer, great photographer. What more can you ask for? I liked them all. Have followed your compositing work for a while. Love your work. Thanks for doing the KZbin videos; look forward to them.

[@ReneeRobyn]

Ahh thank you so much! Annikka does make it easy to get good shots 💖 I have some compositing videos coming too :) just have to get my home studio set up to not look like a completely chaotic mess 😂

[@oudviola]

Very fun Renee, the technical comments are appreciated. Beautiful images.

[@ReneeRobyn]

Thank you! She makes it easy to get great shots.

[@oudviola]

@@ReneeRobyn Seems like. However, the stills you show here all have fairly dramatic lighting, even for the supposedly 'soft' shots. It would be nice to see some of them with less contrast for comparison, it's how I'm tending these days anyway.

[@ReneeRobyn]

Perhaps on another video :)

[@PhaedrusD]

Great video! And I think I tend to lean towards liking the story telling type shots more, but love 'em all

[@ReneeRobyn]

Aw thank ya Dennis! 💖💖

[@CurtisJonesPhotography]

It was a pleasure to watch you both work together. Hard to choose which setup I prefer more. I choose both, the ultimate neutral position lol!

[@ReneeRobyn]

Lol the cheque is in the mail! Thanks for all your filming and editing work on this, the video looks great :)

[@CurtisJonesPhotography]

@@ReneeRobyn

[@ReneeRobyn]

It’s going to be shocking to viewers when I upload the stuff I film and edit myself 😂😂😂

[@juliesikkel7465]

Love both styles!! Do you have any tutorials on your editing process...the final images are beautiful. Thanks for sharing :)

[@ReneeRobyn]

Thanks for watching! I have some courses up on Creative Live ^_^

[@tawynae]

Oh how I love each and every single photo you showed. Beautiful! I love the coloring you chose for the background. I would love to see how you did that. Do you have any editing videos for sale?

[@ReneeRobyn]

I haven’t got anything to do this color grade but basically it’s warm and pale green highlights and cool blue and green shadows! Split toning :)

[@isoawe1888]

She was on point to adjust your light…. That’s hilarious. 😊

[@ReneeRobyn]

💖💖

[@mhc2b]

Thank you for this lovely and informative video. I appreciate your added text definitions of basic ballet terms. As a photographer, I'm curious as to how you achieved the beautiful colored backgrounds in the final post images. In particular, the gorgeous teal green background. PS - I just subscribed to your channel.

[@ReneeRobyn]

Thanks so much for watching! The color grading is pretty easy, I just added greens and teals into the shadows and warmed up the highlights! Did it all in ACR. Thanks for subbing, I hope you enjoy what’s coming!

[@CurtisJonesPhotography]

@@ReneeRobyn Might be a cool editing video ;)

[@ReneeRobyn]

I mean you’re not wrong!

[@donsherrill5069]

VERY VERY NICE, ARTISTIC

[@ReneeRobyn]

Thank you so very much! 💖💖

[@benjaminobeng4772]

Those are beautiful images

[@ReneeRobyn]

Thank you so much! 💖

[@Brian.Melnyk]

Ha! I've shot that dancer before! I was like, there is no way this is from Calgary! P.s. I love the contrast of the Korn shirt.

[@ReneeRobyn]

Hahaha it’s from edmonton! And thanks 🤘🏻 love me some Korn 😂

[@josephchan4198]

I have worked with a dancer before. Good shots.

[@ReneeRobyn]

Thank you! Isn’t it the best working with dancers ?

[@kilbsy]

Great stuff! On an unrelated note. Where did you get the camera winding sound effect and the flash pop sound effect in the newer video, or was it a shutter sound with reverb. They’re something I’ve been looking for and was going to make myself !

[@ReneeRobyn]

I’ll have to get Curtis to answer this one for you! He’s the video editing superstar here haha :)

[@timskinnercanada]

Really learning so much from these tutorials. Thanks for sharing your insights and workflow. Can’t wait to attempt some of these methods on my next dancers photoshoot. Would love to see how you work on-location too. How long would you typically block out for one of these sessions? Cheers from Ottawa. :)

[@ReneeRobyn]

Admittedly I’m not nearly as good on location, most of my shooting is in the studio. But we did film one outdoors last weekend, it should be out in a month or so. When I’m shooting a dancer I usually plan for anywhere between 2-4 hours, depending their stamina. We plan shots ahead of time, take lots of breaks, and allow for lots of time to warm up too. The photography part is really quick, but I try to make sure they leave not totally exhausted. Then again some dancers are masochists and work **very** hard for a shot they want. 😅

[@timskinnercanada]

@@ReneeRobyn I will stay tuned for the outdoors photoshoot video. I’m sure the results were amazing. :) I don’t have a studio so everything I do is on-location in weird spaces. I like how you keep the photoshoot, objective-oriented, and on-track. I’m trying to learn that skill. :)

[@ReneeRobyn]

@@timskinnercanada I just try to value everyone’s time accordingly :) have fun, but there to do a job. Working commercially for a long time keeps the dilly-dallying habits at bay most of the time 😅

[@Glam_and_oddities]

Thank you 🥰

[@ReneeRobyn]

Thanks for watching!

[@AlinPurcaroiu]

awesome t shirt ! 🤘

[@ReneeRobyn]

Hahaha thank you! 💖💖

[@lukaszgudaniec9143]

How did you set up 2 shots one after another? is the light output the same for both? What are the strobes? Love your videos and was wondering whether you have an tutorials on shooting the ballet dancers.

[@ReneeRobyn]

Hey! The power changed for the two different set ups. It’s been a few months since I did this video so I’m not sure what they were set to anymore. The strobes are Elinchrom. I don’t have a tutorial right now, but I do have more videos coming out that involve dancers :)

[@Meth0z]

Those photos look amazing!! Are you using HSS for the flashes to freeze motion? last time i did a dance photoshoot.. i was using really beginner studio flashes with no HSS.. and some of the pictures had blurry tips on hands/feets

[@ReneeRobyn]

Oh yeah HSS is very helpful to freeze motion 💖

[@ikharomohammed]

Mam, your photo. Style is unique Nd exceptional. 💕

[@ReneeRobyn]

I appreciate that, thank you :)

[@ikharomohammed]

@@ReneeRobyn I sincerely love your work and creativity, looking forward to more videos mam

[@ReneeRobyn]

I’ll do my best to keep delivering good stuff :) no promises, but I will try!

[@amehcanosa1794]

Can you make a video showing how you edited this pictures that will be great I really want to see how you obtained that beautiful background colored Thanks

[@ReneeRobyn]

I just added blue into the shadows :) and yellows into the highlights!

[@ldouglass6]

Helpful video. Is the umbrella you used silver or white? Thank you

[@ReneeRobyn]

It’s silver with a white diffusion sock on it :)

[@ldouglass6]

@@ReneeRobyn Thank you

[@ReneeRobyn]

No worries!

[@sisudanceacademy3133]

If you were shooting on a white backround how did you get the final photo to have the color?

[@ReneeRobyn]

Because the background is in shadow I just added cool tones to the shadows and yellow to the highlights :)

[@shichaosun3298]

have some questions. for the first set up, how to avoid the overhead light create heavy shadow on the background paper and floor? Do I just move the model away from the background? or just make the overhead light weaker than the side lights? and is the overhead light directly on top of the model or is it closer to the camera than the model?(since I found directly on top will create weird shadow on the face) Thanks! It is so confusing when it comes to actual shooting.

[@ReneeRobyn]

So in this case the model is quite far from the background, like 10 feet or so. Which removes the shadow that you would normally get. The overhead light is directly over her and I just have her raising her chin a little to get nicer light on her. :) I also have light bouncing off a white board to help fill in shadows and make it more soft.

[@shichaosun3298]

@@ReneeRobyn that's soooo helpful! Thank you so much!

[@ReneeRobyn]

You’re so welcome! 💖

[@fostervf16]

I have been wanting to do this style for a while now. None of my models know how to pose for it, and we also don't have the outfits. Sucks!

[@ReneeRobyn]

You need dancers, not models :) and clothing is easier to make than you think, if you have any friends who can sew 💖

[@fostervf16]

@@ReneeRobyn I actually did it last week. Yay!

[@ReneeRobyn]

Oh yay!! Amazing!!

[@shichaosun3298]

have a silly question. is the background totaly white or green?

[@ReneeRobyn]

Totally white! With the lighting it is grey because it is in shadow. I color graded the image to have cool green shadows and warm yellow-ish highlights :)

[@shichaosun3298]

@@ReneeRobyn super dreamy color! love it so much!!!!!

[@ReneeRobyn]

Thank you so much!! I’m debating releasing a little color preset pack for these types of grades. I use them a lot!

[@jsavak99]

You forgot to mention the type of modifier you are using on the strip boxes to control light

[@ReneeRobyn]

Oh they’re just generic strip boxes with grids I got off Amazon :) the overhead is just a Paul C Buff 87” PLM and diffusion sock. The strip boxes are cheap as dirt. I had to get an adapter ring cause the boxes are Bowen’s mount and my lights are elinchrom. I’ve since bought new speed rings so I don’t need the adapter, but I haven’t installed it yet.

[@user-eb8cg9iv3d]

очкастую не надо

[@ReneeRobyn]

I’m blind as hell 😂 definitely need glasses

[@sophiakuyt5824]

Didn't see enough photos...too much talking

[@ReneeRobyn]

Ah well, this might not be the channel for you then :)