Great Dance Photos

Eamonn Knights is culturally diverse. His family roots are from the West Indies; he was born in London, England, and went to college at the University of Maryland. His life represents a rich tapestry of human experiences rather than a single uniform culture.  Excelling in both science and the arts, he is also someone who has expertise across multiple diverse fields. As a Biochemist, he has scientific knowledge. He is also the Lead Business Analyst for the Defense Logistics Agency’s Energy Business Support Directorate and the Business Application Team’s Technical and Quality Analyst. His job description involves providing quality assurance and technical solutions for all energy products and services to ensure fuel quality worldwide. His artistic knowledge includes karate, playing the violin, gardening, ballroom dancing, and photography.

In Japan, he was asked to teach karate at a Japanese school after defeating all the black belts in a challenge by the shochoo master. He learned Isshinryu Karate in Okinawa, a style meaning “The One-Heart Way,” which originated there and was founded by Master Tatsuo Shimabuku. It emphasizes speed, efficiency, and character development through the practice of empty-hand fighting and forms (kata). He now volunteers to teach teens and adults at a community center in Washington, D.C.

As a teenager, Eamonn also learned to play the violin, which is one of the most challenging instruments to master. He loves the need for highly developed fine motor skills and ear training to produce correct pitches, and the complexity of simultaneous bowing and finger placement. He plays for personal pleasure and occasionally uses the violin in dance showcases.

In 1999, while living in Japan, he took ballroom dance lessons. When he moved to Maryland, he joined the USA Dance Mid-Eastern Chapter #6001.  He competes regularly with his partner Ida Jones and is a USA Dance National Ballroom DanceSport Championship Finalist, having achieved the USA Dance Senior I Championship for Latin in New Orleans. His favorite dances are Rumba, Samba, and Salsa.  

Photography was another passion he developed while in college, working and teaching karate in Japan. As a member of USA Dance, he would occasionally send photos to American Dancer from various competitions.  Six of his photos were selected for the cover of American Dancer over the past two years, and he was invited to be the official photographer for the publication and USA Dance.  Along with this, he owns his own photography company. You can view photos of weddings, portraits, and special events on the following site:  https://www.eamonnknightsphotos.com

To take a great photo, one must understand composition, framing, the rule of thirds, timing, light and color, and editing. Eamonn has become a photographer by leveraging his appreciation of movement and understanding of timing. In competitive dance photography, knowledge of dance makes it much easier. With that combination of talent, he can freeze a moment that is significant and interesting and recognize the emotional weight in the image.

Here’s how Eamonn captures great dance photos:

Camera and lenses: Your camera makes a huge difference in the quality of your flexibility. A 50-megapixel Sony Alpha 1 is Eamonn’s camera of choice, and sometimes the A7m4.  His camera can take 30 frames per second.

Your lens choice also makes a significant difference, acting like a different canvas for various looks. He has nine lenses. 

Composition and Framing – How do you see things in your mind? What is your vision? What emotion do you wish to portray? In dance photography, you don’t have time. You don’t have multiple shots to capture a good shot. You may only have one second. It can be like following a pinball. That perfect pose may happen only once during the competition. Understanding the dance is important, so you have an idea of what to expect and what you should be able to see from your angle. Do you want to produce a portrait, a landscape, or a movement that clearly says a dancer is dancing a particular dance?

The rule of thirds is not a true rule but a guideline you may or may not follow. It suggests dividing an image into nine equal sections, using two horizontal and two vertical lines, and then placing key elements along these lines or at their intersections to create a more balanced or dynamic composition. It helps to create a visual interest with negative space. Your point of focus or communication between dancers can be expressed like sculptures, separately or as one form. Eamonn prefers to separate his subject from the background; the composition can be adjusted later depending on how you take the shot.

Timing – What shutter speed, ISO, and aperture to use? ISO controls the amount of light your camera lets in and how dark or light your photo will be. Low values, like ISO 100, are best for sunny outdoor shooting; night shooting or indoors with dim light requires ISO 1600 or higher.  However, keeping ISO settings as low as possible will minimize graininess and noise. When movement is involved, you need to pair a high ISO with a fast shutter speed.

Aperture refers to the adjustable opening in a camera lens that controls the amount of light reaching the camera’s sensor. A wider aperture lets in more light, allowing for a brighter image; a smaller aperture lets in less light in making the image darker. A wide aperture (small F-number) creates a shallow depth of field where the subject is in focus and the background is blurred. This is used for portraits and isolating the subject. A narrow aperture (large f-number) creates a deep depth of field where a larger portion of the image is in focus from the foreground to the background, which is used for landscapes.

Lighting: whether good, bad, or consistent, can be used as an advantage. The better the dancing, the easier it is to find a good shot. Lighting can vary in the angle of the shot. A side shot can emphasize shapes and textures, while direct light hides textures. Soft light provides fewer contrast shadows. Hard light provides more contrast and defines shadows.

Editing: Eamonn looks for great dancing more than great attire. It is easier to fix the attire in editing than to fix a movement.  (Note: A judge sees both the dress attire and dance level as it is. Make sure you have the proper dress that fits your figure and has an interesting design and color. Your makeup and hairstyle, along with your great dancing, will help make you stand out.) A photographer can make you shine by using his editing techniques. It’s his paintbrush. Editing allows him to enhance the photo so it stands out with color, brightness, texture, shadows, and feeling. Editing is where you can make that picture come alive and give it emotional weight. You can get rid of dead space, enhance or dull the color, remove objects, etc. It’s your chance to bring your vision to life for all to see, feel, and enjoy,

Each dance style has its own dance attire, movement, and feeling.  A Waltz communicates elegance in a soothing, dreamlike state, and its movement is slow and dreamy. A fast and energetic Samba expresses flirtation, joy, and freedom. One of its movements is the Samba Bounce, which is when you roll your hips around in a circle.  

Below are depictions of two different dance styles. The following is what Eamonn did to achieve each photo.

The above composition features the Waltz: The leader’s expression shows his concentration as he leads with a lovely Waltz frame, while the follower’s face is smiling and peaceful. She is “the picture” in a stunning blue gown, and he is “the frame.” Using color, Eamonn is trying to showcase the differences in textures, so the picture makes you stop and interpret it yourself. The feeling is not specific but leaves the viewer with the desire to question their relationship while they dance the slow, controlled Waltz.

For this photo, Eamonn used:

Camera: Sony A1  

Timing and Lighting: 84mm 70 to 200mm lens, F/2.8 shutter speed 400 ISO 500 with external strobe flashes.

Editing and Emotion: He edited with the vignetting technique and highlight reduction. The poor background lighting helped to increase light falloff. He used darkness to focus on the dancers, which allowed them to stand alone in their dreamy world.

The above composition features the Samba: There is no movement; they are frozen and stretched, with her leaning back onto his chest. It is a frozen Samba motion.  Standing tall and very open. The dress has texture but no color that enhances the warm embrace in contrast to the barren openness enhanced by the shadow.  If the photo was taken in color, it would not be able to pull the attention and show the desired outcome of emotion.  

Camera: Sony 7RM3

Lighting and Timing: Eamonn used black and white, a 24 to 70 mm lens, shot at 45 mm to achieve a wider view that creates an open feel. Settings included shutter speed 200, F/2.8, ISO 400, with natural light.

Editing and Emotion: Eamonn enhanced the image with vignetting and grayscale adjustments of the color bands. Taking the photo in black and white emphasizes the warm embrace that inspired the feelings of flirtation and closeness. He captured the Samba roll, a well-known move in Samba.  

Here are some of Eamonn’s wonderful captures that graced the cover of American Dancer!