Dancesport photography

These are pictures taken with 1/80 sec shutter speed at focal length of 3.6 and ISO 400. Out of 500 images, only these 15 are presentable. I did not attempt to modify anything because the originals are so grainy that any kind of retouching risks further exposing the defects. To truly capture the fastest movements without blurring in a low light condition present the biggest challenge to the equipment, I think I need a shutter of 1/100 to 1/130 while lowering the ISO to 320. I am hoping that adding an external flash will help remove the noise problem I am seeing so I can capture that ever so elusive perfection in dancesport. I believe I can do it because of my own experience in the sport. Compared with an outside hired agency, I can better predict where the power moves are and when people will likely to pose for a shot.

The thing that posed a challenge to me me at this particular competition was the spotlights they used: very dim orange and pink which forces me to use flash. Perhaps south Korea’s new solution will help me in the future. Having been a competitor myself, I understand the hatred towards getting blinded by the flashes while I dance. Especially the photographers who stands only a foot away and flash you when you dance in front of them. We still need our eyesight intact you know?

Without further ado here are the pictures: