UPAA Blog 2022-23 #21 - 6/16/23 (photos and text by Brooklynn Jarvis Kelson)
This month the MIC Q&A is featuring student photographer Brooklynn Jarvis Kelson. Brooklynn’s dance images ‘A Little Flare’ and ‘Tulip’ nearly swept the Student and Associate category of the May contest. Both Jaren Wilkey and Brooklynn will have a live portrait demo of a ‘photo day’ on Wednesday afternoon of the UPAA Symposium.
Who are you?
My name is Brooklynn Jarvis Kelson and I am a student photographer at BYU Photo. I am from Meridian, Idaho and a senior in the photography program at BYU. If I had 24 hours to do anything, I would be at the lake tubing, water skiing, jet skiing, and paddle boarding with my family–finishing up with fun stories around the campfire and some astrophotography. My passion besides taking pictures is learning about dogs, especially the Doberman Pinscher.
How did you do that?
Camera: Canon R5
Lens: 70-200mm (this image was shot at 70mm)
Aperture: f/9
Shutter: 1/200
ISO: 160
WB: flash
Camera angle: shot about 2 ½ feet above the ground
Number of shots in this shoot: 649
Edge lights: 2 Profoto strobes with a parabolic reflector on each and a gel taped on with gaff tape (fully visible in the shot, made to mimic stage lights). They both were on grip arms coming in from the sides so that their light stands would not be seen in the background.
Key light: a 2x3 softbox mounted on the ceiling just in front of the subject and used as a butterfly light Background light: we had another light on the background, a Profoto strobe with a parabolic reflector and a gel that we would switch out. For this photo I chose to use a dark red gel because it is a complimentary color to the green outfit.
What was this photo used for?
This image was used for a promotional poster for the Young Ambassadors tour.
Was there an inspiration for this shoot?
This shot was an effort of combined creativity. Nate Edwards and Joey Garrison–a fellow student photographer–had set up the lights so that they looked like stage lights. When the subject walked on with the vibrant green dress, I had a lot of ideas come to mind of what we could do. The subject and I worked together to go through a few poses and this was my favorite.
What kind of help did you need?
This was 100% a team effort. I would not have been able to create this image on my own. It was the creative vision of Nate Edwards and Joey Garrison to have the colored strobes to act as stage lights. The subject also had a pose similar to the final one in mind that we built off of.
What were the technical difficulties to overcome?
The biggest technical difficulty I had was getting the camera angle at a place that was low enough to minimize the floor as much as possible, but high enough to make it so it didn’t seem like I was looking up the subject’s dress. Also getting the arms, hair, and dress to all look good at the same moment. Here are a few examples of pictures that didn’t work: A. I cut off the side of her dress, B. she was standing too tall, C. the motion was not aesthetically pleasing...there were many that looked like this. We just kept trying until we got the one that worked. One thing to note that was also difficult: I had only six minutes with this dancer before we moved onto the next one, so the time was not laid back. The director also wanted various poses, so that gave me even less time to perfect this shot.
Would you approach it differently if you had to do it again?
I would move the rug if I had the chance to shoot this again. It was a huge mistake on my part to leave it there. The rug is for athletes who wear cleats in the studio and are prone to slipping, but we’d forgotten to move it until after our shoot with the Young Ambassadors. This would have made a very big difference in the post production of these images. I would have also wanted to spend more time with the dancer. In this case, I would have reached out for a separate, 30-minute shoot to just focus on perfecting the shot with her and to explore other poses that may have been stronger.
Is there anything you’d like to add about this project?
We were playing music on a portable speaker and that always adds to the vibe of a shoot like this. The music helps the dancers feel more comfortable and relaxed, and can help with their poses.
Tulip
Camera: Canon R5
Lens: 70-200mm (this image was shot at 70mm)
Aperture: f/7.1
Shutter: 1/200
ISO: 160
WB: flash
Camera angle: shot from the floor (to maximize the pink reflection on the ground)
Number of shots in this shoot: 1072
Lighting setup: 5 lights
Edge lights: Two 1x6 profoto strobes with gridded strip boxes on the back sides pointing in at the subject
Hair light: beauty dish above the subject, slightly behind where the ballerina was standing. We have black cinefoil on the front and back of the beauty dish so that the light doesn’t spill forward or backwards onto the wall (seen below)
While getting the lights ready, I just turned one light at a time to test it and make sure it was how I wanted it before I moved on to the next. Here is an example of what that looks like: Hair light: beauty dish above the subject, Fill light: Profoto giant reflector 180, 45 degree angle, camera left, Key Light: Profoto softbox RFI 4x6, 45 degree angle, camera right.
What was this photo used for?
This photo was used as promotional material for theater ballet.
Was there an inspiration for this shoot?
I have always loved the look of dance photography, especially ballet. I saw some beautiful images online and wanted to try to recreate them in my own style. I had the ballerina bring three different outfits, all that were flowy and long as I thought those would be a beautiful juxtaposition to her perfectly straight arms and legs. The specific pose in Tulip came from a budding idea that I’ve had since October 2021, when I saw a picture that Jaren Wilkey took where the dancer in his shot threw her dress in a way that reminded me of a flower (This is the starred image above).
What kind of help did you need?
This was a solo shoot. What I mean by that is I went out and contacted a ballerina from our university’s program myself, I scheduled a time on the weekend with her, I showed her my mood board for poses and I asked her to bring multiple outfits that we could experiment with. On the day of the shoot, it was just her and I in the studio, accompanied by some good music and a camera of course.
What were the technical difficulties to overcome?
There were three main thoughts going through my head during this shoot. The first was to make sure that the light was not flat on the ballerina’s face. I wanted a good balance of shadows and definition, so I moved the key light to a 45 degree angle from the camera. The second was trying to make sure that if the dancer’s face was pointed away from me, that she would be looking into the key light. The third was perfecting the arms, legs, and dress shape of the ballerina along with her facial expression. It took a lot of tries before I was able to get a shot that I was satisfied with. We had about an hour and a half to try three different outfits on two separate backgrounds. That extra time was really nice, and was only possible because I had reached out to just one ballerina and specifically set that amount of time aside.
Would you approach it differently if you had to do it again?
If I could do this again, I would try using a mist filter on the lens to create a softer, dreamier look. I also think that I would have used a steamer and gotten the wrinkles out of the dresses. That would have made a big difference.
Is there anything you’d like to add about this project?
For me it takes a lot of shots, especially with this type of photography, to get one usable shot (see contact sheet above) With extra time, that is totally ok and it’s super fun to see what does and doesn’t work. Another important thing that I learned is, if dancers see an image, they are able to recreate it a lot easier than if I just try and explain it to them, as I am not a dancer and am not as familiar with the terminology.
Conclusion
In the end, Tulip and A Little Flare were shots that were products of having a vision, planning the shoot, and doing my best to execute that vision, sometimes with the help of others. I still have so much to learn, and it will stay that way for the rest of my life. From these two experiences though, I now know that it takes a lot of tries, and a little bit of luck, to get a shot where all the elements come together in harmony to create a visually pleasing photograph. It’s worth the extra preparation.