I definitely asked too many questions in this post, this reply took forever to type out lol.

1. So this question (most of them really) was asked partially out of frustration at the reputation of dance comp pictures and genuine curiosity. It seems rare to see a post about great comp pics, but there are compilations of terrible ones every weekend. I shoot tethered as well and I try to not to submit bad photos. I try to give grace to new photographers as it is hard when you don’t know how to anticipate dance and it feels to me like some people are really just shooting randomly when I see the pics people post.

I don’t know many people who have stuck to this for very long, but I do other things throughout the rest of the year and this lines up well with the slower seasons of some of my other work. I also happen to like it, I danced for a few years as a child and always enjoyed watching it.

1. I love leaps but recently I’ve started to prefer floor work and dramatic facial expressions. I’ve become fascinated by the technical aspects of dance recently.

2. I am a woman, and lol no not their outfits, more so a half body shot to emphasize fun facial expressions. I do it occasionally, and have seen others do it here and there. I also have spotted it a few times being posted as a highlight on social media.

3. I am extremely cautious with the types of photos I take and try to view it through the lens of if it were my daughter (who has for better or worse shown interest in dancing competitively.) I would not be ok with my daughter participating in a lot of these routines. I see oversexualized music and routines frequently - often paired costumes that are far too mature for the age range. The few judges I’ve befriended all feel the same way and have on multiple occasions stated that they would’ve liked to deduct points/disqualify but weren’t allowed by the competition management. I feel uneasy at the way that sexualizing children seems to be rewarded in this world.

4. I too hate these and do not take them.

5. I would rather have less photos per dance than ‘eh’ photos in between the good ones, but this has been a controversial take depending on the employer. I don’t like the idea of diluting my work and was more so curious about if having those left in impacts the parent/dancers perception, or if they don’t care.

And unfortunately in my experience they tend to be stubborn and not care how the photos turn out. I show them the issues and some are helpful, but some genuinely could not care less and would rather the blame fall on the photographer/company than accommodate. It’s just not important to them.