Most people who know me know that I grew up in a dance studio. It seems like forever ago but my whole life, pretty much up until the age of 20, was all about dance. And so it makes sense that dance was the first thing I fell in love with photographing. 

I used to take my camera into the studio with me and photograph my peers during dance rehearsals, and eventually we were all at the age where we needed headshots and audition portraits for our portfolios, so I started shooting those and developing and printing them in my little basement darkroom, in my parents' cellar. 

Photographing a subject that I was so passionate about was such a great way to learn. Dance photography felt like play, but I also felt like I had this inside track on how to do it well. (I mean, not THAT well - I was such a beginner and hadn't taken any sort of proper class or instruction on what I was doing!) But dance was a language I felt so comfortable with. And even though I haven't trained or taught dance in many years, that is still the case - I feel more at ease with myself working with dancers than I do in any other type of work. Maybe some day I will dig up that old work and share it here for a laugh ;)

But for today, I would like to share a recent Dancer's Portrait Session that I did in my studio with a lovely student from Edmonton. I met this young lady when she was just a toddler. Her mom registered her at the studio I worked at at the time and I watched her grow and fall in love with dance for the next handful of years. I hadn't seen her since I left that job and moved to Canmore, so it was such a delight to have her visit my studio now that she's a teenager and her dance training has come so far! We had a super fun, creative day together at the studio. My heart is oh-so-full when I get to photograph dancers.