Chris Nash, a famous dance photographer, teaches you shooting skills.

Chris Nash is a photographer from London who specializes in dance photography. More than 60 dance photography exhibitions were held in 18 countries around the world and won the "Time Out/ umbrella dance" award. Moment of light and shadow: Nash's personal photography exhibition is being held at the Victoria and Albert Museum from March 19 to August 29.

Forget the toe dance in the TV dance competition. Modern dance is one of the most active art forms in Britain, and Chris Nash devoted his career to filming this art form. Described by the BBC as one of the most creative photographers of his generation, Nash cooperated with many excellent dance companies, such as Joe Monterey Lambert, as well as avant-garde choreographers and performing artists, such as Michael Clark. Nash is actually an experimental photographer. With his educational background in visual arts, he created amazing images by using superb lighting, composition and Photoshop skills. At the upcoming large-scale theme exhibition of Victoria and Albert Museum, we are honored to hear Nash's views on dance and creative shooting techniques. So, how did this art student become interested in photography?

"When I was studying art at king smith College, University of London, I made many sculptures and took pictures of them. At that time, I found that I was more interested in taking pictures than the sculpture itself. " Nash explained this as the local atmosphere in London. "Few students like photography, so I can occupy the darkroom alone and communicate freely with technicians who specialize in photography. The experiments of darkroom and different printing processes attracted me deeply. I tried different printing effects and even made my own camera. "

Here comes the opportunity.

After leaving Kingsmith College, Nash embarked on the routine path of photographers and worked as an assistant for a while. He learned a lot of lighting skills by shooting outdoor portraits. At this stage, he became interested in dancing, but it was completely accidental.

"When I was in an art school, I met Helen at a university dance. She was a dance student at a nearby Laban school. We went to see the "Cruel Garden" performed by Lambert Ballet-this was in collaboration with mime artist Lindsay Kemp-and I was fascinated by it. When it comes to entering the field of dance photography, there is actually no great opportunity, but a series of small opportunities. I took a photo of Helen dancing myself, participated in a competition held by a photography magazine, and won. These photos are published on the cover of the magazine. I think this is a good signal. "

At the beginning, we mentioned the nostalgic toe dance performance on TV, and Nash also recalled how he got the opportunity from Debbie Moore, the founder of the pineapple dance studio and the long-term boss of the famous dance expert Louie Spence. "I took some photos for a class there, and Debbie began to hire me to take pictures of visiting teachers. At the same time, I began to take some photos of students from Laban Dance School. They later established the Cholmondeleys Dance Company, which is now the leader of modern British dance companies. "

Nash's works are unique-what is the real reason that makes his works stand out from the works of many dance photographers? Deconstruction and reconstruction

"I don't think too much about other dance photographers or general photographers. I tried to explore my own path, which was deeply influenced by my experience at Kingsmith College. I want to deconstruct what photography can do and reconstruct it in a new way. I often compare dance to a means of transportation to explore photography or general visual image art. Dance is an art form that encourages imagination. In the past few years, I have been given a lot of creative freedom. But it is also a cooperative art form, so I may be led in an unexpected direction by the cooperative director, which I think is very important. My work is the result of constant collision with other creators, which is why I think this work can be rewarded. "

There are many technical challenges to overcome in filming dancers dancing. How did Nash overcome them?

"Like any photography, it's a question of when to press the shutter-at that moment you can show the story you see. So the key is to decide when to shoot in a series of action sequences. When I am in the studio, shooting a dance is like painting on the spot, because you need to find the best way to describe the subject and his movements. So, think of light and color first, and then think of your angle. You also need to consider the weight of lines and pictures, the distribution of tones and so on. "

Challenges brought by lighting

As Nash described, a dance photographer must capture a moment, which not only describes the moment that is happening, but also describes the moment that has happened-and the moment that will happen in the future. You need to understand the work of dancers and choreographers and be able to use their language to guide them.

"When I shoot on the stage, or shoot a dancer's improvisation, sometimes it's more than just shooting. You need to work hard to adjust the dancers' bodies, listen to their breathing, feel the rhythm, get ready and participate in the climax. "

One of the challenges of dance photography is the accurate use of light. Anyone who wants to take pictures in the theater knows that light is a problem-it's a paradox. You must deal with dim light, but at the same time, you should also pay attention to the fact that too much light concentrated on people will lead to overexposure and so on. But if you hire a lighting technician or technician to handle the light, these problems can be overcome. "

So what lighting equipment does Nash usually prefer to use? Why do you want to use it?

"I usually use the flash of the studio to capture the action and get a clean and fuzzy image, which is relatively flat and convenient for later editing. However, I will try to adjust the light to meet this idea, so I have also used HMI photographic lights, tungsten lamp, mixed flash and ambient light, ring flash, soft light box, natural light, strip lights and so on. "

As you might expect, as a dance photographer who broke the genre boundaries, Nash was one of the first people to use digital technology.

"I bought an Apple computer, a good film scanner, a graphics tablet and a CD burner as soon as possible, which made my life easier and more convenient. The same is true for digital cameras-when the quality of digital pictures exceeds that of film and the problem of backward shutter lag is solved, I chose digitalization. "

The intuition provided by digital cameras also benefited him a lot. "Working with dancers and choreographers, I can watch the camera screen perfect the action and correct any technical mistakes. Another thing to pay attention to when shooting dance is that you need to take a lot of photos, especially when shooting the stage or some impromptu performances. Now, digital photography provides excellent ISO image quality, so stage photography is better than before. "

All the way forward

Photoshop completely changed the way Nash worked. "This is a new stage of post-processing, just like the role played by darkroom. Just like I used to process film, I can use Photoshop to process photos, reduce exposure to enhance color saturation, increase black to improve contrast, control tone range, achieve multiple exposures, or collage images ... "

Picture retouching is another area that Photoshop is good at. "I use it just like retouching a picture by hand. I remove the ointment that bubbles when my toes or knees are injured, and remove dust and all imperfections. Photoshop can also make up for the regrets caused by low-budget dance props, such as cleaning simple clothes. "

As one of the most famous dance photographers in Britain, has Nash achieved anything else? "I'm preparing for the VA Museum exhibition recently, and then I'm going to travel. I'm still making 200 pages of printed matter for VA Theatre and Performance Department, which makes me very excited. For the future, there will always be new dance companies, new dance perspectives, new lighting technologies, new digital cameras and software ... "

Chris Nash's device

"I use Nikon D3X and an 85mm f/ 1.4 lens (my favorite), a 50mm f/ 1.4 lens, a 28-200mm zoom lens and Minolta exposure meter III. I sometimes rent some other lenses and flashlights, depending on the needs of my work, but most of the time I use Baofutu flashlights and various reflectors. I can also put the background in most studios and rehearsal rooms. "

Behind the image

"I mainly shoot where dancers rehearse, because it's cheaper than shooting in the studio. The dance studio and rehearsal space are usually larger than the studio (dancers need space to dance and jump), and the dance studio has a spring floor, not concrete ... "-Chris Nash.

Chris Nash's suggestion

1. Judge the blur effect-will it add points to the picture or just blur the subject?

2. If you think you want to use blur effect, put the camera on the tripod.

3. If you want to capture the dancer's movements (and don't use a flash), use a shutter speed of 1/2500 or faster.

4. If you use a flash, please pay attention to whether the duration of the flash is suitable for your equipment.

5. Use a camera and lens that can automatically focus quickly, otherwise the response is not fast enough.