NYC:

5 hour Ballet Photo Workshop with dancers Valentina and Pearl

Photo credit from left: First two photos of Valentina are by Elfilmslike, the third and fourth images of Pearl are by Stephanie Crousillat Photography, the image of the purple fabric is by Dakota of dancer Alexandra Hutchinson.

NYC!! Finally I am bringing you my most recent style of ballet photography workshop: a 5 hour event with two amazing dancers and multiple awesome concepts! I will be bringing my favorite lighting setup (a three light setup) when working with dancers in studio with a cyclorama wall and we will be working with natural light, the combination of natural and strobes (if we get some really strong sun coming in from the south facing windows), and finally a two light setup.

I will explain:

  • Why I position the lights around the dancer and what the purpose is of each modifier/strobe.

  • How I communicate with a dancer to help create a great dance photo.

  • How I compose an image to best flatter a dancer.

  • The use of a mood board to help the model and I get on the same page.

  • A quick demonstration of my post processing work on a dance image and why “get it right in camera” is so important.

For this event we will be working on very specific lighting and styling, and the idea is something so good you can hang it on your wall or sell prints of the work. With our three light setup, we will be using beautiful, large chiffon fabric, a human fabric thrower, and a great dancer with high end lighting setups. Part of the event will be creating polished, elegant, classical ballet photographs while the other part of the event will focus on a more urban look for a classic and iconic NYC feel using stying and contemporary dance poses to execute the concept. In total we will be working on four different concepts with two models (each posing individually, not together).

The fabric used will be purple or red (please see the sample above of the lighting setup we are working with when using the purple fabric) but then after everyone gets a chance to nail that first concept down, we will switch to something more minimalist and emotive, and then finally work on more contemporary dance concepts with a classic NYC feel. The studio itself is a large cyc wall so we will exclusively be working with the white cyc wall. Attendance to this event will be fairly limited to keep the group comfortable and ensure everyone has plenty of time to get the images they need.

This photo workshop is open to all levels of photographer with me (Dakota) providing more instruction to those new to ballet photography and less instruction to those more experienced in ballet photography. Please have basic knowledge of the exposure triangle and how to operate your camera.

When: May 2nd, 2026 from 11:30-4:30.

Where: Private studio in Crown Heights. Exact address given to those who sign up by paying the full balance to the event.

Cost: $395 for the 5 hour event. Fee includes model fees, studio fees, instruction and creative direction fees. Attendance will be limited to ensure everyone gets plenty of images of the models. To pay for the event, please reach out to me at msdakotalee@gmail.com to discuss payment options without any additional service fees, or you are welcome to pay via my website HERE (CLICK LINK) but there is a $22.00 service fee to pay via my website due to high transaction fees.

Equipment needed: Camera and lenses. I would recommend a 35 or 50 mm lens for one of your options because although the studio is 1000 square feet, you never know when a wider angle lens will come in handy! The lighting and triggers for the lighting I use are Elinchrom and are compatible with most cameras.

Parking: On street. I almost never have issues finding a spot in Crown Heights although sometimes it does take a few minutes to find somewhere to park. However, this is still NYC; may the odds be ever in your favor.