This one was a dream come true!! I photographed for Capital Ballet a few years ago (they found me through my ballerina series!), and being asked to come back and photograph their promotional material for their Spring 2025 show was such a thrill! In their words: Capital Ballet is a DC-based, female-led non-profit with a vision for reimagining the lifelong connection to ballet alongside educational and career pursuits. 

It’s for ballerinas who pursue careers outside of the dance realm, but don’t want to say goodbye to the art form they love so much. Capital Ballet offers the opportunity to continue to engage with dance, without needing to make a full-time job out of it, and I couldn’t love this endeavor more!

The Spring 2025 show featured some of the most iconic scenes from Swan Lake, in addition to more modern pieces, some of which were choreographed by the company’s own dancers. We also shot a collection of “in class/at the barre” photos for content that can go to work year-round, helpful for invitations to auditions, open class, and more.

We arranged to shoot during one of their evening rehearsals a couple of months before the final performance, so that they had plenty of material to use for social posts + ads in the weeks leading up to the show, and I loved seeing these photographs in the wild!

Emily & Ashley, thank you so much for allowing me to shoot for you all again! This was such a thrill, and I hope you love the final product as much as I loved creating these with you!

Lighting Notes

Photographers, this is why we practice. I’ve been working to master my light for several years and as a result, I feel confident in most any situation I’ve found myself in. But a black box theater with a company of 20+ dancers in one shot? That was new. I consulted with a photographer friend who has ample experience lighting large spaces (thanks Connie!), rented additional lights + modifiers, and then practiced. The day before the shoot, Matt and I went over to our church building and did a dry run to dial in the set-up and make sure the tech was working how I needed it to. This was especially important, given the short timeframe we had to get everything placed during the session. Fortune favors the prepared- I’m so happy with how the final shots turned out!

Final gear used: Canon R6, 24-70 f/2.8, Profoto lights, and Westcott scrims and transluscent umbrellas.

One of my all-time favorite photos I’ve ever taken- ballerinas backstage will always, always be one of my favorite subjects!