Flour: a recipe for amazing action portraits.
Portraits with a puff of flour.
When photographing a moving subject like a dancer it can be a challenge to convey that sense of graceful motion in a still image. But something as simple as a handful or flour can show off the action in a wonderfully atmospheric way. The fine white powder hangs in the air, shifting with the action and creating dusty whorls that catch the light. It also makes an almighty mess - to your gear, the surroundings and your plucky subject - but that's a price worth paying for the extra flavour the flour gives the shoot.
The ingredients for success.
Our model P-J here was superb. It really helps on a shoot like this if you can work with a subject who knows how to move their body. If you can trust your subject to get into interesting positions, it frees you to concentrate on perfecting the technique, timing and composition. We asked our model P-J to hold flour in his hands then release it as he danced and moved. We also tried sprinkling flour over the shoulders, arms and feet. This way it flies off naturally as they move.
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