Which movies will you show your kids?

I watched this fascinating TED Talk by Colin Stokes on the influence of movies in social learning.

I agree that we need to continue to provide positive models for young girls, but also, start to provide a wider variety of heroes (and to show them with more depth) to young boys.

I loved Pixar's Brave. 

Enjoy the talk, click here!

Why Dance Is Good For You

Antonio Banderas sold us (well, I was already sold) on the personal and social benefits of dancing in Take the Lead. I've been reading many articles about studies attesting the health benefits of dance. I read another article today about a project in an Argentine hospital. Borda and Ramos Mejia hospitals in Buenos Aires, offer Tango workshops or "Tango Therapy" (in French). Silvina Perl, the workshop coordinator, works with patients with mental illnesses or disorders to treat their psychosis. At Ramos Mejia, Perl works with seniors who struggle with solitude and depression. Through Tango, Perl helps them reach out, reconnect and in some cases, relearn social interaction.

credit: lapresse.ca

LaPresse.ca (French) has also published an article on the benefits of dance on teenage girls. I've been a firm believer that dance, in all disciplines, brings much good and develops many skills. My friends at Swing Dynamite also believe, as Frankie Manning did, that Lindy Hop makes people happy. They invited me to blog about it! Dance sharpens the mind as well as the body. It also has many social benefits, especially if it is a social dance (obviously!), like swing (or ballroom). For instance, it develops a transferable ability, such as breaking out of your comfort zone. Moreover, if you work on contact improvisation, it can enable you to think on your feet (pun intended). There are many ways dance can have a positive effect on your life, whether you practice dance or observe and appreciate it.

Project: Ballet in the Street
Credit: Mercedes Déziel-Hupé
Dancer: Kim Ng

Earlier this Fall, I also read about the emotional benefits of ballet on girls. This is but one of many on the same topic, like these ones by Child Development Institute Parenting Today, Livestrong, Ehow Mom,  Suite101 or Girlsrcool.com. Many of them make some valid points, thus helping dance shed some of its bad rep (eating disorders ring a bell?). But few are "academic" or "scientific" and as with everything, it'll take years, many dedicated spokespeople and many more funky projects (such as the Ballerina Project, the Ruche En Pointe video or Levis commercials) to make dance alluring to pop culture (and of course, funders). I am also working on a project of my own to help promote dance in Ottawa, it's Ballet in the Streets (or the Galleries 1,2,3 of the project on my tumblr).

If only these studies existed when I was trying to write a thesis on a similar subject... before I "suspended my program until further notice". Perhaps academics in my immediate surroundings did not see the value of such a research. Or perhaps I felt so lost as to where to begin supporting something I knew deep down; dance is a language and it's good for the soul..

Maybe if we collectively start to recognize the value of dance, we'll foster creative endeavors, boost our self-esteems, feel great and look good while dancing to that Korean Top 40 song...oh, you know it.

What I've been up to this summer!

I haven't posted in a while, because I was busy finding work, but also, because I was having a fun time working on different shoots...

Love is in the air!

Sabrina and Dan tied the knot on Sept. 14! Congrats to them! :)

I recently joined forces with another Ottawa photographer by lending a hand with Wedding and Engagement shoots. I'm pretty excited about this new opportunity to work with Aaron Rodericks. Check out a few of my shots from Sabrina and Dan's engagement shoot. I also took these!

Later that summer...

Eliezer, with ema and aba (Sari and Alec)

I had a blast with a family photoshoot in August, with a friendly trio of Mom (and baby to arrive soon), Dad and little Boy who invited me for a fun day at Hog's Back Falls.





 Can't get away from dance!

A fun action shot for my Ballet in the Streets project

September rolled around and I was in talks with one of my Ballet in the Streets models and friend, about creating new shots for the project, and we came up with these, on the spot. 

 I also had promised to work with her on developing some professional headshots, and some funkier ones as well. Amelia is a contemporary (and ballet) dancer - I wanted to give her some great shots she could use to show her great personality and her versatility as well.

Dance photos: studio shots

Dynamite Girls. "Itch" Creative shot!

This past May I was asked to photograph some lindy hop and charleston dance teams. The style of dance was incredibly different from my Ballet and Contemporary shots (naturally!) but the whole "formal team photo" added a layer of difficulty and an expectation for a certain look and process that was also new to me.

Jam Crew.

I found it much more difficult to shoot entire groups of dancers, than I did working one on one. That's to be expected. I also felt more restrained by a schedule and client wishes than I did while working on my own dance photos. Again, this is pretty obvious. However, I'll say that I found that the technical aspect, the expectations and the post-processing (foreseeing it) often got in the way of great photo opportunities...

The Coaches formal photo. The lighting and faces are great here!

I found that I was often overly concerned (or not enough) with even and correct lighting. I was stuck with a background that was sufficiently large to accommodate the entire team at a time, which promised lots of post-processing. In turn, I directed models with this in mind, and I'm sure this restricted the more creative poses we could have explored. Then, there is the client's expectations. It is great when team coaches give you clear direction and help coordinate their group while in front of your lens. What complicates things is that there is a technical aspect that they don't quite grasp and a very clear picture in their head of what they want. This means that their requests sometimes contradict themselves; they want something "perfect" but allow you only 5 minutes to achieve it, or they want a specific action pose but not all of the subjects will then be visible, much less adequately showcased. A balancing act for sure.

Move from the famous "Big Apple"

Although I was working with a rough shot list, many people were running late or down right unprepared, which added stress on me as I was well aware of the schedule... did I mention these teams were performing in less than two hours from the moment we started the photo shoot? Yeah. And I had the bright idea of adding an hour as "buffer" but never thought to specify that this may be "too" tight a schedule for a performance day.

The "Fly"

In terms of lighting, it's important to be aware but you should generally do all your tests before hand and only adjust as needed. I set my lighting ahead, but I didn't pay as close attention to subtle lighting and shadows on certain subjects, which meant that many of my shots were rendered useless. In any case but without obsessing, make sure the faces are ALL properly lit (unless it's an artistic decision); that's what people care about most! There is a thing we call "visual weight" and human subjects have more weight than objects and faces, have the most weight.

The "Frankie"

As for expectations; a meeting with your client and a sharing of inspiring images may facilitate the communication and help break unrealistic expectation on either side. This sometimes happens because the client has a precise image in mind (kind of like when you go to the stylist with a celebrity's photo in hand... you're not walking out of there with that new head, just the haircut). Sometimes, however, this happens because the photographer is the one who has a fixed idea of what he/she wants to photograph... it's important to remember your clients keep you in business! Be open, be honest about your abilities but don't sell yourself short.

DBoys in a M. Poppins Inspired dance number

Next time, I will either buy/rent a larger background or shoot in a more suitable venue or "photo friendly" spot. I do not want to relive the nightmare of coordinating in such a confined space that dancers were very limited in their pose options. Live and learn!


I expect that this is only the first of many shoots of this type for me, and it was an incredible learning experience. Nonetheless, the images achieved were surprisingly good, considering the challenges I faced and am better equipped now to tackle these types of projects again soon!


To see some of the photos from that studio shoot, visit my website.

Why I Dance

I have tried my entire life to explain to my friends, my family and mostly, to non-dancers, why it is that dance is so important to me and why dance matters.

This is a great start to understanding a dancer, and how we all were born to dance... Some of us are just fortunate enough to recognize it very early on.

Watch and share!