Bordeaux the pole sessions ! (part 1)

Back home from my 2nd trip to Bordeaux (check out the first), I came with a lot of pictures. I won't be able to show them all but, I will show you a selection of what I feel are the best and most representative of the work I'm building now.

This first part will be dedicated to 4 Pole dance performers I had the pleasure to work in a unique location in Bordeaux: Darwin.

For this particular shoot, that had to be done in less than a day, I brought a Siros L 800 and a beauty box 65 light modifier with me. This one wasn't easy as we had a lot of setups to make like assembling the pole, hanging the silk, etc... This was also the first time I had 4 performers for a single session!

The location really helped me make this possible. The place is huge and offers a variety of scenes and moods, all in one place. This helped us save a lot of time. I was assisted for this one by my all-time partner Marlène. Her presence also allowed me to work a bit faster than usual. I was able to move the Siros L and make light tests and adjustments really quickly.

Since it was my real first experience with the Siros L, I made the decision to work with only one Strobe to make things easy. I regretted this a little bit this decision because the use of this tool was not really a no-brainer.

800W was just enough power to work outside and compete against the sun. I had to balance my shot and make my performers stand out on the first ones we made outside:

Nothing crazy here (The picture above features Allegra Bird and below Injy Pina), the Flash was positioned camera left at a 90 degrees angle.

It rained a few days before our shoot so we had a few puddles left that didn't dry out.

We wanted a completely different mood for the rest of our shoot so we went from the colorful graffitis to a refurbished factory. We made a couple of pictures without the pole and played a little bit with the light.

Instead of, systematically lighting the subject from the front, we lighted our talent from the back or from the side to make a split (The picture below features Lutine).

Sometimes, I didn't have the possibility to use the Bronco, so we made a few shots with the available light (The picture below features Allegra Bird).

Shooting Pole dancers can be tricky. Timing and a basic understanding of the discipline are key.

I often ask my performers to be precise. I show them how I would like to frame, where I want them positioned, and the type of lines and forms I would like to see. The artists then suggest a couple of moves or poses and we decide together what to work with.

I am not a Pole dance specialist, but I love shooting pole artists, and this session helped me understand a bit more about this sport and enriched my experience. I really hope I will be able to work with other great performers.

Huge thanks to the people of DARWIN that welcomed us during this very long morning. Thank you ladies for this amazing morning, Injy Pina, Allegra Bird, Lutine, and Jenny, and I hope to work with you guys again someday. This was possible thanks to Sports Dance complex. Shout-outs to the Broncolor Team, thanks for The SIROS L, it's an amazing tool. Last but not least, I would like to thank my partner Marlène for her help during this shoot.