Dance Team Photography: What Every High School & Collegiate Team Needs to Know
Dance team photography is a little different from a traditional dance studio picture day. High school and collegiate dance teams usually need their photographs for more than just parents.
The images may end up on social media, the school’s website, competition programs, posters, senior banners, recruiting materials, team graphics, and sometimes audition or portfolio materials for the individual dancers.
That means the photographs need to do more than document who was on the team that year.
They should actually look like your team.
They should show the athleticism, personality, energy, and style of the dancers while still looking polished enough to represent the school or program.
That’s where working with a photographer who regularly photographs dancers can make a big difference.
Why Dance Team Photos Serve a Different Purpose Than Studio Photos
Traditional dance studio photography is often built around individual dancers, costumes, recital groups, and giving families photographs they want to display.
Dance team photography has some overlap, but the purpose is different.
The team itself is the brand.
When I’m photographing a high school or collegiate dance team, I’m thinking about how all of the images will work together.
Do they look consistent?
Do they represent the school well?
Do the dancers look athletic?
Can the photographs be used in graphics?
Do we have enough variety for the team to use throughout the season?
That last part is especially important.
Recruitment, Marketing, Competition Programs, and Social Media
A good team photography session can create a library of images that the program uses all year.
Instead of constantly searching through cellphone photographs or cropping dancers out of competition images, the team has professional photographs ready to use.
That can include content for:
Instagram and other social media
School athletics websites
Team announcements
Competition graphics
Senior recognition
Recruitment
Posters and banners
Tryout materials
Competition programs
Printed displays
For collegiate programs especially, social media and recruiting have become a major part of how teams present themselves.
Strong photographs help create a consistent, professional image for the program.
What Great Dance Team Photos Should Include
I don’t think a team session should consist of one team photograph, a basic headshot of every dancer, and then everyone goes home.
There’s a lot more we can create.
Team Portraits: Unity, Energy, and Team Identity
The traditional team photograph is still important.
Parents want it. Schools use it. Coaches need it.
But it doesn’t always have to look like a traditional school sports photograph.
We can create something clean and formal, but we can also create images that have more energy and personality.
The goal is to create a photograph that feels like your team.
A jazz or pom team may call for something completely different from a team whose identity is built around hip-hop or contemporary movement.
School colors, uniforms, team branding, and the personalities of the dancers can all influence how the final photographs look.
Individual Headshots and Portraits
Individual photographs are useful for far more than just ordering prints.
A consistent set of individual portraits can be used for team rosters, senior graphics, social media introductions, websites, and other promotional materials.
Depending on the team, I may also photograph some images with more room around the dancer specifically so the school or team has flexibility when creating graphics.
For dancers who are beginning to look at college programs, auditions, or other opportunities, having strong individual images can also be useful outside of the team itself.
These don’t have to look like stiff school portraits.
We’re photographing dancers. They should look like dancers.
Action Shots: Showing Athleticism and Artistry
This is probably where specialized dance photography makes the biggest difference. Dance team members are athletes.
They jump. Turn. Leap. Kick. Lift. Tumble. Perform.
Those are the photographs that can really separate a dance team session from a standard school sports picture day.
Action photography also requires understanding the movement.
There is usually a very small window where a leap, jump, or trick looks its best.
Photograph it too early and the dancer hasn’t reached the positionPhotograph it too late and they’re already coming out of it.
I’m also looking at things like feet, legs, hands, extensions, facial expressions, and overall body position.
A technically perfect photograph isn’t necessarily a good dance photograph if the dancer isn’t captured at the right point in the movement.
You can see examples of this type of work in my dance photography portfolio.
Planning Your Team’s Photo Session
A little planning before the session makes a big difference in the final result.
You don’t need to have every photograph mapped out ahead of time, but there are a few things worth discussing.
Uniforms, Hair, and Makeup: Consistency Is Key
For team photographs, consistency matters.
If everyone is wearing the same uniform, ideally hair, shoes, accessories, and other details should also follow whatever standards the team normally uses.
That doesn’t mean every dancer has to look identical.
But small inconsistencies become much more obvious when 20 dancers are standing together in a professional photograph.
It’s worth checking uniforms ahead of the session rather than realizing afterward that someone was missing part of theirs.
Some teams may also want to bring multiple looks.
For example, we could photograph the formal team portraits in uniforms and then create a second look with team apparel or something more relaxed.
That’s something we can plan around the team’s goals.
Scheduling: How Long Does a Team Session Take?
There isn’t one answer because every team is different.
A smaller team that wants a team photograph and basic individual portraits will take less time than a large team that wants headshots, full-body portraits, multiple group combinations, and action photographs.
The number of dancers matters.
The number of looks matters.
What you’re trying to accomplish matters.
That’s why I prefer talking with the coach or team director first rather than trying to force every team into the exact same package.
If you tell me how many dancers you have and what you’d like to create, I can recommend a realistic amount of time.
The goal isn’t to keep everyone there longer than necessary.
It’s also not to rush through 20 dancers so quickly that we don’t create anything interesting.
Location: My Studio or Your Facility
Team sessions can happen in different ways.
I have a large photography studio in Streamwood, Illinois, which gives us a controlled environment where I can work with lighting and create more stylized portraits and action photographs.
That can work especially well for teams that want something beyond traditional school sports photographs. I can also photograph teams on location at the school or another appropriate facility.
For some programs, photographing in their gym, dance space, stadium, campus, or another recognizable school location can help make the photographs feel more connected to the program.
There isn’t necessarily one better option.
It depends on the look you’re trying to create.
How to Use Your Team’s Photos
One reason I encourage teams to create a variety of photographs is that they can be used in so many different places.
Social Media and Recruitment
Instead of posting the same team photograph all season, you can rotate through individual portraits, action photographs, small groups, seniors, captains, and full-team images.
For high school programs, those images can help promote tryouts and showcase the team to incoming students.
For collegiate teams, professional photography can become part of the program’s recruiting presence and overall identity.
A strong photograph is much more likely to get someone’s attention than another phone snapshot from practice.
Competition Programs and Lobby Displays
Team and individual images can also be used for competition programs, recognition displays, banquets, senior nights, and other events throughout the year.
If the photographs are planned with those uses in mind, I can shoot them in ways that make them easier to incorporate into layouts and graphics.
That’s something worth telling me before the session.
If you know you need a vertical banner, for example, we can photograph specifically for that use.
Website and Print Materials
Schools need images constantly.
Athletic department websites, newsletters, yearbooks, posters, schedules, promotional materials, and other printed pieces all need photography.
Creating a consistent collection during one team session gives coaches and athletic departments a much better resource to work from throughout the season.
Working With Doug Dienelt Photography for Your Team
My approach to dance team photography is pretty simple.
I want to create photographs that the dancers are excited about while also giving the coach or school images they can actually use.
Before the session, we’ll talk about your team size, location, uniforms, what types of photographs you need, and where you plan to use them.
From there, I can recommend a session structure that makes sense for your team rather than trying to make every team fit into the exact same format.
During the session, we can create a combination of full-team photographs, smaller groups, individual portraits, headshots, and action images depending on what you need.
I also edit the final photographs myself.
That part matters to me because the finished image is just as important as what happens behind the camera.
My goal isn’t to make your dance team look like every other sports team photographed on the same background.
I want the photographs to show that these are dancers and athletes.
If you’re comparing photographers for your program, take a look through my dance photography work and dance portfolio to get a feel for how I photograph movement.
You can also find answers to common questions in my FAQs.
Ready to plan your team’s session?
Contact me for a custom quote based on your team size and what you would like to create.
Capture The Movement
Follow us for your daily dose of dance!
All photographs, images and content on this website were created and are owned by Doug Dienelt, Doug Dienelt Photography, and are protected under the copyright laws of the United States. Nothing contained in this website may be used without written permission from Doug Dienelt, Doug Dienelt Photography
CONTACT
308B Roma Jean Parkway, Streamwood, IL 60107
630-450-4466
info@drdimages.com
