Editing Part 3: Narrowing down the Choices

This is my final choice from the edit of this series of shots.

The phases of editing may be different for different projects and different people.  I’m very deadline driven, and since I have no hard deadline on editing the pictures from Brazil, I admit to letting other aspects of my life take over.  I also find that part of my process, is to take a break from the images and let them “marinate” in my mind.  I might visit them from time to time to flip through them,  and  add some keywords and captions or rate a few images higher or lower than my initial rating.   When I find myself thinking about certain images at random moments, then I know that those have some quality that has resonated with me.

The images shown here were taken at a Quadrilha Dance Competition at the Mercado dos Pinhoes in Fortaleza, Brazil.  The best translation I can find for Quadrilha is “square dance.”  Like square dances in the US, there is someone calling out the moves, although for these performances, I’m sure they were choreographed.  This series of images are ones that have stuck with me. Maybe it’s the colors, maybe it’s the movement, maybe it was the event itself, I’m not sure, but I do know that these have become my favorite images from my time in Brazil. (Hover your mouse over the images to see them larger, or click on any of the images to go a gallery.)

I was entranced by the color and movement of the dancers dresses. It was a sea of color, I shot several images from this point of view, working with different shutter speeds and framing to capture the essence of the energy of the dancers.  These three frames were taken within seconds of each other, and I’ve been trying to decide which is “the one” that will be the final edit.  I spent some time going back and forth on my opinion, but after printing some proof prints, I decided on the large image featured at the top of blog. The differences are subtle, so what is it about this image that makes it my choice?  For me, it’s the line of the dancer’s body, and shape made by the swirl of the dress.  I also like how the one embroidered flower is just a little bit sharper than the other flowers. The flower acts as a focal point, drawing the eye to the sharpest point in the frame, then the lines of the dancers arm, and the ruffle of the dress lead the viewers eye around to the rest of the image.

Get the blog posts sent to your email. Enter your email address in the box below “Follow Blog via Email” at the top right of this post.

2 Comments

  1. Emily…I may be your biggest fan. I love the way you use movement and the way you say what you want to get across. Your photos are great.

Comments are closed.