I am excited to announce how this year I had the opportunity to photograph for Winona state’s Dancescape production again. I really love taking pictures of my college’s theatre department. I took pictures for a few different theatre productions last year while having a part-time job within the department as their photographer. My favorite thing is seeing the final images: filled with colors, costumes and lighting. Editing the pictures is the absolute biggest time-crunch for me because the best time to capture them is called “tech week,” which are the days right before their first performance. However, this gives me, as the photographer, about two days to go over at least 800 pictures to send final edits before the show so students can use the images to advertise.

During my first-year at Winona state, I joined Dancescape myself. It’s an exhilarating experience. I love being on stage and performing. Personally, I am VERY picky about what dance pictures of myself I liked. I wanted to make sure I captured the dancer’s movements that described their pieces or the specific movements that were outspoken compared to the rest.

One of the shots I found myself looking forward to this year was backstage! And I’m talking about the mirrors! I LOVE- cannot emphasize, how much I love the glowing light that pokes on everyone’s faces while putting on lipstick or mascara.

However, it’s also important to remember everyone has privacy while getting ready, and some people aren’t used to being candidly pictured while putting on their make-up.

I am not going to forget to share some pictures I took from a backstage angle. The second day I came to shoot for the production, there were an additional two other photographers, which I thought was a neat idea! I love collaborating with other creatives. The production was a lot of images to sort through, so I felt happy that I wasn’t all alone. They took more pictures in the front however, from the audience, so I just did my own thing in the back.

I got to experience the production about three times– all of which were practices, but I got to see how each dance changed and improved towards the actual showing. I also had done separate interviews with students for articles I wrote in Her-Campus, or WSU Blogs– all on-campus clubs that I am apart of! This year was Dancescape’s 30th Year Anniversary, and I am honored they picked me to capture most of it.