Capturing the essence of movement: A poster shoot for Jasmine Ellis Projects
When I received a last-minute request to shoot a promotional poster for Jasmine Ellis Projects’ new piece, Everything that is Wrong With Me, Canadian director and choreographer Jasmine Ellis already had a clear vision in mind. With an incredibly tight deadline – just an hour from the end of the shoot to the final poster – we quickly aligned over a late-night creative call to refine the approach. The session would take place the next day between rehearsals in a Munich dance studio, requiring a highly efficient setup to deliver a striking, professional result on a tight timeline.
Gear & lighting approach
I shot with the Nikon Z9 camera, paired with my broncolor Satos 3200 lighting system with three heads, ensuring precision and flexibility in crafting the light. I relied on tethered shooting for real-time image review and collaboration, allowing immediate adjustments and a seamless selection process post-shoot.
The visual style was set: black and white, with a minimalist, high-contrast lighting design to emphasize the raw energy and physicality of the dancers. The goal was to create an image that felt timeless and bold, distilling their artistry and movement into a single frame.
Lighting setup
To achieve depth and drama, I designed a three-light setup. With 3200 Ws at my disposal, I had more than enough power to sculpt the light exactly as needed.
- Key light: A broncolor Para 133 HR on a Pulso L, fully defocused through a 2x2m diffusion frame, creating a soft yet sculpted effect. Power level around 7.8
- Background light: A Pulso L in a 150cm Octa with grid to control spill, positioned with a 5m head extension to illuminate the mass of moving bodies behind the main subject. Power level around 7.1
- Rim light: A third Pulso L in a 30x120 cm strip softbox, also extended 5 meters, providing a delicate rim of light to subtly define the figure without disrupting the minimalist aesthetic. Power level around 5.3‚
To fine-tune the light ratio on the main subject, I alternated between a 2x1 meter silver reflector panel for added brightness and a 2x1 black solid for deeper contrast.
Placing the Satos pack next to my computer allowed full lighting control, enabling on-the-fly adjustments to maintain balance between foreground and background elements.
Camera settings were mostly iso 125, 1/200, F5.
On-set execution & collaboration
Despite the limited time, the dancers brought intense focus and dynamic formations, ensuring each frame was visually compelling. We experimented with spacing, angles, and levels, crafting an image that felt raw, expressive, and alive with movement.
Shooting in black and white stripped away distractions, allowing the interplay of light, texture, and motion to take center stage. Every element was carefully adjusted to enhance the dramatic contrasts and sculpted forms of the dancers in motion.
Finalizing the poster under pressure
With the shoot wrapped, we had just an hour to select, edit, and finalize the poster. Shooting tethered enabled close collaboration throughout, streamlining the selection process and ensuring that the final image reflected the original vision.
Within the hour, we delivered a bold, evocative poster—a perfect representation of Jasmine Ellis Projects’ new piece. Despite the spontaneity of the shoot, the result felt intentional, powerful, and effortlessly elegant—a testament to creative synergy, technical precision, and the extraordinary talent of the performers.
Conclusion
This shoot was a powerful reminder of how spontaneity and preparation go hand in hand. With the right gear, expertise, and collaboration, a high-pressure project can be executed seamlessly, even under tight time constraints.
In the end, this was more than just capturing a poster image—it was about distilling the soul of a dance company into a single frame, showcasing the depth of human expression through movement, light, and shadow
Credits:
