Photo Assignment 6: The environmental portrait
- Ruby Moley
- Oct 13, 2025
- 3 min read
My environmental portrait captures Abigail Kim, a junior at SMU’s Meadows School of the Arts. Kim is from Waco, TX, and has a double major in English and Contemporary Dance. She has been dancing since she was six, which she considers a “late start” for serious dancers. Kim found her niche in contemporary and jazz-funk fusion when she first attended Joffrey Dance School in her late teens. Kim continues to devote herself to the art of dance. Early this October, she choreographed an original solo and participated in an ensemble for DanceWorks, a student showcase of original works carefully selected by the Meadow's faculty. After a week’s worth of performances, Kim and I met in the Owen Arts Center, the home to all her classes, studio practices, and casual hangouts. This is her environment, and her craft is dance.
What I did right: I watched Kim dance this week, a performance raw with emotion and fluid movements. Therefore, I wanted to capture Kim’s ethereal poses and the full control she has of her body in her poses. I like the two final shots, as they capture her in poses she performs or has performed. She is in focus in the center, making her a clear subject. I enjoy the lighting and shadows in both images. The light is natural, making the images clear and easy to shoot. For the first image of Kim indoors, there are converging lines in the background of the shot which add aesthetics. The light peeks through her loose shirt, adding depth. The one of her outside is well composed. These environments allow her poses to stand out strong, and the muted colors further accentuate this. There is a sense of movement in both images, and I am proud of them.
What I did wrong: The main issue was finding locations that didn’t contain people, background clutter, or navigational signs (exits, classroom numbers, posters), and if they were present, making them hidden or out of focus. Sometimes the lighting was a little tricky. I couldn’t have Kim directly in the light because the exposure would be messed up. I couldn’t have the highest aperture because of the lighting, so I didn’t get as much depth of field as I wanted. I also had issues with shutter speed, since often these poses were only held for a single second. This resulted in blurry feet and hands, ruining some otherwise perfect photos. Additionally, some settings had artificial lighting coupled with natural, and the camera settings couldn’t be focused to both.
How I fixed this: I posed Kim in the shadows, out of the direct sunlight. We also shot earlier in the day to avoid direct overhead lighting that would prevent beautiful shadows like those pictured. I made sure to check the shutter speed often, shooting at higher speeds when she was doing poses that could only be held for a second or less. I tried to keep her in settings where the lighting was relatively even, so as not to have really bright lights messing with the lighting on my subject. I had Kim do the same poses over and over, which could be tiring but made for the perfect shots. When she is constantly moving, it is hard to predict form and composition, making the process trial and error.
This was a very fun shoot! It took roughly two and a half hours in total, which allowed us to get creative and bond. I learned a great deal about dance, the work that goes into it, and the skill it takes to get to Kim’s level. I found great enjoyment in dance photography, as it is very expressive and beautiful. I would take photos for Kim and any of her friends again, as this type of photography felt very rewarding.
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