Dance Photography in Advertising

The ad for Raymond Weil shot by Lois Greenfield and the ad for Pantone shot by Sarah Silver both exhibit distinct differences and similarities.

Aside from the obvious color difference, the formal elements of the photographs differ as well. For one thing, the tone and contrast is noticeably different. While, Greenfield’s photograph is full scale displaying many tones from black to white and very high contrast with very dark and and very light areas, Silver’s photograph is low contrast with mostly middle tones. The colors used are bright and have the same value. Both the composition in Greenfield’s and Silver’s photographs are very artistic; they contain dancers that draw the eye of the viewer. The photo taken by Greenfield clearly portrays the headline, “Precision Movements”. The dancers are all skillfully and accurately placed, so as to perfect the art form of precise movements. As for Silver’s photo, the dancers are all interacting with their background or props. They are all very involved with their surroundings unlike the other photo where the dancers are interacting with each other.

While the perspective and space of the photo taken by Greenfield is shallow and most of the dancers are closer together in depth, Silver’s photograph demonstrates deep space where the dancers are all at different spaces. Both of the photographs contain direct light, showing hard-edged, dark, shadows. I also feel that there is symmetrical balance within the photographs and an overall sharp focus. Furthermore, both photographs use dance and dancers to effectively communicate the concept and message of their campaign.

The photographs that Sarah Silver shot for Pantone’s Make It Brilliant Campaign and Lois Greenfield shot for Raymond Weil’s Precision Movements ad are similar in that they use the same technique of having dancers be in their ads. However, while the dancers are a primary focus, they convey different messages and moods. The ad for Raymond Weil is less modern and looks like it could be used for a ballet. I guess this is what makes it so different – the fact that this concept is not what you would expect for this specific product. Although, the ad for Pantone’s Make It Brilliant Campaign contains a pop of colors like you’d expect to see, the dancers are what make it unique. They symbolize a special way to ‘paint a world with light’.

One thought on “Dance Photography in Advertising

  1. rmichals

    I think your observation that the dancers in the Greenfield image are interacting with each other like the parts of a watch while in the Silver photo the dancers are interacting with their surroundings like a designer would is a good one.

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