Creating Dramatic Powder Shoots for Dancers
8th February 2026
This… this is something I have been DYING to do for so long.
But there was SO much planning involved before it could even happen.
It had to be indoors (no wind allowed), in a large enough space for high powder throws, and somewhere willing to accept the fact that this was going to be INSANELY messy.
I must have contacted around 20 venues across Edinburgh. Most said no immediately. Others were willing, but the spaces were too small — or ridiculously expensive.
Thankfully, a local church ended up being the most accommodating place I’ve ever come across. The hire cost was so reasonable compared to others, and they allowed me to use their HUGE hall — perfect for dramatic powder throws and movement.
But setting this up? That was a task in itself.
Trips to B&M to grab as many dust sheets as I could physically carry. Researching and ordering the right powder — the kind that lingers in the air rather than just dropping instantly. Investing in a black backdrop so the colours would pop properly when hit with flash.
There was a lot more planning behind this shoot than people probably realise.
We arrived early to set up. The backdrop went right in the middle of the hall, and I taped three dust sheets on top of each other across the floor.
And that’s when the first issue appeared.
My backdrop was TINY.
I clearly hadn’t measured it properly — I’d just let my brain imagine how big it would be.
But… we made it work.
We started off with corn starch.
I had never worked with powder in any form before, so I wanted to ease myself in. I needed to make sure my flashes were set up properly and that I understood the timing before diving into the coloured powder. The last thing I wanted was to waste it before I’d mastered the setup.
But of course… more issues appeared.
The dust sheets I’d layered down? Too thin.
Any time a dancer went into a wide second position or pushed off strongly, the sheet would stretch and start to tear — which meant it wasn’t fully protecting the floor underneath. At that point, I just accepted that future-me & mum would be cleaning for a while longer and carried on.
Then came the next challenge.
Corn starch drops FAST.
It doesn’t linger beautifully in the air like I’d imagined. It falls almost immediately, which meant my timing had to be absolutely precise. The dancers had to throw at exactly the right moment, and I had to hit the shutter at the exact peak of the movement.
There was zero room for hesitation.
Now for the FUN part.
I finally felt ready to move on to the coloured powder — and the dancers were SO excited.
Because there were so many ambassadors, I had asked them to come prepared with pose ideas so we could make the best use of our time while I rotated between everyone. By this point, we were already 1.5 hours into a 2.5 hour session… which meant I only had ONE hour left to photograph 15 dancers, each having around three strong poses.
No pressure.
Since these were their individual photos, I let them choose their own colour combinations to match their vibe. Some went bold and contrasting, others kept it softer and blended — and seeing their personalities come through in the powder choices made it even better.
Honestly, this part was so much fun.
Figuring out the timing of the flash.
Learning the split-second rhythm between the throw and the shutter.
Working out which poses created the most impact when the powder hit the light.
It became this fast-paced, slightly chaotic but completely electric rhythm.
And the best part? The dancers were loving it.
You could see it in their faces — the excitement, the confidence, the “can we go again?” energy.
That alone made the mess, the stress and the planning worth it.
And then came the aftermath.
My final issue.
I did NOT realise how far coloured powder actually travels.
Even with dust sheets.
Even shooting in the middle of a HUGE hall.
It got everywhere.
There was powder on the stage — which was miles away from where we were working.
On chairs stacked around the room.
Dusty footprints leading to the bathrooms and out the building.
Even on exposed copper pipes hidden behind piles of chairs.
We had booked the hall until 8:30pm and I genuinely thought we’d be done cleaning within 30 minutes.
Absolutely not.
My mum, a few of the dancers and I stayed until 10pm.
Brushing.
Mopping. (About ten times.)
Wiping everything down.
Over. And over. And over.
My camera? Covered.
My flashes? Covered.
The backdrop? Covered.
And maybe slightly too much information… but when I blew my nose later — purple.
But you know what?
Completely worth it.
This was one of the most chaotic, messy, technically challenging shoots I’ve done — and also one of the most rewarding.
I’m so grateful to my ambassadors for trusting my vision, for throwing themselves into something new, and for creating some of the most powerful images I’ve captured to date.
And I know one thing for sure.
I’d do it all again.
