We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Sam Fink. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Sam below.

Sam, appreciate you joining us today. Going back to the beginning – how did you come up with the idea in the first place?

Dance photography may seem like an incredibly niche service to offer, especially in a smaller city like St. Louis. I believed this myself when I first moved here from Chicago a couple years ago. I thought that by doing all sorts of portrait photography, I would have more success, but it was actually the opposite. Once I started honing in on my unique position to help dancers take jaw-dropping photos that are 100% catered to their own skillset, talent, and interests, that’s when people really started to take notice of the work I was doing.

I started dance photography because I am a dancer myself. I was performing for dance companies and freelancing in Chicago for five years and for most projects I was a part of, the group would need company photos, pictures of the artists dancing, and promotional materials. From my experience of being in front of the camera, the photoshoots were often disorganized, the photos felt inauthentic, they weren’t well-directed, and many times the photographer didn’t know much, if anything about dance and therefore wasn’t fully in tune with the dancers’ experience on set.

I saw a gap in the industry. Dance photographers more often than not did not have dance training or experience as a dancer. What dancers needed was a photographer who knew how to speak their language, correct their technique and alignment, capture the peak of their dynamic movement, all while working with them in a way that made them feel comfortable and confident to let their personality shine.

Once I started photographing more dancers, I refined my backend process and communication leading up to photoshoots. I realized that what people (not just dancers) need is to feel comfortable with the person who’s photographing them well before the actual shoot date. In order for them to open up, be vulnerable, and be themself on camera, they have to have trust built before they step on set for photos. This is where I knew that I could succeed: building trusting relationship so that the communication is already there when I start directing clients.

I take great pride in what I’ve built within the dance community thus far. Building trust within people to enjoy their experience and want to come back again and again is building a reputation for consistency and quality and I do not take that lightly. My advice for people just starting out: start with a specialized group. Learn the ins and outs of that specific style and how to make the experience out of this world. There’s not pressure to stay in that specialty, you can always try other things if you’re still discovering what you love.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Sam Fink and I am the founder and photographer of Lumosco Photo, based in St. Louis. I specialize in dance photography and am a dancer myself. I help dancers feel comfortable and confident on camera, capturing photos that feel authentic to them as an artist. I help dancers feel celebrated and uplifted throughout the whole experience of working together.

I work with individual dancers, dance companies, studios, teaching artists and choreographers, and high school dance teams. I provide them not only with high quality photos that showcase their personality and unique skillsets, but also with imagery to use for websites, social media, branding, and promotional materials as well. I really get to know each and every client and no two sessions are alike. Through a detail-oriented questionnaire getting to know the dancer’s specific skills, needs, and requests, we work together before the shoot date to ensure that they will receive photos that they’ll want to use over and over.

In order to be seen and hired, dancers need to have quality photos that showcase their talents. The dance industry is evolving to be less focused on in-person auditions and more about online submissions and an internet presence. Simply having a handful of so-so pictures that your parent took of you at a dance competition doesn’t cut it anymore. Which is why it’s important to work with someone who will capture your skills, personality, and performance expression in a very personalized experience.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

I wish that I had explored the local creative community earlier in my journey. St. Louis is full of creative business owners and I have recently discovered various meet ups, networking events, and business groups. It truly takes a village to do what small business owners do, even if you are a solo-preneur.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

Although I have many goals fueling my overall business endeavors, my main goal is helping dancers. Dance can be quite ambiguous, especially for those pursuing it as a career. There are many routes to get dancers to achieving their goals, but a lot of the time there aren’t many resources on how to make it work for you. My goal is to provide resources to help dancers achieve their goals and create a sustainable career in the arts. My goal for my business is to grow to be more than a photo business for dancers but also a resource center and career mentor.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.lumoscophoto.com
• Instagram: @lumosco
• Facebook: @lumosco
• Other: www.pinterest.com/lumoscophoto

Image Credits
All photos by Sam Fink of Lumosco Photo