Years ago, I interviewed photographer Lois Greenfield for our Inside the Photographer’s Mind podcast. She gifted me her book, Moving Still. But it’s only recently that I got the chance to truly look through it. We’ve featured Lois a ton of times here on the site. Though now that I think about it, her work is some of the most perfect fodder for the creation of a photography book. Indeed, Lois Greenfield Moving Still takes her work and puts it into a way that you’ll want to page through and reference for inspiration. If you’re a dance photographer, this will really apply to you. But if you’re a studio photographer, you’ll totally understand where I’m coming from.
Lois Greenfield Moving Still is a book that’s vertical format. The images are printed on a mostly matte paper with only a little bit of sheen on them. Seriously, I wish more prints were made on paper like this. It suits itself to be very versatile and it looks good almost anywhere. But I thumbed through this book with diffused southern daylight coming from a window. I also slightly propped the book up to give it a bit more diffusion. As you turn the pages, you get an experience that the screen of your phone or computer can’t give you.
These are big images that have bold color, beautiful lighting, and pop in more ways than one. If it’s not Lois’s use of color, it has to do with the lighting, the background, etc. But most of all, the poses that the dancers are in are something that seem almost impossible to get. After talking with Lois, she told us that she gets the shots pretty much the way they are in-camera. Not to say that I don’t believe her, but Lois should be teaching lighting, color theory, and timing to all photographers today. She’s proof that you don’t need a camera that shoots at 120 frames a second. Many times, Lois can get the shot in a single frame — something that I’m aware is possible because I used to be able to do it when I had better vision.
Lois’s work is treated with the utmost respect as nearly every photograph has its own dedicated page. And in the rare cases that it doesn’t, the photography doesn’t feel like you should roll your eyes very hard. However, I’ll fully admit that they would look better centered onto a single page.
There are also various sections of the book that are more or less separated by things like the background, the lighting, the types of costumes worn, etc. Despite this, I’m constantly in awe of all of it.
Her photography is something that has to be very carefully done. It takes the street dance idea that so many other photographers abide by and grabs it by the shoulders while yelling at it to do the photographs properly. I remember Lois telling me that not much post-production, if any, is done on the photographs. This amazes me even more. And it’s bound to amaze any photographer that picks this book up.
Lois Greenfield Moving Still is a book for any photographer that wants to master lighting, adores paintings, likes dance photography, or just needs inspiration. It’s a reference tool for your aspirations which I think many photographers need to look at in a day where we’re devaluing the idea of a single photograph so much.
We’re giving Lois Greenfield Moving Still four out of five stars. Want one? Check it out on Amazon.