Four Lessons from a Dance Photographer: An Interview with Brian Mengini
I first met Brian Mengini at a RAW Artist’s event. His series of photos displayed ballet dancers flirting with antique picture frames in striking, contrasting light. They were different; dark, provocative, and most framed only cropped sections of the dancer’s body. We began talking and a week later, I was interviewing him about his career as a dance photographer.
His journey as a photographer has been just that; one long journey. It was not the same interview he would have given ten, or even five years ago. His stories revealed the lessons he learned, without him having to spell them out.
Lesson One: Your Journey Is Not Always Direct
“The Royal Ballet’s Swan Lake was the first ballet I ever saw, and the first ballet I ever photographed… and after that, I knew I wanted to photograph ballet for the rest of my life.”
Sometimes fate unravels slowly, and sometimes it happens all at once. For Mengini, it was a little bit of both.
His passion for ballet photography instantly ignited as he shot Swan Lake, but his path before that night, and his path after that night was not a direct one.
It seems that all the signs were there… he grew up with an amatuer-photographer father, and as a teen, he spent much of his time with friends capturing candid moments with a point-and-shoot. But he didn’t waltz right into photography as an adult.
After a few forays into four-year programs, Brian figured college just wasn’t for him. He began working as a manager for the Rennie Harris PureMovement Dance Company, but he knew it wasn’t his calling. He was surrounded by dancers who were living their dreams, and he wasn’t living his.
He came across an ad for a one-year photography program, and thought one year, what do I have to lose? He completed the program, but only a year later, disappointed with a lack of success in the field, sold all of his photography equipment, became almost bitter to the idea of photography altogether, and stayed away from the shutter for almost a whole decade. A whole decade!
It wasn’t until a friend called in a favor, asking Mengini to do a shoot for him, that Mengini gave photography another try. One thing quickly led to another, and before he knew it, he had received a call, requesting that he shoot the Royal Ballet’s Swan Lake. “A life changing moment” he called it.
Lesson Two: Don’t Observe Your Own Journey, Create It
A few years after photographing Swan Lake, Mengini had the opportunity to photograph Ballet X. Time passed, and he hadn’t seen him photographs being uesd. He asked why, and was told that he hadn’t gotten involved enough in the photo shoot; he had essentially been an observer, when could have been a creator.
This was a learning moment. To become a creator, he needed to learn the language of ballet. That was, after all, what he had decided at Swan Lake, that he wanted to do for the rest of his life. So, he began studying the vocabulary for each movement; from arabesque to ront de jambe. He surrounded himself with dancers and the dance community. Mengini began taking more control of his shoots by speaking the language of the dancers and becoming more and more attuned to the movement of ballet, thus being able to plan the perfect moment to snap a shot.
You can’t just set your camera to “continuous mode” for rapid fire photography and “hope for the best,” Mengini explained. You have to be on top of your game, just like the dancer does. You have to know exactly when your shot it is coming.
Lesson Three: Connect with Others Along the Way
One of Brian’s most popular series was his “EmpoweredME” series. He had been in touch with a Utah-based organization, "Dancers Against Cancer” and agreed to fly out to Salt Lake City to do a photo shoot to benefit the fight against breast cancer. Despite a slow start, the series quickly began gaining more and more attention.
Back in Pennsylvania, dancers started contacting Brian from all over the country, asking to be a part of the series. It pulled so many people in, not just because of the content that far too many people can relate to, but also because of the emotion in these photos. Brian drew on the characteristics of those he knew in his own life who fought cancer. Dancers showed vulnerability, fear, strength, falling down to get back up and triumph.
His connection to "Dancers Against Cancer" and his own personal connections to those in his life who fought cancer led to connections with new dancers who sought him out for the emotion they recognized in his photos.
Lesson Four: It’s Your Journey; Tell Your Story.
Mengini’s journey as a photographer has been a long and winding one, but he’s come to a new place now; a place where he really focuses on photographing what moves him individually.
While some of his earlier shoots may have turned out beautiful photos, or promoted big-name companies, he admitted that he’s finally realized he needs to tell his own stories through photography. He’s tapped on inspiration from his family life (his series “Out of Darkness” is an homage to his mother) and from other personal experiences. Now, he says, his photography is almost “cathartic” for him.
If “dance photography” doesn’t sound niche to you, surely ballet photography must. But even within this seemingly small space to delve in to, Mengini has created an eclectic collection of ballet photography. If you haven’t already, explore some samples of his works on brianmengini.com, and catch recent developments on his Facebook page. He is also launching a new website, artlifelit.com, which will feature his fine art prints and his literary work.
This year, Brian will be expanding his horizons by establishing himself as a NYC photographer as well, and he will split his time between Philly and NYC. Whatever we witness next form Mengini’s journey, I can assure you it will be beautiful and evocative.
All photographs by Brian Mengini.
Article written by Hannah Lorenzo.
