No matter how good of a dancer you are, people won’t actually book you for a show (paid or unpaid) without proof.

People always say “a picture is worth a thousand words.” It’s very true. Think of all the belly dancers you’ve seen. When you visit their website, whether it’s their facebook, myspace or just a website they own, they have photos. Sometimes the photos are done by professionals, and sometimes they do they are done by amateurs. Here are a few tips for getting great photos with little or no cost.

You have a few options when it comes to taking photos. You can:

• Take photos before the performance. It helps if you take photos with other dancers. In this digital age, many dancers carry around camera. Just take pictures of everyone and swap photos later.
• Get a friend to photograph you during a performance. Make sure they are right up front so they can get close shots with good lighting.
• Take photos after the performance. Blot your face and upper body with a towel to remove excess sweat. Be careful around your make up.
• Get a professional to take portraits of you. This is a great idea if you have up and coming photographer friends. In other cases, you don’t need to go out and hire a professional. There are a lot of photography students who need models. The better students will charge, but not the hundreds of dollars an hour for studio time. You’ll get great photos at a low price.
• Take your own portraits.

Taking your own photograph is sometimes easier said than done. Most people get in the mirror and take a picture of their reflection. While it helps, most people don’t want to see the bright flash going off in the photograph distracting them from the rest of the picture. You will probably do best by taking a headshot.

When preparing to take your own belly dance photograph there are a couple of things to remember:

• Use a simple, uncluttered background (this is very important).
• Use a small digital camera (are smart camera phone) with a flash
• Focus on your face, since it is the main point of the photograph
• Wear makeup. It’s best to try to replicate the look you wear for performances.
• Do your hair and wear a top to one of your costumes. Choose something that looks great on your skin and is very flattering.

When you are ready to start photographing, keep these tips in mind:

• Practice in the mirror before you pick up the camera.
• Take test shots. This will let you know if you need more light, or a different background.
• Try to fill the entire frame of the camera with yourself.
• If you get clutter in the background, like a chair or something moveable, then move it.
• Don’t worry if you get a photo that comes out blurry or not perfect. Try again.

After you load your photos onto a computer, go through and pick the ones you like the best, about two or three, and save them with file names like ‘bellydance_funnyface’ or something similar. This is just so you can remember them for later. If you want, you can use an online photo editor like one of the following:

• www.picnik.com
• www.fotoflexer.com
• www.lunapic.com

These are all pretty simple to use. You can adjust the contrast (something I always do), add text and/or resize them. Once you edit your photos, make sure you save them again. Now you are ready to put them some place like flickr, tribe.net, myspace or facebook. You can even use them as the background for business cards.