Ron McKinney is an international leader in dance photography. Ron and his wife, Beth, are the founders and directors of Pas de Deux Dance Photo, an organization that supports the art and business of dance photography in the United States and around the world.
Ron and Beth held the inaugural Pas de Deux Photo dance photography conference in 2020 with more than 200 dance photographers from across the world joining speakers such as Rachel Neville, David Cooper (of Canada), Taylor Ferne-Morris (from Australia) and Jordan Matter and many others, including Ron.
We are the official photographer for Ballet Chicago, the DePaul University Dance and Cheer teams, and we partner with more than 20 local dance studios and many college, high school and professional teams and companies. We have also worked for Hubbard Street, the Houston Ballet, the Grand Rapids Ballet, and at the Joffrey Ballet in Chicago.
Order forms for current studios can be found here.
Our 3,250 square foot studio has two permanent dance floors with marley flooring (one white, one black). Although he was never a dancer, he is quite knowledgeable in working with dancers and posing them, guiding their leaps, making those subtle adjustments that make all the difference in a photograph, and he’s also a master of lighting.
Ron also provides professional and pre-professional dancers with artistic shoots in the studio, on location, and audition position and headshots. Look here for our audition head and position shots.
One of our favorite photo sessions is to photograph dancers interacting with whatever outdoor location we choose. You can see the gallery of Urban Portrait Series images (outdoor dance shots on location).
Interested in doing a Rain Machine photoshoot? We have that set up in our studio. Click on the link for information.
Pricing
Outdoor dance sessions are two hours long, and you can choose to do a JPG or print package, or simply pay for the session ($150 in nearby locations, $250 in downtown Chicago with a minimum $500 print/JPG order) and choose your prints or JPGs later (with a minimum $300 purchase required). Dancers often bring several different outfits to change into for these shoots. For more information or to schedule a session, call at 815-893-6822.
Studio Dance sessions are $100 for a 1-hour session, or $150 for two hours. We offer both print and JPG packages. Be sure to see the artistic, edgy lighting we use in our studio dance sessions. You can see the artistic studio dance gallery here.
We are often asked if younger dancers can do a photo shoot. Of course, they can! They may not be able to show off some of the technique that older, more experienced dancers can do, but a young dancer doing just a simple pose also looks amazing. Take a look at the Tiny Dancers gallery of pre-teen dancers.
DANCE COMPANIES
Ron is the official photographer for Ballet Chicago and is often hired by dance companies for dance performances, costume portraits, audition shots, or marketing photos. Call Ron at 312-613-0674 or email him at ron@ronmckinneyphotography.com with questions.
We were especially thrilled when Houston Ballet asked us to go to Jacob’s Pillow to document Houston Ballet’s Artistic Director Stanton Welch as he choreographed a dance there for the annual festival. It was especially fun since the Pittsburgh Ballet’s Dennis Marshall was also there.
Our dance clients include Ballet Chicago, Hubbard Street Dance, Dynamic Perception Dance Company in Westmont, Arlington Heights Park District Dance, Dance and All That Jazz in Prospect Heights, the DePaul University Dance and Cheer Teams, the Pizzazz Dance Company in Lake in the Hills, the Elite Academy of Dance in Elgin, the Rebecca McCarthy School of Dance and Engage Academy of Crystal Lake, Algonquin Academy of Dance, and the Ballet Box in Algonquin, Center Stage in Huntley, Artistry Dance Company, Abandon Dance Company, and the American Dance Center. I also photograph many high school dance teams, including Huntley High School, Dundee-Crown High School, Jacobs High School, Prairie Ridge High School, Crystal Lake Central, Providence Catholic High School, Downers Grove North High School, Minooka High School, Hampshire High School Orchesis, Lake Zurich High School Cheer, and Huntley High School Orchesis.
