Several weeks ago I arranged a photo shoot with the Arizona hip-hop and break dance troupe Foot Klan. The group has been blowing away audiences for over 17 years around the U.S. and world with their amazing talent. These dancers can really pull some moves. Not only that, but they’re active community members trying to inspire younger generations with positive creativity and hard work. They’re an all around great group of people.

This shoot concept was something I wanted to try out to break the mold of portraiture and model lifestyle work I found myself in. I think it’s important to mix up what you’re doing and try something fresh as often as you can, while still making the style of the images your own. It might jolt an idea for your consistent work.

So how in the world did I take this idea from concept to execution? First, it all started with the magic of Twitter. Within a half hour of posting that I was looking for a dance group I was on the phone with Foot Klan’s manager Ken Reinstein. Every serious photographer looking to boost their network, find new ideas and reach a bigger audience needs to be out on the social networks. But that’s a discussion for another post.

I met with Ken to talk over the concept very late on a Wednesday night, when the group normally practices. Remember, no pain no gain. I also met DJ Tyger from Power 98.3 FM there as well. DJ Tyger hooked us up with this great roof top parking garage for the location near downtown Phoenix. There couldn’t have been a better spot. From there it took several weeks to nail down a time that worked for the whole crew, but Ken, DJ Tyger and I stayed in contact and followed through until we booked it.

It’s truly hard to describe the amazing moves that Foot Klan can pull, so I’ll let the images do the talking from here.