Richard Calmes has garnered acclaim internationally, with over 30 magazine covers, a website and social media platforms generating over 45,000,000 views. His work was celebrated with an invitation to present a year-long solo exhibition at The National Museum of Dance in New York.

“Birds use their wings to fly because they do not know how to dance.” (Zeynap Okcu)

Dancers fly before Calmes’ camera in a myriad of sites: On the stage, in the studio, outdoors, in nature, in cities large and small, on a beach. He works wherever dancers can be found, inside and outside of the traditional venues of performing art.

Richard Calmes Photography

A master of lighting, Calmes’ work with professional and student dancers has made him a much sought-after creator of studio images. Drawing, with love, the honesty of the artist from his or her internal world, Calmes’ studio work is highly sought for personal, portfolio, marketing and other commercial uses.

Richard Calmes Photography

The rich possibilities of the natural world offer stunning backdrops for dancers as they are gently or boldly thrust against sea, forest, or field. The grace and strength of each artist is exquisitely complimented by the grace and strength of nature. Dancing on waves, flying above daisy-strewn meadows, surging from beneath the placid surface of a lake, or striding above a sunrise, Calmes’ artists create beauty by melding with our terrestrial environment.

Richard Calmes Photography

Racing from oncoming trains or ornamenting a graffitied underpass, artists in urban settings entice gentleness and edginess with their sculpted bodies. Locations from cemeteries, office buildings, and skylines to the dazzling interiors of Atlanta’s Fox Theatre encourage dancers to interact with visually rich and often highly unusual urban “sets.”

Available for online purchase.

Makes a wonderful gift!

Sharing Beauty Internationally

Richard's work has been published in many distinguished print media.

Dance Studio Life Magazine
Dance Magazine
Pointe Magazine
Dancer Magazine
Dance Informa
Dance Teacher Magazine
Dancing Times
Foto Magazine Poland (Cover Story)
Russian Photography (Cover Story)
Russian Popular Photography (Story)

New York Times
Atlanta Journal Constitution
Atlanta Business Chronicle

Numerous Dance Programs, posters, playbills, and other printed materials

New York Times
Atlanta Journal Constitution
Atlanta Business Chronicle

Numerous Dance Programs, posters, playbills, and other printed materials

Dance Studio Life Magazine
Dance Magazine
Pointe Magazine
Dancer Magazine
Dance Informa
Dance Teacher Magazine
Dancing Times
Foto Magazine Poland (Cover Story)
Russian Photography (Cover Story)
Russian Popular Photography (Story)

Video

Water-Water Everywhere

Facebook Live Session

Intensity - Behind The Scenes

Dancers of Los Angeles

Calmes discovered a love for dance photography in the early days of 2005. His gift for lighting and his encouraging rapport with dancers quickly made him one of the most sought-after photographers in the United States.

Based in Atlanta, GA, the once-architect now builds portfolios of images that showcase the beauty of professional dancers as well as advanced students.