Personally I know that photos and videos make an impact on my decision of whether or not to go to a milonga/practica/lesson that I have not attended before, because if I can see photos of past events I will be able to tell how busy the dance floor tends to get, which dancers I might run into there, what the general atmosphere is like, etc... I get FOMO for events that share good photos and videos, I don't feel that way for those that don't share anything, those events are invisible to me, I will have no idea of what I've missed out on.
Same.
I've never given a damn about some event that I've heard about but never seen proof of. I've often given a damn about an event that showed me what I missed in photos and videos.
When I've been on the organizing side, it has been visuals that have brought people through the door. I used to run a weekly event where, for a while, advertising was a combination of word of mouth and text, and . . . no luck. One desperate week, I started posting images to social media of the people on the floor, including closeups of footwork and smiles. That almost doubled attendance overnight.
Humans, even dancers, are fundamentally visual creatures.
[...] they don't get in your face or obstruct the dance floor and they consistently make people look really good. If asked I'm sure they would respect anyone's wishes not to be photographed.
That's very important, of course! I think it's basic politeness to stay out of people's faces, not block their movements, and respect their wishes. And that goes not just for photographers around dancers but for all humans around all other humans. I've taken that as read in this discussion because I consider it "common sense," but I guess I shouldn't have and it isn't.
Photography is one of the tools you can use to entice people to come to an event and it can be very effective if it's done right. You don't have to use it, but I think here it certainly pays off because the tango scene is quite small, so getting people from neighbouring cities to attend events is extremely advantageous for everyone involved
It's hugely advantageous, and every organizer I know – which is most of the local ones – understands this.
I haven't yet heard of or noticed anyone around these parts who avoids specific events due to the presence of a photographer.
I have . . . here on these forums. For the first time ever. I think objecting is an extreme minority viewpoint among dancers.
As I hinted earlier, my main issue with photography isn't "violation of privacy" or "getting in my way," or even "I have a goofy face and am not very photogenic." It's "other dancers are drawn to the camera and start to dance for it in a way that affects floorcraft." If anything, that implies that lots of people want to be in pictures.
I said I want to control it.
