Today is World Backup Day, which feels like the perfect reminder for anyone who works with photos and video — especially full‑time professional photographers like me — that our work only truly exists when it’s protected.
When you’re trusted to capture once‑in‑a‑lifetime moments, school productions, ambassador sessions, or full theater runs, “hoping your hard drive holds up” isn’t a strategy. Files are fragile. Drives fail. Cards corrupt. Life happens.
That’s why professional photographers build backup systems that start the moment the shutter clicks. Multiple memory cards. Redundant drives. Cloud copies. Off‑site storage. It’s not glamorous, but it’s the difference between delivering and disappointing.
For the Banks family portrait I created for SPAC’s Mary Poppins Jr. production, the final image was printed, displayed, and woven into the show’s world. That’s not something you leave to chance. Backups ensure that the hours of research, styling, shooting, and editing are protected — and that the work can live on long after the curtain closes.
So on World Backup Day, consider this your friendly nudge: If your memories matter, back them up. If your work matters, back it up twice.
Dabour Photography dance ambassadors at the State Theatre of the Arts on September 23, 2025. Photo by DAVE DABOUR Photography
Some dancers grow in front of your lens year after year, and watching that evolution is one of the best parts of what I do. Emma (@extendandelevate) is absolutely one of those dancers. Even though this is her first year as one of my dance ambassadors, I’ve been photographing her for years—and every session reminds me just how much talent, drive, and personality she brings to her art.
Emma is known for many things, but her incredible flexibility is always front and center. She gets into poses that make my back hurt, and I’m not even the one doing them! What amazes me most is how effortless she makes it all look. One moment she’s a poised, elegant young woman; the next she snaps into a bold, sassy pose like she flipped a switch from 0 to 100.
This past season, Emma stepped into the iconic role of Clara in her studio’s production of The Nutcracker. I had the chance to create some beautiful, artistic portraits of her in those costumes, and she brought such grace and storytelling to every frame. It’s a role that demands both technique and heart, and she delivered both with maturity beyond her years.
Emma is also one of those dancers who starts doing the pose before I even finish asking. She listens, interprets, and moves with instinct—and that makes every session with her a creative joy. Whether we’re working on clean classical lines, dramatic lighting, or something playful and expressive, she brings her whole self to the moment.
I’m grateful to have Emma in this year’s ambassador team, and I’m excited for all the portraits, ideas, and creative adventures still ahead. Watching her grow as both a dancer and an artist has been a privilege, and I look forward to photographing her for many more years to come.
Know a dancer or studio looking for artistic dance portraits? I’d love to help bring their vision to life—feel free to share my work or send them my way!
🗿 Gravity? Never heard of it. Elijah showing off some incredible core strength at Columcille Megalith Park.
Some dancers bring talent. Some bring personality. And some—like Elijah (@elijahtheboydancer)—bring a spark that lights up every session. This is Elijah’s first year as one of my dance ambassadors, and he has already shown that he’s not only a dedicated dancer but also a natural performer who feels completely at home on the stage and in front of the camera.
Dance portraits during a photo walk in Easton, PA on Oct 26, 2025. Photo by DAVE DABOUR Photography
One of the things I’ve enjoyed most about working with Elijah is his love for duets. He’s joined me for several sessions paired with another dancer, and every time, the results have been remarkable. He has a gift for connection—matching energy, shaping movement with a partner, and creating images that feel alive.
Elijah also surprised me in the best way when he asked to participate in my Dance Dads for a Cure fundraiser. I assumed he wanted to join with his mom—which would have been wonderful—but he had something more meaningful in mind. He wanted to dance with his dad. Elijah is incredibly proud of the support his dad gives him as a dancer, and after his dad faced some health challenges in the past, this was the first time they were able to do something like this together. Photographing the two of them was powerful, heartfelt, and something I’ll never forget.
Another thing you quickly learn about Elijah: he loves anything Halloween. So much so that he participated in my Spooky Portraits not once, but twice—and he came with more ideas than we could possibly fit into a single session. His creativity, enthusiasm, and imagination made those shoots unforgettable. And don’t worry, Elijah… we’ll get to the rest of your ideas next year.
🏰 Elijah perfectly framed by the historic stone architecture of Columcille Megalith Park.🧘 Finding balance among the giants. Elijah at Columcille Megalith Park.
Because Elijah is homeschooled, he sometimes has the flexibility to join daytime sessions. One of those opportunities turned into a standout moment this season: a collaborative outdoor session at Columcille with two other dance ambassadors. Together, they created some truly unique dance art—movement, landscape, and creativity blending into something special.
Elijah brings heart, humor, dedication, and originality to everything he does. I’m grateful he joined the ambassador team this year, and I’m excited to see what we create together next.
A reflective look back at 2025 in my professional photography business — highlighting growth, creativity, and gratitude for the clients and community that made the year unforgettable.
2025 in the Rearview Mirror
As I look back at 2025 through the rearview mirror, I don’t just see a busy year — I see momentum. I see trust built over time, creative risks taken, and relationships that continue to grow. The road behind me is filled with moments that mattered, and the road ahead feels full of possibility.
Being a full-time professional photographer means constantly balancing artistry, logistics, and human connection. In 2025, that balance felt more meaningful than ever.
Thank You to Every Client
Before diving into specifics, I want to start with gratitude.
To every client who supported my business in 2025 — whether through dance, theater, portraits, video, or special projects — thank you. Your trust allows me to do what I love for a living, and that is something I never take lightly.
This year alone, I created 161,000 images and produced 19 videos. Behind each number is a person, a performance, a milestone, or a story that deserved to be documented with care.
Looking Back to Move Forward
2025 was a year of growth — not just in numbers, but in depth. In the coming posts, I’ll share more about the dance studios, performers, theaters, ambassadors, and special projects that shaped the year.
Thank you for being part of the journey. The mirror may be reflecting the past, but my focus is firmly on what’s ahead.
It may be the middle of winter but that didn’t stop Brayden for asking for some baseball portraits!
I call a sport themes portrait session ‘sportraits.’ I’ve photographed Brayden before with his family. I’ve also photographed his sister many times since she’s a dancer. Brayden’s mom wanted something just for him: baseball portraits
These were all done in my home studio. I also love creating sports portraits on site.
Ready for your sports portraits? Contact me for info and to schedule your session!
Whether its dance, sports, theater or anything else photography or video wise I do for you, it’s time to get on my calendar. My spring 2025 calendar is filling up fast. I’m already running into the situation where I’m already booked when someone inquiries about a date.
I’d like to start off by thanking each of my wonderful clients in 2024 for making this the best year in my photography business! I had a busy year to say the least. I created over 213K images (and this does NOT include what I created for photojournalism).
I had the pleasure of working with over ten dance studios in 2024. They were all fantastic to work with and I look ahead to working with them in 2025 as my schedule permits. Two of them have already booked their recital portraits for 2025. Please get on my calendar if you are not one of them!
Voorhees High School Drama Club presents ‘Addams Family’ November 2024. Photo by DAVE DABOUR Photography
I continued working with Voorhees Regional High School Theatre in 2024. Their Spring show was phenomenal (Les Miserable) followed up by their fall musical Addams Family. My photos from the show were used for publicity and resulted in all performances being almost sold out! I look ahead to working with them again this year!
I started my official Dance Ambassadors program in 2024. There have always been a select group of dancers that I’ve always considered my ambassadors. In fact when I asked one of them if they would be interested in doing this they replied ‘I though I already was! LOL’ We had some great sessions and made some fantastic art. I look forward to working with them in 2025
I continued working with Lehigh Valley Youth Phantoms ice hockey league! I also created banners for their seniors and now working on a yearbook fundraiser for their organization.
The video side of my business also continues to do well. So well that I’m almost running out of online storage space on my platform!
My photo booth was very busy in 2024 as well! Schools love it at dances and special occasions like Sweet 16’s and weddings.
Looking ahead to 2025 and my schedule is already beginning to fill up. I urge everyone to get on my calendar sooner rather than later, especially during peak time from April into July. Please contact me ASAP.
Another reminder to please get on my schedule for your dance studio, sports league, theater show, senior portraits for Spring 2024 as soon as possible. Some key dates are already full and I want to make sure I can fit in as many existing clients as possible!
Let me wrap up my 2024 summary by saying I will be having a couple of model calls in early 2025 to test out some new portrait photography sessions I want to start offering. I can’t share any details yet but I’m sure you will love at least one of them if not all three! Please contact me if interested and I will reach out to you if selected.
I’d like to start off by thanking each of my wonderful clients in 2023 for making this the best year in my photography business! I had a busy year to say the least. I created over 166K images (and this does NOT include what I created for photojournalism – I use a different computer for that).
I had the pleasure of picking up four (4) new dance studios in 2023. They were all fantastic to work with and I look forward to working with them in 2024 as my schedule permits. One of them has already booked their recital portraits for 2024.
I also started working with DelVal Regional HIgh School Theater in 2023. Their first show was phenominal and went on to win awards at the NJ Rising Stars awards ceremony. My photos from the show were used for puclicity and resulted in all performances being sold out! I look forward to working with them again this year with Newsies!
I welcomed back Greenwich Soccer league this year. I photographed their league for many years but last year was skipped do to a communication issue. I’m glad to have them back and look forward to covering them and more of their sports programs!
I was extremely happy to start working with Lehigh Valley Youth Phantoms ice hockey league! I also created banners for their seniors and now working on a yearbook fundraiser for their organization.
I also upgraded my main video camera this year. In the past my video equipment upgrades have been minor. I’m extremely happy with the performance of this new camera with it’s larger sensor and may add another one in 2024.
My photo booth was very busy in 2023 as well! Schools love it at dances and special occassions like Sweet 16’s and weddings.
Looking ahead to 2024 and my schedule is already begining to fill up. I urge everyone to get on my calendar soomer rather than later, especialy during peak time from April into July
I plan on offering snow portraits again next year – that is if it will snow enough to close the schools. Molly was the only one determined to make it happen on a school delay morning. Most teenagers would welcome the extra time to sleep in the morning. Molly got up and braved the snow so we could create some beautiful art. And then she quickly changed and went to school! I have a list started of dancers that are interested. To sign up and find out more about snow portraits please visit here.
Another reminder to please get on my schedule for your dance studio, sports league, theater show, senior portraits for Spring 2024 as soon as possible. Some key dates are already full and I want to make sure I can fit in as many existing clients as possible!
Let me wrap up my 2023 summary by saying I will be having a couple of model calls in early 2024 to test out some new portrait photography sessions I want to start offering. I can’t share any details yet but I’m sure you will love at least one of them if not all three! Please contact me if interested and I will reachout to you if selected.
New Jersey Dance Photography – Lehigh Valley Dance Photographer.
Regular readers of my blog know that I specialize in dance photography, but I wanted to let others know what types of dance photography services are available.
By many standards, 2022 was a wonderful year! It finally felt like things were back to normal in many (but not all) ways!
2022 had me creating over 130,000 images. These do not include the freelance images created for photojournalism. I keep them on a separate laptop.
I transitioned all my video delivery to online only. This allowed me to deliver higher quality video that can be seen on more platforms. My videos had over 1600 views from over 700 unique viewers of which 1000 of them were on mobile devices! Total time watched amounted to 63 days, 19 hours, 38 minutes and 13 seconds worth of content!
Notable highlights:
In 2022 I added two new dance studios and greatly expanded my rain machine offering. I also offered new types of dance portraits sessions and continued with some tried and true.
It was a year of change as well. I will be dropping an existing dance studio and most likely another.
I was honored to have one of my images selected as Best of 2022 for Behind the Shutter magazine!
I attended two professional photography training conferences (Imaging USA and Pas De Deux). I believe in staying up to date and current as much as possible.
I provided photography services for Fairleigh Dickerson University, a new client
I expanded my volume sports photography coverage and picked up a new softball league, new field hockey league, and a new soccer league.
The 2022 Freddy Awards was back to in-person which was great!
I photographed my first Bat Mitsvah as well as an event photographer for “Make Your Mark” for another temple.
One of the highlights of the year was the popularity of my expanded rain machine experience! Everyone who participated enjoyed themselves. This will be expanded even further next summer!
My photo booth was very popular in 2022 as well despite losing one school dance I’ve done for years
I provided commercial still and video images for an illusionist at the State theatre in Easton, PA
In late summer I offered my first ever “skirts and scarves” sessions which was a blast to do and another big hit!
There were plenty of headshot sessions, theatrical performances, dancers, recitals, senior sessions to name a few.
So, what’s ahead for 2023? Plenty!
Plan on having a dance portrait session in NYC with a group of pre-professional dancers
As long as mother nature cooperates, we look forward to having some dance portraits created in the snow!
My rain machine experience will be expanded and offered earlier and more often this summer
I plan to attend more professional training in Chicago as well as photograph dancers while there from across the US.
More dance portrait sessions of various types
I would be honored to have you come along for the journey! Let me know what I can do for you or your organization as far as photography or videography is concerned. Contact me for more information. I can’t wait to meet you!
