Working with nothing to work with...
I haven't had much work in the past couple weeks beyond shooting sportraits...
Some have published, and some (like the players of the year for certain sports) have not.
Something I've definitely grown accustomed to is shooting with absolutely nothing to work with but your own imagination. Generally the assignments come in with little direction, beyond, "shoot cross-country runner xxx, they'll be practicing on the track at 3pm".
And if you know anything about what a high school track looks like, it ain't much. So you have to find something else. And for a couple years, now, I've been wanting to shoot a portrait in the cornfield behind Brentsville HS. But the last couple times I had the opportunity (Spring, Summer), there is no corn. Now only if they played baseball into September/October, I could do my "Field of Dreams" idea...
But I think, ultimately it's one of my favorite recent portraits.
I don't find basketball to be so easy for a couple reasons. 1. there are usually multiple teams practicing in the gym when you need the player, 2. the gym is generally a dreadful place to shoot, and 3. the weather outside generally sucks.
However, I have been pleased to find that if you truly concentrate on working backward through the frame you can find some neutral, or colorful backgrounds, and set up a mini-studio. The pads beneath the baskets are usually the teams colors, and maybe even have a logo or something on them. A simple two light set-up usually makes for a decent shot.
In addition, when the gym is occupied by multiple teams, the divider that comes down from the rafters almost always has a leather/vinyl bottom to it that reaches up about 7 feet. perfect for an ad-lib backdrop. Voila! You have a backdrop to match the team colors. Two lights...and boom, a solid portrait.
These tips also help if you happen to have broken 1. speedlights, 2. Pocket wizards, 3. or both. Right now I'm reduced to using one Canon 430EX, one Nikon SB-800, and one PW receiver. Nice. But you get by. Certainly the portraits start to look a little similar, but until someone (ahem...) pays for my gear to get fixed, I can only do what I can... Gels are your friend...
Some have published, and some (like the players of the year for certain sports) have not.
Something I've definitely grown accustomed to is shooting with absolutely nothing to work with but your own imagination. Generally the assignments come in with little direction, beyond, "shoot cross-country runner xxx, they'll be practicing on the track at 3pm".
And if you know anything about what a high school track looks like, it ain't much. So you have to find something else. And for a couple years, now, I've been wanting to shoot a portrait in the cornfield behind Brentsville HS. But the last couple times I had the opportunity (Spring, Summer), there is no corn. Now only if they played baseball into September/October, I could do my "Field of Dreams" idea...
But I think, ultimately it's one of my favorite recent portraits.
I don't find basketball to be so easy for a couple reasons. 1. there are usually multiple teams practicing in the gym when you need the player, 2. the gym is generally a dreadful place to shoot, and 3. the weather outside generally sucks.
However, I have been pleased to find that if you truly concentrate on working backward through the frame you can find some neutral, or colorful backgrounds, and set up a mini-studio. The pads beneath the baskets are usually the teams colors, and maybe even have a logo or something on them. A simple two light set-up usually makes for a decent shot.
In addition, when the gym is occupied by multiple teams, the divider that comes down from the rafters almost always has a leather/vinyl bottom to it that reaches up about 7 feet. perfect for an ad-lib backdrop. Voila! You have a backdrop to match the team colors. Two lights...and boom, a solid portrait.
These tips also help if you happen to have broken 1. speedlights, 2. Pocket wizards, 3. or both. Right now I'm reduced to using one Canon 430EX, one Nikon SB-800, and one PW receiver. Nice. But you get by. Certainly the portraits start to look a little similar, but until someone (ahem...) pays for my gear to get fixed, I can only do what I can... Gels are your friend...
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