Take Me Out to the Ballgame: A Glimpse inside a Baseball Session | Sports Session Feature

Athletes+Sports

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As a former coach, I love creating action sports portraits that capture the essence of athletes’ hard work and glory!

Athletes+Sports

Capturing only the best of the best during this epic time!

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The great thing is that regardless of the settings or occasions, what I love most about my job never changes: when my subjects see their images, they feel FAMOUS, BIGGER than LIFE… and doesn’t everyone deserve to feel that once in a while?

the Lens

Behind

the Lady

North-Carolina-Senior-Photographer — Drew, RRHS Class of 2023, has hung up his Yellow Jackets uniform, but not his cleats. He will continue his baseball career at Peace University in Raleigh come fall.

Athletes are used to spending time practicing and performing on their respective field of play. They are used to performing a skill a couple or more times until they get it right. Our Sportrait “Media Day” Sessions are a lot like that.

We experiment with ideas, we try different things, we learn from our mistakes, we fly high, we lie down in the dirt… I’d be lying to you if I said we didn’t work hard for the results we get, but I can tell you we have a GREAT time doing it, and the results are SO worth it.

Planning the Session

I get as much information as I can from my athletes about the positions they play and what their strengths are before shoot day, and I do my research to come to the shoot with a good variety of ideas to try… and I love it when my athletes and their families do the same! The best shoots happen when we collaborate!

Try Try Again

I show up to the Media Days about half an hour before the athlete to start setting up the lights and equipment. Once I am ready, we get a few easy poses out of the way before the real action begins.

Then we come up with an action idea and begin to make it happen. We draw inspiration from real game situations. Sometimes we stop the action in one take, but more often, especially with the more athletic maneuvers, we may have to try a few times before we get it right. Success in sports is SO much about timing, and this is no different. Sometimes I am early or late pressing the shutter, or I need to change my angle. Sometimes my athlete is a little off, so I coach them through what would make the shot more dynamic. I might show them the back of the camera so that they can see what we are getting as we work. I just tell my athletes to do what they do, but be ready for me to say, “one more time.”

I LOVE sports and watch a lot, and presumably so do my athletes, so we both know when a shot looks “cool,” Even a motion as simple as throwing a ball can look impressive and different depending on how we shoot it.

And when it all comes together… MAGIC.

Come Prepared

I send every client a list of things to come to the session with, but the best rule of thumb is to bring, well, everything. It’s better to have something and not need it than to wish we had it. So pack up all the extra uniforms and balls, and gloves… and don’t forget your water… when I tell you, you will be working out, I mean it… But just know I’ll probably be sore the next day too! 🙂

We also need at least one person to be there to throw or catch with our athletes, dump water, or light fires while I shoot… yes, the fire in these photos are real. Safe, but REAL. So bring a parent and a sibling, bring a friend. Media Days are a team effort, just like sports in general!

Don’t Forget the Locks and Lights

I depend on my families to get us access to the facilities we use… so please coordinate with your coaches or AD so that we have access to any areas and equipment we might need. Stadium lights are a must, even when we are shooting outside during the day. Don’t forget details like bases or goals, for example.

Anything Worth Doing Takes Time

While the action is fast, moving the light set up from place to place and then making adjustments takes time. For that reason, sports sessions are usually longer than a typical session and they showcase a smaller variety of locations as compared to a regular session…. but that doesn’t mean your images won’t be creative and varied. I change posing and angles, and even incorporate fog, or water, or even fire to keep things fresh, and interesting. My goal is that you will treasure every portrait and love each one more than the next.