It’s a summer tradition, or fall, depending on what sport your child plays. Opening Day rolls around and it’s team photo time. Usually you end up with something looking like this or maybe this.
Really there is no reason you shouldn’t have this…
And it’s just a simple three light setup. I’m sure the photographer shooting your league has the lights. I know ours does. He sets up four so he can make boring portraits twice as fast on two different backdrops. Really, the setup I used above (and shown below) can plug and chug kids out just as fast as those two lights set up to give that flat, traditional look do.
I used to medium/small umbrellas and a large softbox, but any three lights will do. The quality of the rim will change if you go with no modifiers or larger modifiers. Same for the fill with the front. Once the lights are in place, it’s just a matter of firing away.
If I had more time, I would have gone with a grey background, but 9PM at night, after two games, and the mosquitoes beginning to eat us alive I took what I could get. Grey would have helped out with a little more separation around the tops of their heads
Oh yeah, so why don’t I take the team photos? Hmmmm…..
[...] To see more about how these photos were made and a few bonus shots click on over to Making LoC! [...]
Awesome shots! I love the black… Your pictures are always SUPER!
Yes the grey would separate, but they are still awesome! So are you taking the team pictures?
Thanks Tracy! If the league would let me do it the way I want to do it, I might consider it, but right now they are sticking to the plug and chug, same old-same old. I’ve talked to a couple of them about doing it team by team and ordering online so parents could pay by credit card and pick the photos they want, but the leagues don’t think people will want that.
Paul…..love the photos of the kids. I really wish the league would let you photograph our kids, I much prefer your shots over the same boring “cookie cutter” photo’s.
Thanks Rebecca.