UA BASKETBALL MEDIA DAY

Yesterday was Media Day for the University of Arkansas men’s basketball team. It is a daunting task trying to think of ideas for 13 different basketball portraits shot in an hour time frame. It isn’t an assignment you can just show up to unprepared. So I spent yesterday morning searching some of my favorite sports photographers websites- Walter Iooss, Bill Frakes, Donald Miralle- with hopes of getting some inspiring ideas. I grabbed a few lights, a softbox, a white backdrop, and a large mirror left over from a powder room renovation at my house. I had the props, and a vague idea of what I was looking for- and arrived almost 2 hours before the shoot to allow plenty of time for set up.
My first player was Michael Sanchez. He had a pleasant demeanor- which set the shoot off to a positive start. The lights were nice right off the bat as well- which eliminated the panic of trying to work with the exposure. All the guys asked to see the images when I was finished shooting- and when they loved what they saw, it seemed to ease the next guy to step up- and allowed me to be more creative.
Time completely escaped me while I was shooting, and had about 5 minutes to shoot the last 3 portraits. It’s fairly obvious which ones they are- the stand, smile, and grip the ball images. Next year I’ll make sure to look at the clock with more frequency.

You can visit the websites of the inspiring sports photographers at:
www.billfrakes.com
www.walteriooss.com
www.donaldmiralle.com