Youth sports team photogrphy - DPChallenge Forums

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L USM

06/02/2004 11:53:59 AM · #1

A friend has asked me if I would like to take photos of his kidâ��s little league baseball team. I donâ��t know why they asked for me because Iâ��m not a professional photographer and Iâ��ve never done anything like this before. It may be due to the fact that we are in a very rural area and there may not be many photographers around that do this, or maybe they think the pros charge too much. I donâ��t know, and I forgot to ask. They offered to pay me for the costs, plus â��a little extra.â�� Iâ��m willing to do it just for the fun of it, and because itâ��s for a friend, but Iâ��m not sure how to go about it. Will I need any special lighting? If so, what type of lighting? Should I get the prints made by DPCPrints, or somewhere else? Have any of you ever done this before? Am I risking a gruesome death at the hands of angry parents?

Any advice or tips will be much appreciated.

--Mick

hsteg

Fujifilm X-T20

06/02/2004 11:59:44 AM · #2

baseball during the day?
no special lighting.

Neil

Fujifilm X-T30

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED

06/02/2004 12:37:21 PM · #3

If they just want a team photo, easy--outside with a good background, maybe the scoreboard and field.

But if they are expecting shots like my child's annual soccer shot, then they want individual shots. Typically, these are taken indoors in a studio like setting with a fake background that looks related to soccer.

But in reality, those are boring shots, that look the same every year, and of course, the background looks fake. I suggest trying to schedule it on a gray cloudy day, where you won't have to deal with a large range of lighting, but it will be bright enough. Get them in their clean uniforms, and take some interesting shots on the baseball field. You can even let kids choose, a fake slide, at the mound, with bats, etc. I think it will be more fun for all. You might get a parent volunteer to hold a reflector or a remote flash just to make sure they are well lit.

Just my 2 cents--not a pro either ;)

Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS

06/02/2004 01:33:31 PM · #4

Originally posted by nshapiro:

Yes, my understanding is they want a team photo as well as individual photos. My friend suggested doing a team shot, and an individual portrait of any child whose parent(s) want one. I think it would be fun to do a magazine cover too. I could make up a magazine cover image, and then paste it over the portrait of each kid.

It shouldnâ��t be too hard to get a gray cloudy day. I live in Oregon and we specialize in those. :)

Thanks for the tips!

--Mick

drgsoell

Olympus C-750UZ

06/02/2004 01:38:16 PM · #5

Originally posted by micknewton:

I think it would be fun to do a magazine cover too. I could make up a magazine cover image, and then paste it over the portrait of each kid.

It shouldnâ��t be too hard to get a gray cloudy day. I live in Oregon and we specialize in those. :)

Thanks for the tips!

--Mick

My daughter's soccer team had pictures taken and we were able to get prints that were the size and appearance of trading cards. They had the statistics on the back just like real. Not sure how you could do two sided, but maybe just the front?

drg

Canon EOS-60D

06/02/2004 01:56:37 PM · #6

Originally posted by drgsoell:

A lot of times (in our past experience) the trading card statistics on the back are printed on laser or ink jet labels that are stuck onto the back of the cards...that's an inexpensive and easy way to handle it. :o)

Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM

06/02/2004 05:14:07 PM · #7

Originally posted by drgsoell:

I imagine there are printers that can do it. Thanks for the tip!

ScottK

Canon EOS-350D Rebel XT

06/02/2004 05:30:55 PM · #8

Another idea for individual shots (ripped off from some chick movie from 5 or 10 years back): Get one of those mini trampolines and set it by the outfield fence (or maybe a scoreboard or something). Have each kid put a ball in his glove. Then have them jump off the tramp at an angle, glove hand outstretched, with the ball showing in the glove. If you capture it right, it looks like they're caught in the middle of a homerun-saving catch. The good thing about doing this digital - you'll know right away if you missed the shot and can do it over. But you might want to practice beforehand, in case it's tougher than it sounds.

Good luck. :)

Lafaminit

Nikon D80

06/02/2004 05:59:16 PM · #9

I shot a season of high school lacrosse, and one high school baseball game...I can't believe the pictures I'm selling. I figured maybe one or two, but I have parents buying 5 and 6 in differing sizes. One thing I found is that the "action shots" are very popular. If it's not a game day, get them practicing...throwing, catching, hitting, etc. Get 'em to slide into third a few times with your camera ready. Plan on taking a lot of shots...but you'll get some good ones.

Good luck! Jeff

Canon 12x IS USM (S3 IS built-in Lens) -- 36-432mm (35mm EQ)

06/02/2004 06:08:14 PM · #10

Originally posted by ScottK:

That's a cool idea for a shot, but I don't think I want to get that involved. Besides, there's always at least one kid that wants to show off. I'd probably have kids flying everywhere except where I want them to--breaking arms and legs, getting skewered on fence posts, etc. :)

GeneralE

Canon PowerShot S3 IS

06/02/2004 06:08:26 PM · #11

Originally posted by Lafaminit:

This sounds like excellent advice to me! If you can, have an assistant to write down which shots are which kid ...

06/02/2004 06:10:19 PM · #12

Originally posted by Lafaminit:

Thanks Jeff! I may give that a try.

Lafaminit

Nikon D80

06/02/2004 07:09:02 PM · #13

GeneralE makes a good point. Make sure to have a list of each player's name and corresponding number. Then, when you start editing, you can even sort by number/player, publish to a web gallery, and make all the parents happy...