Why volleyball media day looks different
Volleyball is an indoor sport, and indoor media days are where our lighting does the most work. A gym gives us control that a field never does. We can take the room almost fully dark and build the picture from nothing.
Two recent volleyball media days show the look:
- Sierra Canyon volleyball media day, photographing the No. 1 team in the nation in Chatsworth.
- Providence High School volleyball media day in Burbank, with green haze matched to the school colors.
How we light a gym
The kit is four Westcott FJ400 strobes on a Canon R5, shooting mostly on the 70-200 and the 24-105. Indoors, we kill almost all of the ambient light first, so the overhead gym lights barely register. That is on purpose. Then we build the picture back from behind the players, two rim lights first and then two mains in front.
The rim lights often get a gel matched to the school's colors, and a haze machine gives that color something to glow through. The finished look is contrasty and cinematic. We do not use a light meter, just the camera and an eye for contrast.
The order of a volleyball media day
Every media day runs the same way. Team photo first, then seniors, then coaches. Then we re-rig the lights for individuals.
Each player gets the straight-on portrait the yearbook needs. Then we open it up with real volleyball movement, a serve toss or a set at the top of a jump. A standard headshot tells you a player's number. A stylized portrait tells you who she is.
Book a volleyball media day
If you run a volleyball program anywhere in Los Angeles, from the San Fernando Valley to the San Gabriel Valley, see how our high school media day works, or look through more athlete work on the sports portraits page.
