Flag football at Ramona Convent
Ramona Convent Secondary School in Alhambra is an all-girls school, and its flag football team got a full media day this season. Girls flag football has become one of the sports we shoot most often across Los Angeles, and Charlie also photographs for Team USA Girls Flag Football. The sport moves fast and the players bring energy to camera, which makes for good media day frames.
Soft light in the afternoon sun
Every outdoor media day runs on the same kit: four Westcott FJ400 strobes, a Canon R5, and two lenses, the 70-200 and the 24-105. Two strobes sit behind the players as rim lights and two sit in front as mains.
The sun comes first. We read the ambient light with the camera, pull it about a stop under a normal exposure, and then bring in the strobes to light the faces. That combination keeps the light soft and even through the brightest part of the day. There is no light meter, just the camera meter and an eye for the picture.
Team, seniors, coaches, then individuals
We start with the team photo. Seniors come next, then coaches. After that we re-rig the lights and shoot individuals.
Each player gets a clean yearbook headshot. Then the stylized portraits and action, a jump catch or a flag pulled at full speed. We want each player to look like herself, and flag football players are rarely shy about showing who they are.
For another flag football media day, see our Westridge flag football media day in Pasadena.
Book your school's media day
If you run athletics in Alhambra, Pasadena, or the San Gabriel Valley, see how our high school media day works, or browse team and athlete work on our sports portraits page.
