Girls flag football at Sierra Canyon
We shoot girls flag football for high schools across Los Angeles, and Charlie also photographs for Team USA Girls Flag Football. At Sierra Canyon in Chatsworth the program got the full media day treatment this fall, the same lights and the same process as any varsity sport on campus.
Even light in harsh sun
The setup is four Westcott FJ400 strobes and a Canon R5. Two strobes sit behind the players as rim lights and two sit in front as the mains. Outdoor media days start with the ambient light. We read it off the camera, take it down about a stop, and bring the strobes up on top. That keeps light soft and even across a face even when the sun is straight overhead.
Individual portraits moved to a darker set. There the approach flips: we kill most of the ambient light, build the look from the rim lights forward, and add haze so the blue light has something to travel through.
No light meter. We trust the camera and an eye for the picture. The 70-200 and 24-105 cover almost every frame.
Team, seniors, coaches, then individuals
The team photo goes first. Seniors come next, then the coaching staff, and then we re-rig for individual portraits.
Every player gets the yearbook headshot. Then we go after the sport itself, a jump catch or a flag pull at full speed. Flag football players are quick and loose on camera, and that energy is what the stylized portraits are built to catch. We photograph the player, not just the jersey.
For another flag football media day, see our Westridge flag football media day in Pasadena.
Book a flag football media day
If your school is adding flag football or already has a program, see how our high school media day works, or look through more team and athlete work on the sports portraits page.
